Peter Joseph Elvenich (29 January 1796 – 16 June 1886) was a German

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

born in Embken, a village that today is part of

Nideggen Nideggen () is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south of Düren. Nideggen is known for its ruined, but partly restored ca ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. He was a principal supporter and defender of Hermesianism, a theological belief system based on the teachings of

Georg Hermes Georg Hermes (22 April 1775, Dreierwalde – 26 May 1831, Bonn) was a German Roman Catholic theologian who advocated a rational approach to theology. During his lifetime, his theology was greatly in vogue in Germany, but declined after the posthum ...

(1775–1831). He studied theology and philosophy in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

and

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 ...

, and in 1821 became a schoolteacher in

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

. During the following year he became a lecturer at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, where in 1826 he became an associate professor of philosophy. In 1829 he attained a full professorship at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, where in 1837 he took on additional duties as

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

. Following the papal decrees of 26 September 1835 and 7 January 1836, of which

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 ...

condemned writings issued by Georg Hermes, Elvenich, along with Johann Wilhelm Joseph Braun (1801–1863), traveled to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in order to the convince the Pope to revise the decrees of condemnation. Their efforts were in vain, and several years later the condemnation was reiterated by

Pope 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 ...

.A history of Christian doctrines, Volume 3
by Karl Rudolf Hagenbach In 1843 Elvenich was removed from his post in Breslau at the request of

Johannes von Geissel Johannes von Geissel (5 February 1796 – 8 September 1864) was a German Catholic Archbishop of Cologne and Cardinal from the Electorate of the Palatinate. Life Gessel was born in Gimmeldingen in the Electorate of the Palatinate. After ...

, coadjutor to the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

. After the

Vatican Council Vatican Council may refer to: *First Vatican Council (1869–1870), the 20th ecumenical council recognized by Roman Catholicism *Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and ...

of 1870, he became a member of the

Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undiv ...

Selected publications

* ''Verteidigungsschrift in 2 Lieferungen'', (Breslau 1839) * ''Der Hermesianismus und Johannes Perrone, sein römischer Gegner'' (Hermesianism and Giovanni Perrone, etc.), (part 1 Breslau 1844) * ''Aktenstücke zur geheimen Geschichte des Hermesianismus'' (Documents on the secret history of Hermesianism), (Breslau 1845) * ''Pius IX..., die Hermesianer und der Erzbischof Johannes von Geissel'' (Pius IX... Hermesianism and Archbishop Johannes von Geissel (Breslau 1848) * ''Die Wesenheit des Geistes'' (The entity of the spirit), (Breslau 1857) * ''Drei gegen Einen in der Reinkensschen Angelegenheit unter dem Namen Sincerus Pacificus'', Breslau 1862) * ''Beiträge aus der Provinz in der Baltzerschen Angelegenheit unter dem Namen Mich. Schlichting'', (Breslau 1864) * ''Die Beweise für das Dasein Gottes nach Cartesius'' (The evidence for the existence of God after

René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...

), (Breslau 1868) * ''Der unfehlbare Papst'' and ''Der Papst und die Wissenschaft'' ("The infallible Pope", and "The Pope and science"), 1870

Notes

References

* Parts of this article are based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

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, including: Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: ELVENICH, Peter Josef. In:

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon The ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (''BBKL'') is a German biographical encyclopedia covering deceased persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz, the first volu ...

(BBKL). Band 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2., unveränderte Auflage Hamm 1990, , Sp. 1504. 1796 births 1886 deaths People from Düren (district) 19th-century German Catholic theologians 19th-century German philosophers German Old Catholic theologians Former Roman Catholics Academic staff of the University of Breslau Academic staff of the University of Bonn 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers {{Old-Catholic-stub