Hermesianism
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Georg Hermes (22 April 1775, Dreierwalde – 26 May 1831,
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
) was a German
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
who advocated a rational approach to theology. During his lifetime, his theology was greatly in vogue in Germany, but declined after the posthumous papal condemnation of "Hermesianism" by
Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...
.


Life

Born at Dreierwalde, in
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
, Hermes was educated at the gymnasium (high school) in
Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...
and the
University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...
. In 1797 Hermes became professor at the Münster gymnasium; in 1799 he was ordained a priest. The first work he wrote, ''Untersuchung über die innere Wahrheit des Christentums'' (Münster, 1805), in which he sought to demonstrate the harmony between reason and revelation, was received with so much favour that in 1807 its author, warmly commended by the Protestant theologian
August Hermann Niemeyer August Hermann Niemeyer (1 September 1754 in Halle (Saale) – 7 July 1828 in Magdeburg) was a German Protestant theologian, teacher, a librettist, a poet, a travel writer, a Protestant church song poet and a Prussian political educator. He wa ...
, at Halle, was appointed to a chair of theology at the University of Münster. Hermes lectured on
dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Chu ...
, and, with especial zeal, on the introduction to theology. He earned the respect and appreciation of his colleagues by his devotion to the interests of the university; up to 1819 they elected him dean three times. In 1820, he was appointed professor of theology at
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
. Hermes was highly esteemed by his students and had a devoted group of adherents, of whom the most notable was Peter Josef Elvenich (1796–1886), who became professor at Breslau in 1829. Hermes died in Bonn 26 May 1831.


Works

His works were ''Untersuchung über die innere Wahrheit des Christentums'' (Münster, 1805), and ''Einleitung in die christkatholische Theologie'', of which the first part, a philosophical introduction, was published in 1810, the second part, on positive theology, in 1829. The ''Einleitung'' was never completed. His ''Christkatholische Dogmatik'' was published, from his lectures, after his death, by two of his students, Johann Heinrich Achterfeldt and Joseph Braun (5 vols, 1831–1834).


''Einleitung''

The ''Einleitung'' had a major and controversial effect upon Catholic theology in Germany. Hermes himself was very largely influenced by
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
and
Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...
, and although in the philosophical portion of his ''Einleitung'' he strongly criticizes both these thinkers, rejecting their doctrine of the moral law as the sole guarantee for the existence of
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
, and condemning their restricted view of the possibility and nature of revelation, enough remained of purely speculative material to render his system controversial. Having closely studied Kant's philosophy, he occupied himself in refuting the doctrines of that philosopher so far as they were inconsistent with the Roman Catholic faith, while insisting that the truth of Christian revelation and of the Catholic church should first be tested by reason, and that revelation should then be followed. He argued that faith is a response to irresistible evidence, and therefore, not free. After his death, the contests between his followers and their opponents grew so bitter that the dispute was referred to the Papal See. The judgment was negative; on 25 September 1835 a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
issued by
Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...
, ''Dum Acerbissimas'',Pope Gregory XVI
Dum Acerbissimas
(in Italian), published on 26 September 1835, accessed on 20 March 2025
condemned both parts of the ''Einleitung'' and the first volume of the ''Dogmatik''. Two months later, the remaining volumes of the ''Dogmatik'' were likewise condemned. The controversy did not cease. In 1845, a systematic attempt was made anonymously by FX Werner to examine and refute the Hermesian doctrines, as contrasted with the orthodox Catholic faith (''Der Hermesianismus'', 1845). In 1847, the condemnation of 1835 was confirmed by
Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
.


References


Sources

* Karl Werner (1866). ''Geschichte der katholischen Theologie.'' pp. 405ff. * Herman H. Schwedt (1980). ''Das Römische Urteil über Georg Hermes (1775–1831). Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Inquisition im 19. Jahrhundert.'' Herder: Rome * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermes, Georg 1775 births 1831 deaths People from Hörstel 19th-century German Catholic theologians Academic staff of the University of Bonn Academic staff of the University of Münster 19th-century German Roman Catholic priests 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers