Marc Boegner, commonly known as ''pasteur'' Boegner (; 21 February 1881 – 18 December 1970), was a theologian, pastor, essayist, notable member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

and a notable voice in the ecumenical movement.

Biography

Marc Boegner was the nephew and disciple of the Lutheran pastor

Tommy Fallot Tommy Fallot (4 October 1844 – 3 September 1904) was a French pastor who is known as the founder of Christian socialism in France. Early years Tommy Fallot was born on 4 October 1844 in Fouday, Bas-Rhin. His grandfather was Daniel Legrand (17 ...

, who founded Christian socialism in France. Born in

Épinal Épinal (; german: Spinal) is a commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, south of Nancy. Épinal station has rail connecti ...

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

in 1881, Boegner was educated in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

in a rural parish in Aouste-sur-Sye in

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

, in 1911 he became professor of theology at the House of the Missions of Paris, and in 1918 went on to the Parish of Poissy-Annonciation where he remained until 1952. In 1928, he inaugurated the sermons of Protestant Lent on the radio, which contributed to his notoriety. There he preached on the unity of Christians. In 1929, he became the first president of the

Protestant Federation of France The Protestant Federation of France (''Fédération protestante de France'') is a religious organisation created on 25 October 1905, which united the main Protestant Christian groupings in France. The current president is Christian Krieger, who ...

(''Fédération protestante de France''), a position he held until 1961. In 1938 he became the first president of the national council of the

Reformed Church of France The Reformed Church of France (french: Église réformée de France, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangel ...

(''l'Église réformée de France''), a post he held until 1950. He was on two occasions the professor at the Academy of International Law at The Hague. Between 1938 and 1948 he was president of the administrative committee of the provisional

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

in formation. After the council had been formed he became one of its co-presidents, a post he held until 1954. In 1955 Marc Boegner presented a television show called

Présence protestante ''Présence protestante'' is a France 2 religious programme that presents Protestant Christianity. It has been produced since the 1950s broadcast every Sunday morning since October 9, 1955. History Présence protestante debuted on October 2, 19 ...

Boegner actively worked, during the occupation, in an open way as well as clandestinely, to try to improve the lot of the Jews, and even defended and saved a number of them. His compassion extended also to many political refugees. He intervened with Pierre Laval, in vain, to ask him to give up including Jewish children younger than 16 years in the deportation convoys. In 1943, he condemned the forced sending of workers to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

under the

STO STO may refer to: Businesses and organizations Government * Science & Technology Organization, a NATO organization * ''Service du travail obligatoire'', French men & women between certain ages deported to Germany during WWII to work as slave la ...

. Against violence and the armed struggle, he let his faith and conscience choose against joining the Maquis in an early stage. His action to help the Jews during the war made him be awarded the

Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

in 1988. Having met six times, in the middle of his resistance work, Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

, he was decorated with the

Order of the Francisque The Order of the Gallic Francisque () is an order and medal which was awarded by the Vichy Regime, the Nazi-aligned government of France during World War II. The order was created by the ''arrêtés'' of 26 May 1941, the law of 16 May 1941 and ...

and was named a member of the National Council of

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

. He remained, at the time of his questioning in the Allied lawsuit against the old leader, on 30 July 1945, to testify for the good intentions and the goodwill expressed by Pétain in the difficult circumstances of France - a lenient idea of Pétain's actions, today contradicted by authors and some historians. After the war, he continued his fight for unity while taking part in the

ecumenical movement Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

(''mouvement œcuménique''). He was also a Protestant observer during the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

(1962–1965) during which he staged a public dialogue with Cardinal Bea in Geneva. He also met

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

. The ecumenical movement is the subject of his last book published in 1968 (''The Long Road to Unity'', Eng. trans. 1970). Boegner died in Paris.

Works

*''Les Catéchismes de Calvin, étude d'histoire et de catéchétique'', thèse de doctorat soutenue devant la faculté de théologie protestante en 1905 *''The Unity of the Church'' (1914) *''La Vie et la pensée de T. Fallot'', 2 vol. (1914–1926) *''L'Influence de la Réforme sur le développement du droit international'' (1926) *''Le Christianisme et le monde moderne'' (1928, recueil de prédications) *''Les Missions protestantes et le droit international'' (1929) *''Dieu, l'éternel tourment des hommes'' (1929, recueil de prédications) *''Jésus-Christ'' (1930, recueil de prédications) *''T. Fallot, l'homme et l'œuvre'' (1931) *''Qu'est-ce que l'Église ?'' (1931, recueil de prédications) *''L'Église et les questions du temps présent'' (1932) *''La Vie chrétienne'' (1933) *''Le Christ devant la souffrance et devant la joie'' (1935, recueil de prédications) *''L'Évangile et le racisme'' (1939) *''Le Problème de l'unité chrétienne'' (1947, recueil de prédications) *''La Prière de l'Église universelle'' (1951) *''La Vie triomphante'' (1953) *''Le Chrétien et la souffrance'' (1956) *''Les Sept paroles de la Croix'' (1957) *''Notre vocation à la sainteté'' (1958) *''Ténèbres et Lumières aux abords du Calvaire'' (1960, recueil de prédications) *''L'Exigence œcuménique des Églises. Souvenirs et perspectives'' (1968)

Memberships and decorations

Ecclesiastical

*President of the French Federation of Christian associations of students (1923–1935), *President of the Protestant Federation of France (1929–1961), *President of the national council of the reformed Church of France (1938–1950), *President of the Company of the evangelic missions of France (1945–1968), *President of the oecumenical Movement of the Christian Churches (1948–1954).

Other

*Member of the

Académie des sciences morales et politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

(1946) *Member of the ''Académie française'' (1962). To date, Marc Boegner remains the only Pastor to ever be elected in the ''Académie française''. *

(1988) *Grand Officer of the ''Légion d'honneur''

References

External links

*
Detailed biography of Pastor Boegner in the Virtual Museum of ProtestantismBiographical note on the website of the Académie française
– his activity to save Jews' lives during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, at

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Boegner, Marc 1881 births 1970 deaths People from Épinal French Calvinist and Reformed theologians Calvinist pacifists Members of the Académie Française Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Lycée Lakanal alumni Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Order of the Francisque recipients French Righteous Among the Nations 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery 20th-century French theologians French male essayists Huguenots 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French male writers French Resistance members