Römisches Institut der Görres-Gesellschaft
Jan-Heiner Tück: Presentation of the book ‘Historical Intuitions’
On 4 March, Professor Jan-Heiner Tück (Vienna) presented the book ‘Historische Intuitionen’ (Historical Intuitions) at the residence of the German Embassy to the Holy See in Rome. Ambassador Dr Bernhard Kotsch had invited the members of the Roman Institute of the Görres Society and other guests.
The book ‘Historische Intuitionen’, published by Herder in the supplement series of the Römische Quartalschrift, contains 37 contributions by historians of the Roman Institute. It is a tribute to Joseph Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI, who himself was a member of the Roman Institute for 40 years.
In addition to the authors of the volume, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller was also among the guests. Special mention was made of the presence of Dr Bruno Steimer, who has been responsible for the publications of the Roman Institute at Herder-Verlag in Freiburg for many years.
In his lecture, Professor Tück spoke on the subject of ‘Joseph Ratzinger's Jesus book as an anti-thesis to Adolf von Harnack’. The point was that the ‘homousios’ of the Council of Nicaea - the equality of Christ with the Father - was for Harnack a Hellenisation of Christianity and thus an apostasy from the essence of Christianity, whereas for Ratzinger it was a permanent article of faith.
Even after 120 years, Harnack is still relevant, as Pastor Michael Jonas, who himself wrote a contribution for the tribute, emphasised in the discussion. Harnack's famous Berlin lectures ‘The Essence of Christianity’ still find enthusiastic followers today, even though in them - or perhaps precisely because in them - every dogma is rejected and Jesus is made into a good man. In any case, this shows that Ratzinger's debate with Harnack is by no means a dusty professorial discussion, but raises fundamental questions that are of lasting relevance.
Tück's lecture also made it clear that Ratzinger was definitely a philosopher of history and, in his debate with Harnack, asked about the significance of history for faith: What is salvation history? What is the inculturation of Christianity? Do we need history for theology? Unlike Harnack, for whom historical science ultimately replaces theology, and unlike pietism, which can do without history, Ratzinger holds on to the lasting importance of history in the sense of salvation history and thus also gives the subject of church history a place within theology.
In 37 contributions, the ‘Historical Intuitions’ deal with topics from the entire history of the church, from early times to the present day.
Authors and content here.
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- Written by: Stefan Heid
- Category: From the institute