Apostolic prefects of Meissen (1567–1921)
In the Meisen diocesan area located outside of then Saxony in Lower and Upper Lusatia there was no immediate overlord, since the then liege lord of the Two Lusatias, the Catholic king of Bohemia (in personal union Holy Roman Emperor) held the Lusatias as fief outright. The Kings of Bohemia did not effectively offend the spreading of the Protestant Reformation in the Two Lusatias. So it depended on the local vassals if Lutheranism prevailed or not, following the principle of Cuius regio, eius religio. The Two Lusatias thus became an area of regionally altering predominant denomination. In 1560 Meissen's last bishop John IX had appointed Johannes Leisentritt as diocesan administrator for the Lusatian part of the diocese, seated in Bautzen. After the Holy See had recognised as a matter of fact the suppression of the Meissen diocese within Saxony it converted its Lusatian part into an apostolic prefecture ( Apostolic Prefecture of Meissen ) in 1567 with administrator Leisentrit elevated to prefect. [1] In canon law an apostolic prefecture is a diocese on approval.
According to its seat or its area comprised the prefecture was alternatively also called Apostolic Prefecture of Bautzen or Apostolic Prefecture of the Two Lusatias, respectively. When in 1635 the Lutheran Electorate of Saxony annexed the Two Lusatias it guaranteed in the cession contract (Traditionsrezess) with Bohemia to leave the existing religious relations untouched. As a signatory of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 Saxony later agreed to maintain the religious status quo as given in the reference year of 1624 in all its territories acquired since. [2] After the Prussian annexation of Lower Lusatia and easterly Upper Lusatia in 1815 the Holy See disentangled the newly Prussian diocesan area and incorporated it into the Prussian diocese of Breslau in 1821. The remaining diocese, officially always called Apostolic Prefecture of Meissen, was thus also called the Apostolic Prefecture of (Saxon) Upper Lusatia. The office of the apostolic prefect was held in personal union by the cathedral dean of Bautzen Cathedral. In the 19th century the episcopal function of the apostolic prefects was further emphasised by appointing them simultaneously with titular sees. In 1831-1841 and since 1846 until 1920 the Apostolic Vicars of the Saxony hereditary lands were also prefects of Lusatia.
| Name | from | to |
|---|
Johannes Leisentritt, as diocesan administrator until 1567,
as Apostolic Prefect as of 1567 | 1560/67 | 1586 |
| Gregor Leisentrit | 1587 | 1594 |
| Christoph von Blöbel | 1594 | 1609 |
| August Wiederin von Ottersbach | 1609 | 1620 |
| Gregor Kathmann von Maurugk | 1620 | 1644 |
| Johann Hasius von Lichtenfeld | 1644 | 1650 |
| Martin Saudrius von Sternfeld | 1650 | 1655 |
Bernhard von Schrattenbach,
vice-administrator of the prefecture | 1655 | 1660 |
| Christophorus Johannes Reinheld von Reichenau | 1660 | 1665 |
| Peter Franz Longinus von Kieferberg | 1665 | 1675 |
| Martin Ferdinand Brückner von Brückenstein | 1676 | 1700 |
| Matthäus Johann Josef Vitzki | 1700 | 1713 |
| Martin Bernhard Just von Friedenfels | 1714 | 1721 |
| Johann Josef Ignaz Freyschlag von Schmidenthal | 1721 | 1743 |
| Jakob Wosky von Bärenstamm | 1743 | 1771 |
| Carl Lorenz Cardona | 1772 | 1773 |
| Martin Nugk von Lichtenhoff | 1774 | 1780 |
| Johann Joseph Schüller von Ehrenthal | 1780 | 1794 |
| Wenzel Kobalz | 1795 | 1796 |
Franz Georg Lock,
titular bishop of Antigonea since 1801 | 1796 | 1831 |
Ignaz Bernhard Mauermann,
apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands and titular bishop of Pella since 1819,
Priest of Meissen; died in office | 1831 | 14 September 1841 |
| Matthäus Kutschank | 1841 | 1844 |
Joseph Dittrich,
simultaneously apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands and titular bishop of Corycus since 20 April 1846,
Priest of Litomerice; died in office | 1845 | 5 October 1853 |
Ludwig Forwerk,
simultaneously apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands and titular bishop of Leontopolis in Augustamnica since 1854,
Priest of Meissen; died in office | 11 July 1854 | 8 January 1875 |
Franz Bernert,
simultaneously apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands (28 January) and titular bishop of Azotus (18 March 1876),
Priest of Litomerice; died in office | 28 January 1876 | 18 March 1890 |
Ludwig Wahl,
simultaneously apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands and titular bishop of Cucusus,
Priest of Rottenburg; fell ill and resigned | 11 July 1890 | 1904 |
Georg Wuschanski,
as dean administrator of Bautzen for the prefecture since 1900,
as apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands and titular bishop of Samos since 13 February 1904 | 1900 | 13 February 1904 |
Georg Wuschanski,
simultaneously apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands and titular bishop of Samos,
Priest of Meissen; died in office | 13 February 1904 | 28 December 1905 |
Dr. Aloys Schäfer,
simultaneously apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands and titular bishop of Abila Lysaniae,
Priest of Meissen; died in office | 4 April 1906 | 5 September 1914 |
Franz Löbmann,
simultaneously apostolic vicar of the Saxon Hereditary Lands and titular bishop of Priene,
Priest of Meissen; died in office | 30 January 1915 | 4 December 1920 |
Jakub Skala,
as administrator of the prefecture and for the apostolic vicariate of the Saxon Hereditary Lands | 1920 | 1921 |
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and its largest city is Leipzig. Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of 18,413 square kilometres (7,109 sq mi), and the sixth most populous, with more than 4 million inhabitants.
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe, territorially split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Pulsnitz and Black Elster rivers in the west, and is located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Polish voivodeships of Lower Silesia and Lubusz. Major rivers of Lusatia are the Spree and the Lusatian Neisse, which defines the border between Germany and Poland. The Lusatian Mountains of the Western Sudetes separate Lusatia from Bohemia in the south. Lusatia is traditionally divided into Upper Lusatia, the hilly southern part, and Lower Lusatia, the flat northern part.
Görlitz is a town in the German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia as well as the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after Cottbus. Görlitz is the easternmost town in Germany and lies opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was the eastern part of Görlitz until 1945. The town has approximately 56,000 inhabitants, which make Görlitz the sixth-largest town in Saxony. It is the seat of the district of Görlitz. Together with Zgorzelec it forms the Euro City of Görlitz/Zgorzelec, which has a combined population of around 86,000. Whilst not Lusatiophone itself, the town is situated just east of the Sorbian-speaking parts of Lusatia.
The district of Bautzen is a district in the state of Saxony in Germany. Its largest towns are Bautzen, Bischofswerda, Kamenz, Hoyerswerda and Radeberg. It is the biggest district in Saxony by area, and a member of the Neisse Euroregion.
Bautzen or Budyšin, until 1868 Budissin in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river, is the eighth most populous town in Saxony, and is the seat of Saxony's largest district. Bautzen lies in the bilingual Sorbian settlement area of Lusatia, and is Lusatia's third-largest town after Cottbus and Görlitz, as well as the second-largest town in Upper Lusatia.
The Peace of Bautzen was a treaty concluded on 30 January 1018, between Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and Bolesław I of Poland which ended a series of Polish-German wars over the control of Lusatia and Upper Lusatia as well as Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia.
The Kingdom of Saxony was a German monarchy that existed in Central Europe between 1806 to 1918. The territory of the Kingdom comprised from the former Electorate of Saxony. A member of historical confederacies, it joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German Confederation after Napoleon was defeated in 1815. From 1871, it was part of the German Empire. It became a free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War I and the abdication of King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. Its capital was the city of Dresden, and its modern successor state is the Free State of Saxony.
A Diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic particular church.
The Diocese of Magdeburg is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church, located in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Its seat is Magdeburg; it is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Paderborn.
Upper Lusatia is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Slavic Lusici tribe. Both parts of Lusatia are home to the West Slavic minority group of the Sorbs.
Hochkirch (German) or Bukecy is a municipality in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is known for the 1758 Battle of Hochkirch, part of the Seven Years' War.
The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese from 804 until 1648. From 1180, the bishops or administrators of Halberstadt ruled a state within the Holy Roman Empire, the prince-bishopric of Halberstadt. The diocesan seat and secular capital was Halberstadt in present-day Saxony-Anhalt.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany, known for most of its existence as the Vicariate Apostolic of the NorthernMissions, was a Catholic missionary jurisdiction established on 28 April 1667. It belonged to a vicar apostolic in predominantly Protestant Northern Europe.
The Archdiocese of Berlin is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The archepiscopal see is in Berlin, with the archdiocese's territory extending over Northeast Germany.
The Diocese of Dresden–Meissen is a Latin Church diocese of Catholic Church in Germany with its seat in Dresden. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Berlin.
The March or Margraviate of Lusatia was an eastern border march of the Holy Roman Empire in the lands settled by Polabian Slavs. It arose in 965 in the course of the partition of the vast Marca Geronis. Ruled by several Saxon margravial dynasties, among them the House of Wettin, the lordship was contested by the Polish kings as well as by the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg. The remaining territory was finally incorporated into the Lands of the Bohemian Crown in 1367.
The Diocese of Görlitz is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic church in Germany. The current ordinary is Wolfgang Ipolt
St. Peter's Cathedral is an interdenominational church in Bautzen, Germany. It is among the oldest and largest simultaneum churches in Germany. Located in the heart of the city's "Old Town", the church and the square it is situated within is a major tourist attraction.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Saxony was a Latin Church pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in northern Germany, within the Holy Roman Empire and surviving it, when the Electorate of Saxony became the Kingdom of Saxony.
Johannes Leisentritt, also Johann Leisentrit was a Catholic priest, dean of St. Peter in Bautzen and administrator of the Diocese of Meißen, responsible for Lusatia. He is known for publishing a 1567 hymnal.
