Religions in Austria

Religion
Religions
in Austria
Religions
in Austria
Religions
in Austria
Vienna 2011
Owned and published by: Federal Chancellery, Federal Press Service
Ballhausplatz 2, 1014 Wien
Phone: +43 1 531 15-2275
Fax: +43 1 531 15-4283
www.bundeskanzleramt.at
Editorial responsibility: Walter Reichel
Co-editor: Thomas Eder
Translated by: Maria Bennett
Designed by: ARGE Grafik
Vienna, November 2011
1 Introduction 8
2 Overview of legally recognised churches and religious communities 13
2.1 The Catholic Church 14
2.2 The Protestant Church A. and H.C. in Austria 18
2.3 The Greek Orthodox Church in Austria 21
Greek Oriental Metropolis of Austria
Serbian Orthodox Church
Romanian Orthodox Church Russian Orthodox Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
21
24
26
29
30
2.4 The Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria 32
2.5 The Syrian Orthodox Church in Austria 35
2.6 The Coptic Orthodox Church in Austria 37
2.7 The Old Catholic Church of Austria 39
2.8 The Methodist Church in Austria 42
2.9 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in Austria 44
2.10 The New Apostolic Church in Austria 47
2.11 The Jewish Religious Association 49
2.12 The Islamic Religious Community in Austria 53
2.13 The Austrian Buddhist Religious Association 55
2.14 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria 58
3 List of registered confessional communities 60
4 Addresses and contacts of recognised churches and religious communities 61
1 Introduction
Faith and religion are an expression of the collective, traditional, spiritual and
historical experiences of individuals and peoples. A lively co-existence and exchange between churches and religious communities promotes tolerance, understanding and the spiritual diversity of human cooperation and interaction,
both within a country and beyond national borders.
In the 20th century, not least due to immigration, the religious face of Austria has undergone a radical change. Religious freedom in
Austria has thus experienced a constant further development, beginning with the Tolerance Patent of 1781 and continuing right up
to the present day.
But do you know how many religious
communities there are in Austria? What are
their characteristic features? To what extent
are they carriers of cultural identity? This
brochure not only provides answers to these
questions, but also gives every single one of
the communities the chance to speak for itself. On the following pages you will find a
wealth of interesting and useful information
about the histories and individual doctrines
of the respective religious communities, as
well as their different structures and multifarious tasks. The diversity presented here
clearly shows how the religious heritage of
various nations is reflected in Austria.
1.1 Historic development
Throughout the centuries, until the advent of
modern times, Austria was a nation strongly
influenced by Christianity and the Catholic
Church. Other denominations were hardly
represented at all in the territory of presentday Austria, with the exception of the Jewish confession, and its adherents in particular suffered a highly variable fate poised precariously between persecution, toleration
and cooperation.
The confessional hegemony of the Christian denomination was finally shattered by
the Reformation movement. At the turn of
8
the 16th century, large parts of Austria converted to the Protestant faith. In the course
of the Habsburg Counter-Reformation,
the population was largely re-Catholicised
wherever Protestantism had gained a strong
foothold. At the time of Emperor Joseph II,
the Roman Catholic Church was still dominant; Protestants of the Augsburg and Helvetic Confessions were tolerated along with
the adherents of the Orthodox Church and
the members of the Jewish community (Patents of Tolerance issued in 1781/82 by Emperor Joseph II).
Only in the course of the 19th century did
the idea of confessional tolerance and equality truly begin to take root, being constitutionally guaranteed in the Basic Law on the
General Rights of Nationals (Staatsgrundgesetz) of 21 December 1867. This fundamental law among other things contains a provision that grants certain fundamental rights
to each legally recognised church and religious community. The way in which such legal recognition could be obtained was regulated more specifically by a law passed in
1874. This act, known as Recognition Act of
1874, was first applied to the Old Catholic
Church in 1877.
Jewish religious community life was
governed by a number of different enactments and regulations up until 1890, when
the passage of the so-called Israelitengesetz
(law regarding the Israelite religious community) redressed this inhomogeneous state by
introducing a uniform regulation applicable
in all of Austria.
After the occupation and annexation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the population living on the territory of the Austrian Monarchy
for the first time included a substantial
number of adherents of the Muslim faith,
and in 1912 the Islamic Religious Community (the adherents of the Hanefitic school of
Islam) was granted official recognition. With
large numbers of immigrant workers from
former Yugoslavia and Turkey moving to
Austria, the number of Muslims in Austria
increased substantially during the latter decades of the 20th century.
In the course of the 20th century, Austria’s religious landscape became more variegated as not only followers of the Muslim
faith, but many people of different denominations moved to Austria, seeking and obtaining state recognition for their religious
communities on the basis of the Recognition
Act of 1874.
1.2 Legal basis
Personal rights
Freedom of religion is a statutorily guaranteed right in Austria, the legal foundation
– starting with the Patents of Tolerance of
1781/82 – having been created over a period
of about two centuries. Of great importance
for the individual is the constitutional guarantee of freedom of conscience and creed laid
down in Article 14 of the Basic Law on the
General Rights of Nationals of 1867. This
Article, in combination with the Law Regarding Interconfessional Relationships of
1868, guarantees every resident in Austria
the right to join any church or religious community by free choice, to leave such church
or religious community at his/her own personal discretion or, finally, to abstain from
belonging to any of them. Article 63 paragraph 2 of the State Treaty of Saint-Germainen-Laye of 1919 as well as Article 9 of the
European Convention on Human Rights of
1950 further enhanced and specified the basic right of religious freedom.
Incorporation rights
By conception, the Austrian legal system is to
be qualified as religiously neutral. This prin-
ciple precludes any identification of the state
with a specific church or religious community (principle of religious neutrality). The
tasks and objectives of the state are exclusively worldly and non-spiritual (principle of
secularity). The status of a legally recognised
church and religious community involves
certain guarantees laid down in Article 15
of the Basic Law on the General Rights of
Nationals (which also postulates their being
subject to the general laws of the nation): the
right to practice communal public worship,
arrange and administer their “internal” affairs autonomously, and retain possession
and enjoyment of their institutions, endowments and funds; and, moreover, the right to
found private confessional establishments
for instruction and education and provide
religious instruction in state schools.
Article 15 of the Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals defines the general
principle of equality in concrete terms, postulating the requirement of equal treatment
and non-discrimination (principle of parity).
The exclusive right as a basic principle
of Austrian state church law guarantees each
legally recognised church or religious community the exclusive right to its designation
and its doctrines as well as exclusive pastoral
responsibility for its members.
In Austria, state and church are partners on an equal footing, each acknowledging the independence and autonomy of the
other. Areas of interaction can, among other
things, be regulated by mutual contractual
agreements. Legal recognition implies recognition of a church or religious community as
a legal personality under public law, endowing it with the status of a body corporate under public law (including legal capacity under private law). One feature of such entities is their performance of tasks and functions in the public interest, which besides religious functions include social, socio-political and cultural tasks supported by the state,
as the state views them as a contribution to
the common weal.
9
The principles governing the relationship between state and church were laid
down in a number of different enactments.
The relationship to the Catholic Church is
specified above all by the Concordat of 1933
and a number of further laws that regulate
the relationship between the Austrian state
and the Holy See in different areas. The Roman Catholic Church enjoys special rights in
so far as the Holy See is subject to international law. Statutory enactments also regulate the state’s relationship to other churches
and religious communities: the Protestant
Church in the Protestantengesetz of 1961,
the Orthodox Church in the Orthodoxengesetz of 1967, the Jewish Religious Association in the Israelitengesetz of 1890 and the
Islamic Religious Community in the Islamgesetz of 1912 as amended in 1988. The relationship to the other legally recognised
churches and religious communities is regulated on the basis of the Recognition Act of
1874 and the Oriental Orthodox Churches
Act of 2003.
The passing of the Federal Law Concerning the Legal Status of Confessional
Communities in 1998 marked the creation
of a two-tier system. Besides churches and
religious communities recognised by statute,
confessional communities that are not bodies corporate under public law but which
are endowed with a legal personality are entitled to carry the designation “state-registered confessional community”. Conditional
on the fulfilment of the legal requirements,
legal recognition as a religious community
may be granted after twenty years of existence and ten years of registration as a confessional community.
Today there are 14 legally recognised
churches and religious communities and 10
state-registered confessional communities in
Austria.
10
1.3 Expressions of the basic right
of religious freedom
The concept of freedom of religion embraces
freedom of creed (right to choice of religion),
freedom of public worship (right to religious
practice), freedom of confession (right to
outward profession of faith) and freedom of
conscience.
According to Austrian law (Law on
the Religious Education of Children), every
young person over the age of fourteen is free
to choose his or her religion. Parents have the
exclusive right to decide their child’s confession up to the age of ten. Between the ages of
ten and twelve, the decision still lies with the
parents, but the child has to be “consulted.”
Between the ages of twelve and fourteen
a change of confession cannot be imposed
on the child against his or her will, and on
completion of the fourteenth year of age the
youngster “comes of age” in terms of choice
of religion. In state schools, all children belonging to a legally recognised church or religious community receive religious education
in their own confession, the expense for such
education being borne by the state.
In Austria, all citizens are equal before
the law and enjoy the same civil and political
rights irrespective of their confession. Free
exercise of religion and freedom of religion
and conscience are guaranteed for everyone
in Austria, regardless of whether a church or
religious community is legally recognised or
not or registered as a confessional community. All churches and religious communities
in Austria enjoy special protection under the
law: offences such as the denigration of religious doctrines and the disturbance of a religious event are prosecuted under criminal
law; facilities and property dedicated to religious services enjoy enhanced protection under criminal law in cases of theft or wilful
damage.
1.4 Dialogue forums
Of special importance for the presence of
Christian churches in Austrian public life
and beyond the national borders is the “Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria”
(ÖRKÖ, www.kirchen.at), which comprises
14 Christian churches including, since 1994,
the Roman Catholic Church and ten communities and organisations with observer
status.
Moreover, mention should be made of
the Pro Oriente Foundation (www.pro-oriente.at), which has acted as a platform for
ongoing fruitful discussions with the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches since
1964. Its establishment is largely due to the
contacts Cardinal Franz König, the longtime Archbishop of Vienna, cultivated with
the Eastern Churches. Foreign policy initiatives on the Balkan Peninsula have repeatedly involved the support of this platform.
nised churches and religious communities as
well as state-registered confessional communities and thus enhance mutual understanding and cooperation among people of different creeds and religions.
The designations of the individual
churches and religious communities used in
the English and French versions of this brochure were adjusted in line with international usage and consequently do not necessarily correspond to the legally binding designations of the individual legally recognised
churches and religious communities as laid
down in the respective recognition act and
shown in the “Overview of legally recognised churches and religious communities in
Austria” see chapter 2.
Inter-religious dialogue takes place via
the “Contact Point for World Religions in
Austria” (www.weltreligionen.at), which
also regards itself as a forum for the furtherance of relations between the religions.
In order to present the various legally
recognised churches and religious communities in Austria, we asked them to introduce
themselves in a contribution to this brochure. The individual contributions, somewhat edited by the Federal Press Service for
the purpose of formal uniformity, constitute
the basis of the present publication, which,
last published in this form in 2007, has now
been revised and updated for the present
reissue.
1.5 Religions in Austria
This brochure provides a concise overview
of the variety of religious life in Austria. Its
aim is to disseminate knowledge and information about the numerous legally recog-
11
1.6 Statistics
Table 1: Number of members of churches and religious communities
Religious communities
Catholic Church (Roman Catholic Church including the churches united with Rome)
Number of members
5,917,274
Protestant Church A.C. and H.C
376,150
Islamic Religious Community
338,988
Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches
179,472
Other Christian churches and communities
69,227
Non-Christian communities (excl. Islamic and Jewish)
19,750
No religion
963,263
Religion not stated (in the census survey)
160,662
Source: Statistik Austria, national census 2001
12
2 Overview of legally recognised
churches and religious communities in
Austria (Breakdown and designation in accordance
with the legal bases)
Churches
Based on the 1874 Recognition Act, Imperial
Law Gazette (RGBI.) No. 68/1874:
••
••
••
••
Catholic Church: basically Concordat
between the Holy See and the Republic
of Austria, Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.)
II No. 2/1934
Protestant Church A. and H.C. in Austria: Protestant Act, 1961, Federal Law
Gazette (BGBl.) No.182/1961
Greek Oriental (i.e. Greek Orthodox)
Church in Austria: Orthodox Act,
1967, Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) No.
229/1967
••
••
••
Old Catholic Church of Austria, Imperial Law Gazette (RGBI.) No. 99/1877
Methodist Church in Austria, Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) No. 74/1951
as amended by Federal Law Gazette
(BGBl.) No. 190/2004
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (Mormons) in Austria, Federal
Law Gazette (BGBl.) No. 229/1955
New Apostolic Church in Austria, Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) No. 524/1975
••
–– Greek Oriental Metropolis of
Austria
–– Greek Oriental (i.e. Greek Orthodox) Church Community of the
Holy Trinity
–– Greek Oriental (i.e. Greek Orthodox) Church Community of St.
George
–– Serbian Greek Oriental (i.e. Serbian
Orthodox) Church Community of
St. Sava
–– Romanian Greek Oriental (i.e. Romanian Orthodox) Church Community of the Holy Resurrection
–– Russian Orthodox Church Community of St. Nicolas
–– Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community of St. Ivan Rilski
Churches subject to the Oriental Orthodox
Churches Act of 2003, Federal Law Gazette
(BGBl.) No. 20/2003:
Religious communities
By separate legal act:
••
••
Based on the 1874 Recognition Act, Imperial
Law Gazette (RGBl.) No. 68/1874:
••
••
••
••
••
Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria
Syrian Orthodox Church in Austria
Coptic Orthodox Church in Austria
Jewish Religious Association: Jewish
Act 1890, Imperial Law Gazette (RGBl.)
No. 57/1890 as amended by Federal
Law Gazette (BGBl.) No. 61/1984
Islamic Religious Community in Austria: Islam Act of 1912, Imperial Law
Gazette (RGBl.) No. 159/1912 as amended by Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) No.
164/1988
Austrian Buddhist Religious Association, Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) No.
72/1983
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria, 139th decree by the Ministry of Education, Art
and Culture dated 7 May 2009, Federal Law Gazette I (BGBl.) No. 19/1998
13
© Medienkiste/APA/Fohringer
centuries, the first churches and monasteries
were founded in the east of today’s Austria,
among them the monastery of St. Hippolytus
in St. Pölten, Lower Austria, and St. Rupert’s
Church in Vienna.
The Pilgrimage Basilica in
Mariazell
Service for pilgrims on the
occasion of the Pope’s visit
in 2007
2.1 The Catholic Church
In the era when Christianity first began to
spread, the greater part of what is today
Austria belonged to the Roman Empire. The
first evidence of the existence of Christianity
in the Austrian region dates back to around
174; Christianity was widespread by the 3rd
century. The martyrdom of St. Florian with
forty other Christians in Lauriacum (Lorch
near Enns, Upper Austria), dates back to the
time of the Diocletian persecution in the year
304.
In the confusion of the great migration,
St. Severin worked in the Danube area as a
missionary and died there in 482. After the
migrations, the west of what is now Austria
was Christianised by the early Bavarians. In
this period, many monasteries were founded
in the western part of Austria. The diocese
of Salzburg was founded in the 7th century
thanks mainly to the efforts of St. Rupert
(approx. 650 - 718).
The dioceses of Salzburg (archdiocese
from 798) and Passau were the starting point
for the Christianisation of the east and the
south of Austria. In the late 8th and early 9th
14
The ecclesiastical structure was destroyed by the Magyar invasions in the
10th century. Only after the Battle of Lechfeld (955) was the church structure rebuilt,
starting once again from Salzburg and Passau, and the first parishes were founded in
Austrian lands. Between the 10th and 13th
centuries, regional sovereigns in particular founded numerous monasteries, which
developed into centres of Christianisation.
The main monastic orders established on
Austrian territory from these times were
the Augustinian Canons, Benedictines, Premonstratensians and Cistercians. In spite of
many earlier attempts, it was not until the
15th century that the first separate bishoprics
could be founded in Austria (1469 Vienna,
1476 Wiener Neustadt).
The Reformation penetrated to Austria
in the 16th century; while the ruling house remained Catholic, the provincial diets turned
Protestant in many cases. By 1570, most of
Austria had become Protestant. From 1590
the Counter-Reformation gained ground,
carried forward, above all, by new religious
orders such as the Jesuits, Capuchins, Barnabites and Servites. By the end of the Thirty
Years War, the Counter-Reformation had
more or less carried the day.
Austria was now uniformly Catholic,
and during the 17th and 18th centuries a magnificent and very typical Catholic Baroque
culture spread throughout the land. From
1750, the state began to exert ever more influence over the church. “Josephinism,” as
this new political and religious movement
(circa 1765–1790, and, in a broad sense,
until 1850) later came to be called, took its
name from its foster-father, Emperor Joseph
II. During his reign the dioceses were reorganised, and the structure then established
has remained much the same to this day. At
the same time, a large number of parishes
A concordat agreed between the Austrian
Empire and the Holy See in 1855 marked the
first setback of Josephinism. In 1870, however, Austria revoked this concordat.
The eighteen-sixties and seventies were
marked by the struggle of liberalism against
the influence of the church, which eventually
resulted in legislative measures: the National
Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals was enacted. It is still in force to this day
as part of the Austrian Federal Constitution
and forms the basis for individual and corporative religious freedom. The Catholic
Church thus obtained the right of public worship, and is independent in terms of confession, doctrine, preaching and pastoral care,
as well as the management of all its other
internal affairs. Any heteronomous regulation discriminating against or extending unfair privileges to one particular church in the
sense of a state church is prohibited. As a result of the conflict of cultures and the gradual
severance of the alliance between throne and
altar, the church stood both internally and
externally as a solid power when the monarchy came to an end. After the proclamation of the Republic, the church called upon
its adherents to remain loyal to the new political system and to cooperate actively in its
establishment. The Catholic Church created
an extensive chain of Catholic Associations.
The liturgical movement, which originated
at Klosterneuburg Monastery, gave rise to a
reform of the liturgy in Austria.
With the conclusion of the Concordat
of 1933, which is still in force today, the supremacy of the state in church matters – and
hence the last flourishing of Josephinism –
was abolished once and for all. The concordat regulated the legal status of the church
within the state, the education of the clergy,
religious education in schools, the church’s
right to its own schools, church weddings,
pastoral activities within the armed forces
and religious holidays, as well as the property and financial matters of the church. The
state recognised marriages bound by canon
law. Catholic schools were promised government grants as soon as economic conditions
improved. During the Nazi Regime in Austria (1938 - 1945), the church was subject to
oppression and persecution by the National
Socialist regime. The state withdrew its recognition of the concordat. The Concordat of
1933 concluded between the Holy See and
the German Empire was not extended to embrace Austria, thus the church had no legal
protection in this period. Catholic schools
and organisations were dissolved, and civil
marriage became obligatory.
© Österreichische Bischofskonferenz
were founded. All contemplative orders were
rescinded and their assets transferred to one
great fund, the so-called Religionsfonds. The
Catholic Church was now controlled by the
state, and the priests were engaged as civil
servants.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral,
Vienna
In 1939 the Nazi Regime introduced
a church tax, to be collected by the church
itself. All payments the state had hitherto
made to the church for personnel and material requirements were discontinued, and the
assets of the Religionsfonds confiscated and
transferred into the ownership of the German Reich. Many priests and laymen were
15
© Bernhard Krone
Holy Mass in the Roman
Catholic Church
persecuted, deported to concentration camps
and executed.
After the liberation of Austria, the Austrian church organisations were restored, but
the Catholic associations, which had been
broken up by the Nazis, were only partly reactivated. Relations between the church and
the state in general, and between the church
and social democracy in particular, improved.
This was largely due to the fact that the two
main political parties, the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Social
Democratic Party of Austria (SDP), were not
hostile to each other but formed a coalition
government. The Catholic lay organisations
(Katholische Aktion, Katholische Jugend)
gained many new members.
Pending matters between the state and
the church were gradually addressed. In
1957, the coalition government in principle recognised the Concordat of 1933 and
requested negotiations with the Holy See
to review the radically changed situation.
In 1960, two partial agreements were concluded: one decreeing the elevation of the
Apostolic Administrative District of Burgenland to a diocese, the other regulating financial issues. The church was to receive an annual sum of € 7,267,283 indexed in compensation for the confiscation of funds and
loss of rights in the National Socialist era.
90% of the assets of the former Religionsfonds, comprising church properties (real estate) confiscated by the state in the 18th century, became the property of the Republic. In
1962, a further contract concerning educa-
16
tional issues was concluded between the Republic of Austria and the Holy See. The relevant clauses of the 1933 Concordat retained
their validity. Religion was to remain a compulsory subject in state schools, although pupils were granted the right to opt out on request. The state undertook to pay 60% of
the personnel expenses for teachers at staterecognised Catholic private schools. Since
1971 these costs have been defrayed wholly
by the state.
Under the partial agreements of 1964
and 1968, the Apostolic Administrative District of Innsbruck-Feldkirch first advanced
to the status of a diocese, Feldkirch later becoming a separate diocese. As far as the recognition of marriages was concerned, the
concordat regulations were not reintroduced
and civil marriage remained compulsory
rather than becoming optional again.
The implementation of the decisions of
the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965)
involved a number of reforms, particularly in
the liturgy (replacement of Latin by vernacular languages in the Mass), and new forms
of pastoral practice. Even before the Council, various movements and forces in Austria,
the Liturgical Movement and the Catholic
Bible Movement, for instance, had addressed
problems which were later to become issues
dealt with in the Council, and the Catholic
Day in 1933 witnessed the celebration of
the first large-scale Prayer and Song Mass.
The sharing of responsibility with laymen,
even in internal church affairs, was successfully introduced within the framework of the
Katholische Aktion initiative. After the Second World War, relations between church
and state unfolded in a way similar to that in
which they had been discussed and outlined
at the Council.
According to the national census of
2001, the Roman Catholic Church in Austria has 5,915,421 members (excluding the
members of the churches united with Rome),
which represents 73.6% of Austria’s resident
population. The most recent statistics by the
Austrian dioceses from 2008 put the number
of members of the Roman Catholic Church
in Austria at 5,579,493.
bers of the military and their families. It consists of four deaneries and 22 parishes.
Organisation and functions
The Austrian Bishops’ Conference is the
supreme governing body of the Catholic
Church in Austria, which is subdivided into
the two ecclesiastical provinces of Salzburg
and Vienna, the suffragan dioceses, and the
Austrian Military Ordinariate.
The basic services of the Catholic
Church are the celebration of the Holy Mass,
the apostolate, and charity. These services
are rendered by secular and monastic priests,
brothers and sisters of the orders, and laymen, both full-time and in an honorary capacity. The male orders work together in the
Superiors’ Conference, the female ones in the
Association of Women’s Orders. Apart from
its pastoral activity, the Catholic Church is
widely active in education (Catholic school
system, extracurricular youth education,
adult education), in the public health service
(hospitals staffed by nursing sisters), in charity work and in help for the needy.
••
••
The Ecclesiastical Province of Vienna
embraces (as of 2008): the Archdiocese of Vienna (founded 1469) with
1,315,545 Catholics, comprising 54
deaneries with 660 parishes, the diocese of St. Pölten (founded 1785) with
546,008 Catholics in 25 deaneries and
424 parishes, the Diocese of Linz (founded 1785) with 1,041,154 Catholics in
39 deaneries and 474 parishes, and the
Diocese of Eisenstadt (founded 1960)
with 208,689 Catholics in 12 deaneries
and 171 parishes.
The Ecclesiastical Province of Salzburg
embraces: the Archdiocese of Salzburg
(founded approx. 700) with 501,572
Catholics in 20 deaneries and 210 parishes, the Diocese of Graz-Seckau (founded 1218) with 893,476 Catholics in 26
deaneries and 388 parishes, the Diocese
of Gurk-Klagenfurt (founded 1072)
with 405,880 Catholics in 24 deaneries
and 335 parishes, the Diocese of Innsbruck (founded 1964) with 406,995 Catholics in 19 deaneries and 244 parishes, and the Diocese of Feldkirch (founded 1968) with 260,378 Catholics in 9
deaneries and 124 parishes.
The head of the Catholic Church, which
enjoys international personality under international law, is the Pope. The Roman Curia,
which is under the supreme direction of the
Pope, is the highest administrative and judicial body of the Catholic Church. In Austria,
the Holy See is represented by the Apostolic
Nuncio, who has ambassador status and under the rules of the protocol is the head of
the diplomatic corps.
The dioceses largely correspond to the
territories of the nine Austrian federal provinces, with the exception of the Archdiocese
of Salzburg (which also comprises part of the
federal province of the Tyrol) and the Archdiocese of Vienna (which includes the eastern part of Lower Austria).
The Austrian Military Ordinariate (existent in its present form since 1986) is responsible for the pastoral care of the mem-
17
The Synods are the parliaments of the Protestant
Church. The delegates meet
once or twice a year.
With the commencement of the Reformation, the aspiration to reform both church
and society also spread within the Habsburg
lands. After the Thirty Years War, the vicissitudes of the Reformation in Austria led
to the prohibition of the Protestant confessions, and only the so-called “Secret Protestantism” survived this period. Thus for over
150 years, the people adhering to the Protestant faith were without an organisation and
without a pastor, but remained true to their
confession in spite of migration and some
enforced emigration to the east of the Empire, despite bible-burning and harassment.
An exception to the ban was made solely in
Vienna, the capital and imperial residence,
owing to the presence of the imperial administrative authorities and diplomatic representations (“legation chapels”).
The Patent of Tolerance issued by Emperor Joseph II in 1781 was perceived as a
grand gesture of liberation, and soon many
Protestant schools sprang up. From 1848
onwards, more and more restrictions were
withdrawn until in 1861 Emperor Francis
Joseph I guaranteed Protestant citizens equal
rights under the Protestant Patent. But the
Protestant Church was still under state surveillance, and only in the Second Republic,
upon the enactment of the ���������������
Protestantengesetz of 1961, did it gain the status of a free
church in a free country.
In the course of the 19th century, the
Protestant Church welcomed an influx of
merchants, businessmen, scientists and artists, above all from Germany and Switzerland. In Burgenland – which was ceded to
Austria under the 1919 Treaty of Saint Germain and has since been under Austrian administration – the percentage of Protestants
is higher than in any other Austrian federal
province. The Protestant community increased further in number in the course of
the great influx of new members in the first
18
© epd/M. Uschmann
2.2 The Protestant Church A. and
H.C. in Austria
years of the Austrian Corporative State. The
last big phase of growth came with the admission of refugees from the east (Transylvania, the Banat, the Bačka, and Slovakia) at
the end of the Second World War.
Emperor Joseph II had secured religious
tolerance for the “Augsburg and Helvetic
Confessions”. Already in the 16th century,
the Swiss Reformation (Zwingli, Calvin)
spread to the Habsburg lands, above all in
Hungary and the Slavic regions. The common history of suppression led to a common
development of the Protestant communities
that still obtains today. The ecclesiastical
constitution
“unites the Protestant Church of the
Augsburg Confession and the Protestant Church of the Helvetic Confession
together in brotherly service on Austrian territory, in common acts of love
and under joint administration. Both
churches, brought together in their history by God, are bound in their commitment to the way of the fathers of the
Reformation, and, most of all, to the
knowledge that salvation is only in Jesus Christ, proffered by God alone in
his bounty, and received alone through
faith.”
The Protestant Church A.C. (Augsburg
Confession) and H.C. (Helvetic Confession)
bear witness to God’s unconditional devotion to His people, which can be experienced
through faith. This can be achieved through
the development of life in the community,
© epd/M. Uschmann
welfare and social work and missionary
work as ways of disseminating the love of
God and through active participation of the
church and the individual in all aspects of
life in our country.
At the beginning of the third millennium, the Protestant Church A.C administrates 209 parishes with approx. 315,000
members, and the Protestant Church H.C.
nine parishes with almost 14,000 members.
A special feature of the Protestant Churches
A. and H.C. in Austria is the fact that both
churches have confessionally mixed parishes
(both A. and H.C.).
Organisation and functions
The basic administrative unit of both Protestant Churches is the church community. The
communities elect a community council as
their management body. Some members of
this council are then elected into the presbytery, which attends to current business. The
curate or minister entrusted with the spiritual office, i.e. preaching the Gospel and dispensing the sacraments, holds the chair of
the presbytery.
Several A.C. parishes, generally those of
one province, are grouped together to form
a diocese; delegates from each presbytery
and the ministers of the communities form
the diocese meeting, which convenes under
the chairmanship of the superintendent and
discusses and decides on ecclesiastical and
organisational matters of the diocese. The
principal task assigned to the superintendent
is the duty of visitation, i.e. the advisory supervision of the communities and ministers.
The Lutheran Protestant Church A.C. is
structured into seven dioceses, with Salzburg
and Tyrol being united in one diocese, while
the parishes of Vorarlberg form part of the
Protestant Church H.C. The Diocese of Vienna also serves the eastern parts of Lower
Austria. Delegates from the different diocese meetings form the Synod A.C., the highest governing body of the Lutheran Church
A.C., which convenes under the chairmanship of a president who is not a cleric. The
highest ecclesiastical representative is the
bishop, who manages the church and its
business assisted by the Oberkirchenrat A.C,
the supreme ecclesiastical council that consists of the bishop and the regional church
curator, as well as two ecclesiastic and two
secular executive councillors.
The communities of the Protestant
Church H.C. – in Vienna, Linz, Oberwart
and the province of Vorarlberg – delegate
their representatives directly to the Synod
H.C. The supreme ecclesiastical council, the
Oberkirchenrat H.C., corresponds to the
Lutheran supreme council in structure and
function and, beside the chairman, comprises three secular and two clerical members. The provincial superintendent holds
supreme clerical authority in the Protestant
Church H.C.
The General Synod A. and H.C. attends
to legislation in matters of common interest,
holds council and resolves matters pertaining to the external representation of both
churches. All religious and secular functions
on all levels may be filled by men and women
alike.
The Lutheran Protestant Church A.C. is organised on three levels:
••
••
••
communities
dioceses
overall community A.C.
19
Children giving a performance
in church
The Reformed Church H.C. has two levels:
••
••
communities
overall community H.C.
The most important functions of the
Protestant Church are pastoral care, religious education, welfare and social work
and missionary work.
All office holders within the Protestant Church (ecclesiastical and secular) are
elected. “Top down” appointments are not
made, since the whole structure of the Protestant Church is built on a “bottom up” basis. The Protestant Churches A. and H.C. are
not only founding members of the Ecumenical Council of Churches (ECC), but both
churches are also members of the Lutheran
World Federation and the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches, and both belong to the
Conference of European Churches (CEC)
and the Community of Protestant Churches
in Europe (CPCE).
The relationship between the state and
the Protestant Church in Austria is based on
the Protestantengesetz of 1961, the federal
law regulating the external legal position of
the Protestant Church.
20
© The Greek Orthodox Church in Austria
2.3 The Greek Orthodox Church in
Austria
The Greek Oriental Metropolis of Austria
The Greek Orthodox Church Community
of the Holy Trinity
The Greek Orthodox Church Community
of St. George
With the Orthodoxengesetz enacted on 23
June 1967, the Austrian parliament not only
defined the “external legal status of the Greek
Oriental Church in Austria,” thus recognising another Christian Church, but also honoured the century-old presence of the Greek
Orthodox Church in Vienna.
Tradition has it that the origin of the
Greek community in Vienna and Austria
goes back to the marriage of three Byzantine princesses into the Babenberg dynasty:
Theodora Comnena to Henry II Jasomirgott
(1148), Theodora Angelos to Leopold VI the
Glorious (1203), and Sophia Laskaris to Frederick II the Contentious (1220). There can
be no doubt that the princesses came to Vienna with large entourages, and were therefore the first to bring Greek customs and culture to the area of what is today’s Austria.
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453,
many erudite Byzantians and even more
tradesmen emigrated to the west, thus giving birth to numerous Greek communities,
churches and schools. This wave of migrants
was further encouraged by the Peace of Passarowitz (1718), which made free trade between the Danube Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire possible and enabled Greek
trade’s people, mostly from Macedonia,
Epirus, Thessalia and the Aegean Islands
to come to Trieste and Vienna, where they
founded a new and free existence.
The common Greek national and religious heritage now took root in Vienna as it
had previously done in Venice, Naples and
Livorno, and later Trieste, Budapest and
London, and led to the forming of a brotherhood with the intention of preserving its
own church and schools.
And so when Prince Eugene of Savoy intervened on its behalf in the year 1723, Emperor Charles VI allowed the foundation of
the “Brotherhood of Saint George”, which
was accorded responsibility for the religious
and pastoral care of the members of the
Orthodox faith living in Vienna. Empress
Maria Theresa confirmed and extended this
privilege, as did her son Emperor Joseph II,
whose “Deed of Tolerance” created the basis for the foundation of the Greek Orthodox Church Community St. George (1782),
which still exists in Vienna to this day. The
community’s church was built in 1802 on
land belonging to the von Karajan family in
Vienna’s 1st district, Griechengasse/Hafnersteig, and, funded by the Dumba family, was
later renovated within and without by the
architect Franz Wipplinger (1742 - 1812).
While the Greeks with Ottoman nationality belonged to this community, the Greeks
of the Habsburg Empire founded the community of the Holy Trinity. Both communities have been recognised by every ruler since
Joseph II.
21
St. George’s Church, Vienna
© The Greek Orthodox Church in Austria
Church of the Holy Trinity,
Vienna
The Church of the Holy Trinity has
stood on Fleischmarkt from 1787 to this
day. What is now the Greek Church in Vienna owes its present appearance to the architect Theophil von Hansen and the munificent Baron Simon von Sina. The historic
building was renovated with the support of
the Federal Office for the Preservation of
Historic Monuments and the City of Vienna,
and its façade restored to its original NeoByzantine splendour.
The Greeks in Vienna also founded their
own (national) school, which was recognised
by court decree in 1804. It is still situated on
Fleischmarkt. In the school year 2006/2007,
240 children aged between four and eighteen were enrolled and regularly attended religious and language lessons. The Greek national school in Vienna is now the oldest existing Greek school outside Greece.
The historic role that the two Greek
church communities have played in more recent history was started by those men who
from Vienna prepared the Greeks spiritually
for their revolt against Ottoman rule, which
finally led to the revolution of 1821 and
later to the founding of the free and sovereign state of Greece. The first Greek newspapers and magazines were printed in Vienna,
so that Vienna may be called the cradle of
the Greek press. Well-known Greek teachers
22
such as the priests Anthimos Gazis, Theoklitos Pharmakides and Neophytos Doukas,
the scholars Alexandrides, Davaris and Kokkinakis, and last but not least the national
hero Rigas Pherraios made Vienna the centre
of national enlightenment, which later led
to the realisation of a near 400-year-old national dream.
Among the Greek families that played
an important part in the economy and in the
cultural and political life of Vienna and the
Monarchy were the Sinas from Epirus, the
von Karajans from Kozani in Macedonia
(ancestors of the conductor Herbert von Karajan), the Dumbas from Kozani, the Princes
Ypsilanti from Constantinople and the Calafatis from Corfu, whose name is closely connected with the history of Vienna’s Prater.
Until 1918, the two Greek communities
as well as all the Orthodox of the monarchy
were subject to the spiritual jurisdiction of
the metropolitans of Sremski Karlovci and
later of Czernowitz. Simultaneously, however, like all Greeks all over the world, they
regarded the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople as their mother church and
the centre of their ecclesiastical and national
life. In 1922, the Ecumenical Patriarchate
founded the Archdiocese of Thyateira and
Exarchate for Central and Western Europe
with its seat in London. All Greek communities in Europe – including that of Vienna
– were placed under its jurisdiction. Vienna
was the seat of the Exarchate for Central
Europe from 1924 – 1936 with the legendary Metropolitan Germanos Karavangelis at its head. On 17 February 1963, the
Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
founded the Greek Oriental Metropolis of
Austria and the Exarchates of Italy and
Hungary (until 1964 also of Malta and until 1982 also of Switzerland) with seat in Vienna. Archbishop Chrysostomos Tsiter was
elected first Metropolitan of Austria. After
his resignation, Italy became a metropolis in
its own right. Tsiter’s successor as Metropolitan of Austria and Exarch of Hungary and
Central Europe was Archbishop Michael
Staikos († 2011).
The Greek Oriental Metropolis of Austria, which is responsible for the spiritual
and pastoral welfare of all Greek Orthodox
Christians living in Austria, Italy and Hungary, is statutorily acknowledged as a body
corporate under public law on the basis of
the above mentioned Orthodoxengesetz of
1967, which also extends legal recognition
to the Greek Oriental Church communities
in Vienna that are subject to the jurisdiction
of the Metropolis.
The number of followers is some 10,000
in Vienna and about 18,500 in all Austria.
Outside Vienna there are communities in
Graz, lnnsbruck, Leoben, Linz and Bregenz,
which are served by priests of the Metropolis of Austria. In the spirit of the Ecumenical Movement, the Greek Oriental Church
in Austria does much to further the dialogue
between the Christian churches within the
framework of the Pro Oriente Foundation
set up by Cardinal Franz König and the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria.
Thus the Greek Orthodox Church and with
it the churches of Serbia, Romania, Russia and Bulgaria, all represented in Vienna,
continue their religious and cultural life and
their traditions.
23
© Serbian Orthodox Church in Austria
St. Sava’s Church, Vienna
The Serbian Orthodox Church
It was not until 1860 that the Serbs living in
Vienna founded their own religious community. Up to this time they had used Vienna’s
Greek Oriental Church, which, with the help
of Serbs, among others, had been established
around 1730. From 1726 to 1863 this religious community was under the clerical authority of the Metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci. Owing to language, ethnic, and other
reasons, however, such a community was ultimately doomed to failure. Finally, a group
of wealthy patriotic Serbs – civil servants
and employees in the service of the state with
Georgije Stojković at their head – decided to
found a Serbian Orthodox community.
They turned to the Serbian Patriarch of
that time, Josif Rajačić in Sremski Karlovci,
with the request for mediation with the Emperor. The Patriarch intervened and on 27
September 1860 an Imperial Writ commissioned Stojković to set up a provisional committee and establish negotiations with the
Viennese police and the ministry. The writ
also promised the Serbian community a plot
of land for the erection of a church and a vicarage. Some thousand Serbs living in Vienna
were invited to the constituent meeting held
on 27 November 1860.
The prepared statutes were approved,
marking the start of the Serbian Orthodox
Church community in Vienna. The promised plot of land for the church was situated
24
on Franz-Josefs-Kai. Moreover, the Serbian
Community was also assigned a section of
the Viennese Central Cemetery (Serbian Section 68b) close to the third mortuary.
However, wars and crises, but also lack
of funds, delayed the realisation of these
plans. The Viennese City Council’s offer of
land on Franz-Josefs-Kai was withdrawn,
and the Serbian Orthodox Community had
to spend 27,000 gulden on a new plot at no.
3 Veithgasse in Vienna’s 3rd district. Construction of the church and the parish centre took three years, and the consecration
finally took place on 19 November 1893.
The church was dedicated to St. Sava, the
first Serbian archbishop and the founder of
the autocephalous Serbian Church. Emperor
Francis Joseph attended the ceremonial consecration. Archpriest Mihailo Mišić came to
Vienna and took up his post as the new Serbian Church’s first pastor.
The period between the consecration of
the church and the First World War may be
considered the most fruitful in the community life of Vienna’s Serbs. By the end of the
war the church had lost many of its members, economic circumstances forcing many
Serbs to return home. The church remained
open for all Serbs in the period between the
two World Wars and became an important
point of contact between the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia and the Austrian government.
Again, many Serbian immigrants came to Vienna during the Second World War.
In 1969, the Belgrade Serbian Orthodox
Patriarchate founded a diocese for Western
Europe, and the Viennese church community
was affiliated to it. In the meantime three dioceses have evolved:
••
••
••
the Diocese for Western Europe with
headquarters in Paris (France),
the Diocese for Central Europe
with headquarters in Himmelsthür
(Germany),
the Diocese for Great Britain and Scandinavia with headquarters in Stockholm
(Sweden).
Since 2002 there has been a third prayer
house for Vienna’s Serbian Orthodox community at the address Engerthstrasse 158 in
the 2nd district of Vienna. This church building, the converted premises of a former tram
depot, was consecrated to the resurrection of
Christ in a small ceremony on 26 October
2002. In 2006 the church building was expanded by a large hall and two church towers and ceremonially inaugurated on 30 September 2007.
© Serbian Orthodox Church in Austria
In 1974, a centre for Serbian Orthodox
guest workers was opened with the assistance and cooperation of various ecclesiastical organisations in Austria. It very quickly
developed into a parish meeting place which
remained the sole centre for Serbian religious, cultural and social matters in Vienna
for quite some time. This centre, the Church
of the Assumption of Virgin Mary in Vienna’s 17th district, Steinergasse 3, was renovated in 2001 and consecrated the year after
by Bishop Constantin.
Church of the Holy
Resurrection, Vienna
The church comprises 40 dioceses and metropolitanates worldwide, five of them in the
US and Canada, one each in Australia and
New Zealand, and three in Western Europe.
The Serbian Orthodox Church is a
member of the World Council of Churches
and the Conference of European Churches,
and maintains good relations with other Orthodox sister churches as well as the other
Christian churches. Moreover, it plays an
active role in strengthening ecumenical
relations.
Besides Vienna, where seven priests and
a deacon currently work in three churches,
there are Serbian parishes in Tulln, St. Pölten,
Wiener Neustadt, Enns, Linz, Gmunden,
Salzburg, Saalfelden, Kufstein, Innsbruck,
Graz, Klagenfurt and Bregenz.
Some 100,000 of Vienna’s residents of
Orthodox faith are Serbs and Roma from
the successor states of former Yugoslavia
who are still citizens of their respective native countries, while tens of thousands of
Serbs and Roma have already become Austrian citizens.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has been
providing religious education in primary, intermediate and grammar and other secondary schools since 1992.
The Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous church in full canonical unity
with all other Orthodox churches. It enjoys
the status of a patriarchate with headquarters in Belgrade. It gained autonomy in 1219
and was proclaimed a patriarchate in 1346.
25
St. Andrew’s Church, Vienna
The Romanian Orthodox Church has its
roots in the missionary activities of the holy
Apostle Saint Andrew, who preached the gospel in the old Roman province of Scythia Minor (in the south-east of what is today’s Romania). In the year 1885 the Romanian Orthodox Church became an autocephalous,
i.e. autonomous church and was declared a
patriarchate in 1925. It is a church in full
dogmatic, liturgical and canonical unity with
all other Orthodox churches.
With about 24 million members (87%
of the Romanian population) the Romanian
Orthodox Church ranks second by size after
the Moscow Patriarchate. The Holy Synod
of the Romanian Orthodox Church consists
of 53 members (the patriarch, 8 metropolitans, 5 archbishops, 24 diocesan bishops, 2
patriarchal vicar bishops, 10 vicar bishops
and 3 auxiliary bishops).
The Romanian Orthodox Church has
28 dioceses, 175 deaneries with 14,537
priests and deacons holding services in a total of 15,717 church buildings in the Romanian homeland and an additional 13 dioceses with 513 priests and deacons in the Diaspora. In Romania it has 359 monasteries
with 2,810 monks and 4,795 nuns (7,605 in
total as opposed to only 2,511 in 1989). In
addition, there are 15 theological universities (up from only two in 1989) with 12,244
students and a total of 10,479 religious education teachers inside the country. Almost
2,000 new churches have been built and 345
social assistance institutions established since
the downfall of Communism.
The Romanian Orthodox Church has
been a member of the World Council of
Churches and the Conference of European
Churches since 1961 and maintains good relations with all Orthodox churches as well
as with other Christian churches in practical witness of Christ’s intercession with the
faithful: “That all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee.” (John 17, 21).
26
© Adrian C. Nitu
The Romanian Orthodox Church
Political relations between Austria and
Romania have greatly influenced the settlement of Romanians in Austria (mainly Vienna) throughout history and in present
times. This was particularly the case at the
time when several Romanian provinces were
part of the Habsburg Empire – Transylvania (1688 - 1918), Oltenia (Little Walachia)
(1718 - 1739), Banat (1718 - 1918) and Bukovina (1775 - 1918) – and many Romanians
came to Vienna. Many of the representatives
of Romanian princes (voivods) also brought
their advisors to the Austrian capital and a
number of them took up residence there. A
number of Romanians also came to Vienna
after World War II.
Apart from political contacts, commercial ties were also established between the
two countries. Trade was already flourishing
and widespread in the 15th century. Intense
and diverse economic relations led to the
foundation of Romanian “trading companies”, with large staffs recruited from trading families and other ethnic groups. Many
of them took up permanent residence in
Vienna.
At an early stage, the Romanian community established cultural relations with Vienna. Romanian students – at first with their
names Latinised – were already enrolling at
Vienna University between the 14th and 16th
centuries (Latislaus Wolochus, 1391, Johannes dictus Oláh, 1398, Simon de Olãh, 1527,
et al).
In the last quarter of the 18th century,
when students who were members of the
Romanian Uniate Church (Greek-Catholic) were admitted to the seminary that had
been founded for them and the Ruthenians
at St. Barbara’s Church, the great Romanian scholar Samuil Micu worked as dean of
studies there.
In the following decades the flow of
Romanian students to Vienna became ever
stronger. They organised themselves into
two cultural societies which eventually, in
1871, merged into one, the famous academic-literary society “România Junã” (Young
Romania). This society brought forth a considerable number of distinguished scholars
in the fields of literature, the arts and scientific research.
© Adrian C. Nitu
In 1683, the Romanian prince Serban
Cantacuzino erected a lay-altar in the vicinity of today’s Betty-Roose-Weg (13th district,
Vienna), a spot where he, his soldiers and
his priest had said their daily prayers. Originally, Vienna’s Orthodox Romanians held
their religious services together with Orthodox worshippers of other nationalities at
“Saint George’s Chapel”, built in 1730.
In the year 1787, the Romanians built
their own church together with the Greeks
(in Vienna’s 1st district, 13 Fleischmarkt).
Emperor Francis Joseph II licensed their organisation with a special privilege that was
also confirmed by his successors: the Romanian Orthodox Church was placed under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of
Czernowitz.
Since the Romanians naturally desired to
hear their liturgy in their own language, they
then founded their own Orthodox church
community at the end of the 19th century.
As a first step in this direction, an apartment
was rented in Löwelstrasse (1st district) and
furnished as a chapel; it is still used as such
to this day. The chapel was consecrated and
opened on 7 January 1907, and placed under
the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Czernowitz. Simultaneously, a priest and a cantor were appointed and a choir was founded,
which in the beginning was under the direction of the composer and conductor Gheorghe Dima. In 1967, the old chapel was renovated, painted and fitted with a new oakpanelled iconostasis wall made of oak.
This first place of worship became the
Romanians’ religious and cultural centre in
Vienna, where a Romanian school was also
opened. The chapel soon proved to be too
small. On the occasion of the Emperor’s
birthday, prominent members of the Romanian community in Vienna founded the
“Romanian-Greek-Oriental Emperor’s Jubilee Church Construction and Church Community Foundation Club in Vienna”. For almost ten years, this association raised considerable donations and paid them into a
building fund it had set up.
Sadly, the First World War rendered the
fund assets worthless, and in the following
years the well-intentioned plan could not be
reactivated. The economic problems, and
above all devaluation, thwarted the Romanians’ wish for a church of their own. This
whish was finally realised in 2003, when the
Romanian Orthodox Church got its own
new church building including a community
27
St. Andrew’s Church
(interior view), Vienna
centre at 161 Simmeringer Hauptstrasse in
Vienna’s 11th district. This church is dedicated to Saint Andrew, the Patron Saint of
Romania. On 14 June 2009 the Saint Andrew’s church was ceremonially consecrated
by His Beatitude the Romanian Patriarch
Daniel I.
Under the Orthodoxengesetz (Law regulating Orthodox Church Communities) of
1967, Vienna’s Romanian Orthodox Church
was recognised as a body corporate under
public law. Romanian Orthodox communities were also established in Salzburg and
Graz. The Romanian Orthodox Church in
Austria is part of the Romanian Orthodox
Metropolis of Germany, Central and Northern Europe, which has been presided over
by His Eminence Metropolitan Dr. Serafim
Joantã since June 1994.
The parish plays an important role in the
ecumenical discourse. Among the prominent
visits organised by the parish were those of
the late Patriarch Justinian in the year 1968,
and the present Patriarch Teoctist in June
1987 to the Catholic Church in Austria on
the occasion of the 200-year celebration of
the recognition of the Romanian community
in Vienna by Emperor Joseph II in 1787, and
in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the
opening of the Romanian chapel.
The Romanian Orthodox parish in Vienna, which has been headed by Father
Nicolae Dura since 1993, comprises 1,200
families; Romanian tourists and people taking an interest in the Romanian Orthodox
liturgy also attend the services. The parish
also organises bible-rounds, as well as regular meetings of senior citizens and young
people. The Romanian Orthodox religion is
also taught in religious education classes in
Vienna’s state schools.
The Romanian Orthodox parish in Vienna maintains close relations with the Archdiocese of Vienna as well as with the Protestant Church, the Old Catholic Church and
the Pro Oriente Foundation. It has direct
contact with other parishes in and outside
28
Vienna, where it celebrates the liturgy and
holds church concerts and ecumenical services. There are six further Romanian Orthodox parishes in Austria, namely in Salzburg,
Graz, Linz, Knittelfeld, Klagenfurt and Feldkirch. There are three specifically Romanian
Orthodox Church buildings in Austria – Vienna, Salzburg and Knittelfeld – catering to
a Romanian Orthodox community of about
20,000 members.
© Russian Orthodox Church in Austria
The Russian Orthodox Church
The history of the Russian Orthodox Church
in Austria is closely related to the development of relations between Austria and Russia on the one hand, and to the existence of
Orthodox communities in the old Austria on
the other. Efforts to establish a Russian Orthodox Church in Vienna date back to the
time of Peter I and dragged on for many
years. Ever since the time when Austria and
Russia established diplomatic relations there
has been a “Russian colony” in Vienna, a
community of Orthodox Russians whose
spiritual welfare was first in the hands of Orthodox priests of non-Russian nationality,
Greeks and Serbs.
The first accredited Russian ambassador
to Vienna, Count Michael Bestuhev-Ryumin,
was the first to initiate steps to found a permanent Russian church in Vienna. In 1750
he reported to St. Petersburg that he had
engaged the Serbian monk-priest Michael
Bani to hold Orthodox services for himself
and his staff. The first Russian Orthodox
priest, Simeon Matveyev, came to Vienna in
1762. At first, services were held in the ambassador’s residence. In 1765 the embassy
church rented separate premises, which also
included apartments for the priest and his
staff. In this way an Orthodox community
evolved, which attracted not only Russians
but also many other Slavs living in AustriaHungary. This situation reached its peak in
the 42 years in which Archpriest Michael
Rayevskiy (1842 - 1884) resided in Vienna
as priest of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The First World War interrupted the development of the Russian Orthodox community in Vienna. St. Nicholas’ church remained shut between the two World Wars,
and was only reopened towards the end of
the Second World War. In this interim period
the community met in rented rooms that had
been adapted to accommodate services.
St. Nicholas’ church has been the seat of
the Russian Orthodox bishopric for Vienna
and Austria since 1946. By way of state recognition, the Russian Orthodox community
in Austria enjoys the status of a body corporate under public law.
The Russian Orthodox Church Community in Vienna, which also upholds close
ecumenical relations, is subordinate to the
Patriarchate of Moscow.
In this period, first plans were made
to erect a separate building for the Russian Orthodox community in Vienna, and
this plan was realised in the years 1893 1899. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas,
was erected on a plot of land that had been
bought for the Russian embassy between Reisnerstrasse, Bahngasse and the former Richardgasse (now Jauresgasse) in Vienna’s 3rd
district.
29
St. Nicholas’ Church, Vienna
© Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Austria
Icons of the apostle Matthew
and St. Mary
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Historic documents evidence Bulgarian
presence in Vienna since the middle of the
17th century. The Bulgarian Catholic Bishop
Petar Parcevich met with Emperor Ferdinand III in the autumn of 1656, and was
bestowed with an aristocratic title. Bishop
Petar Parcevich, who had taken his doctorate
in theology in Rome and spoke Greek, Latin,
Italian, Walachian, Armenian and Bulgarian,
was entrusted by the Emperor not only with
ecclesiastical missions to Bulgaria and Moldavia, but also with purely secular missions
in Warsaw, Venice, Rome and Ukraine.
Bulgaria’s trade representations in Vienna have their roots far back in history.
Merchants from Bansko, the home town of
the monk Paisij Chilendarski, who initiated
the Bulgarian National Revival with his epoch-making Slavic-Bulgarian history Istoriya
Slavyanobolgarskaya published in 1762, set
up trading establishments in Vienna as far
back as during the lifetime of the renowned
historian and used the Danube to forward
goods to the Bulgarian regions.
The efforts of the Bulgarian community
to found an independent Orthodox church in
Austria go back to the 19th century. Soon after the year 1800, merchants and emigrants
living in Vienna gave birth to this idea, but
they always met with insurmountable obstacles. One of these was the veto of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which at the time of
30
the Monarchy claimed the exclusive right to
look after the spiritual welfare of all Orthodox believers of Slavic descent. Nor could
the Viennese Bulgarians call on their authorities at home, for Bulgaria was occupied by
the Turks at the time.
One fact on which to judge the degree of
importance the Bulgarian people attached to
Austria for the development of their national
and cultural identity at that time is that of all
Bulgarian language books printed abroad,
more than half originated in Vienna. After
Bulgaria was liberated in 1878, numerous
attempts were made to found an independent, legally recognised Bulgarian Orthodox
Church in Austria, but the Balkan Wars and
the two World Wars frustrated these efforts.
During the 1960s, Patriarch Cyril of
Bulgaria (1900 - 1970) frequently visited
the Austrian capital to conduct research in
the Austrian National Library, where he collected comprehensive material that was to
form the basis for his historical writings.
However, he was not able to celebrate daily
or, above all, Sunday mass or take Holy
Communion because Vienna still lacked a
Bulgarian church. Representatives of the Bulgarian expat group in Vienna requested that
the Patriarch promote the foundation of a
church community of their own and delegate
a priest to Vienna. In 1967, their efforts were
crowned with success when Archpriest and
Professor Nikolai Zhivarov, Cyrill Todoroff,
Elisabeth Willner, Georgi Neikoff and Anissim Christoff founded the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in Austria. The first
liturgy in the Bulgarian language was celebrated on 24 December 1967 in the Russian
Orthodox Church in Vienna. A year later the
ecclesiastical council was elected, and finally,
on 10 May 1969, the Bulgarian Orthodox
Church Community named after the patron
saint Ivan Rilski was officially recognised by
the Republic of Austria.
Since 25 December 1993, the church
community has had its own church at 7
Kühn­­platz in Vienna’s 4th district, where religious services are held in Church Slavonic,
Bulgarian and German. Since 1990, Archpriest Vicar Ivan Petkin, who also directs the
Vienna parish, has represented the Bulgarian
Orthodox Church in Austria. The number of
Bulgarian nationals of Orthodox creed living
in Austria has risen sharply in recent years to
more than 35,000 at present. The church at
Kühnplatz has become too small for the ever
growing community. In a solemn ceremony
held on 1 November 2005 the community officially launched an initiative aimed at establishing a Bulgarian church large enough to
accommodate the large number of believers.
The Bulgarian community, which
emerged from a colony of Bulgarian gardeners who established themselves in Austria between the beginning and the middle of the
20th century, today comprises more than 60
medical doctors, university professors, graduate business managers and engineers of
both sexes. Hundreds of young people are
pursuing their studies at different universities
in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz and
Linz. World-famous opera singers (Ljuba
Welitsch, Spas Wenkoff or Xenia Wenkova,
for instance), conductors (Ruslan Raitshev,
Tmil Tchakarov, among others), instrumentalists and directors impress and enthuse
music lovers on Vienna’s operatic and philharmonic stages and at other theatres in the
Austrian capital and provinces. A prominent
member of the Bulgarian community in Austria is Stoimen Stoilov, an internationally renowned artist whose works are on show in
international and Austrian exhibitions (e.g.
Albertina, Federal Chancellery, Hofburg imperial palace in Vienna).
Franz König, the Austrian Focolare Movement and, above all, good relations with the
Austrian Roman Catholic Church reached
a high in May 2005, when Cardinal Christoph Schönborn donated the relics of seven
saints to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
The relics were to be installed in newly built
churches in the Bulgarian dioceses of Varna
and Veliki Preslav. This was a further gesture
of brotherly love in the sense of the Christian unity promoted by Pope Benedict XVI
on the part of Cardinal Schönborn, who enjoys high esteem within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
In Vienna and Salzburg the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community, together with the Austrian-Bulgarian Society,
Pro Oriente, the Austrian Focolare Movement and the Salzburg Military Commander’s Office co-organised numerous concerts
highly appreciated by the friends of Orthodox church music. By building religious and
cultural bridges, the Bulgarian Orthodox
Church seeks to contribute to a better mutual understanding and to the deepening of
cultural unification in Europe.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in Austria is part of the Bulgarian Diocese of Western and Central Europe. The
Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community St.
Ivan Rilski is a member of the Austrian Ecumenical Council of Churches and, through
its priests, social workers and believers,
takes an active interest in all events and initiatives dedicated to the unity of Christian
churches, as well as organising such meetings
and events itself. Good relations with the
Pro Oriente Foundation set up by Cardinal
31
© Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria
Today this church is known as the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Holy See of
the Armenian Apostolic Church. This spiritual centre is near the capital of Armenia.
Armenian Church, Vienna
2.4 The Armenian Apostolic
Church in Austria
The Armenian Apostolic Church is so
named in commemoration of the fact that
the Christian faith was first brought to Armenia by the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew. Formal recognition came in 301.
At the time, a group of young Christian
women, including the beautiful Hripsime,
fled to Armenia, hoping that they would find
religious freedom there. When Hripsime rejected the advances of Armenia’s pagan King
Tiridates III because he was not a Christian,
the King had her and most of her companions tortured and killed. However, when he
realised what he had done, he was overcome
with remorse and fell seriously ill. On the advice of his sister, King Tiridates spoke to Gregory (later known as Gregory the Illuminator), a Christian monk whom he had been
holding prisoner for many years due to his
Christian faith. With God’s help, Gregory
converted Tiridates, who for the first time in
history proclaimed Christianity as the official
state religion for an entire country. Shortly
thereafter Jesus Christ revealed to Gregory
the exact location where he should build a
church.
32
A wall mosaic adjacent to the door of
the Armenian Apostolic St. Hripsime Church
in Vienna depicts the martyr’s victory over
Tiridates. St. Gregory the Illuminator and
St. Hripsime are honored figures in the Armenian Apostolic Church. St. Gregory is
also recognised as a saint in other Orthodox
churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is a
consciously traditional church. Its traditions and cumulative wisdom are still relevant, vibrant and applicable today. The
Holy Masses are celebrated in the Old Armenian language. Many of the liturgical texts,
whose strength is drawn from the past and
the promise of eternity to come, date back to
the first few centuries after Christ.
Holy Communion is received by the
members of the congregation after private
preparation and a public confession. The
Host (called nashkar) is dipped into the
communion wine, and the kneeling (serving)
priest presents it to each communicant directly from the chalice. By virtue of the one
baptism mentioned in the Nicene Creed, all
Christians are welcome to take communion.
The sacrament of the Eucharist is generally
offered during each mass, with the exception
of those during the Great Lent period before
Easter.
The term “sacrament” is of Latin origin and means, among other things, dedication or consecration. The Armenian term is
խորհուրդ/khorhurd, meaning “mystery”.
The sacramental rites make use of signs and
symbols; but while the concrete, outer ones
are obvious, the inner reception of God’s
grace – which is the essence of the rite – is
a sacred and inexplicable process. The Armenian Apostolic Church recognises seven
sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion, Holy Matrimony, Ordination and Anointing of the Sick. Confirma-
tion and First Communion are normally celebrated during Baptism, which is typically
administered using water and Myron (Holy
Oil).
Only men are ordained as priests, and
there are both married and celibate priests.
The highest office which a married priest
can exercise is that of Kahana. More senior
positions in the church hierarchy, including
that of Vardapet (ecclesiastical scholar and
guardian of the Church traditions), Bishop,
Patriarch and Catholicos, are reserved for
celibate clergy. The highest office attainable
for women is that of deaconess. There are
only a few nuns in Etchmiadzin; there is also
only a small number of monks living in monasteries in Armenia.
In addition to the Holy See in Etchmiadzin, the Armenian Apostolic Church has
three spiritual centres: the Catholicosate of
the Great House of Cilicia located in Antelias near Beirut (Lebanon), the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Patriarchate of
Constantinople. Since 1999, His Holiness
Karekin II has held the office of Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians at
the Holy See in Etchmiadzin. This office is
the highest one in the Armenian Apostolic
Church. The Catholicoi are elected by clergy
and laymen.
From the beginning, the Church has
played a decisive role in Armenian culture,
language and identity. Despite long periods under – often brutal – foreign rule, the
Church was successful not only in maintaining these aspects of Armenian life but also
developing and strengthening them. The Armenian Church has always been conscious of
its Christian role as servant to the believers.
At the beginning of the 5th century, it made
an important contribution to the nation’s
cultural and historical advancement when
the monk Mesrob Mashtots was commissioned to develop a script for the Armenian
language. This helped to spread the Gospel
among the Armenians more effectively, and
made it possible for them to experience their
religion in their own language. In AD 405
the Armenian alphabet was created within a
short period of time. This alphabet is, with
only minor modifications, still in use today.
Աա Բբ Գգ Դդ Եե Զզ Էէ Ըը Թթ
Ժժ Իի Լլ Խխ Ծծ Կկ Հհ Ձձ Ղղ
Ճճ Մմ Յյ Նն Շշ Ոո Չչ Պպ Ջջ
Ռռ Սս Վվ Տտ Րր Ցց ՈՒու Փփ Քք
- Եւև Օօ Ֆֆ One of the Church’s highly respected
traditions is the running of local schools to
educate the children specifically in the Armenian religion, language and culture. As
the hardships and tribulations of their history have made the Armenians a Diaspora
people, they have taken their Church everywhere. In countries far away from the homeland, the Armenian schools are an important
complement to local state schools, teaching
the young about their heritage.
The history of the Armenians in Austria goes back to the 16th century. Originally a very small community composed
mainly of merchants in the service of Austria’s Habsburg rulers, the number of Armenians in the country has been growing
since then. The Armenian Apostolic Church
in Austria received de facto recognition towards the end of the 18th century. The congregation’s first major efforts to establish its
own place of worship were initiated in the
late 19th century. A chapel was established in
the centre of Vienna (Dominikanerbastei 10)
in December 1912 under the leadership of
the priest Aristakes Fesslian from Suczawa.
As more and more Armenians settled in Vienna, the desire for a proper church building grew until in 1964 the building in Vienna’s 3rd district (Kolonitzgasse 11) and the
accompanying land were purchased with the
intention of erecting a church in the courtyard. At this time, Rose Tricky of London,
by birth an Armenian from Smyrna whose
maiden name was Hripsime Haladjian, was
visiting in Vienna. Deeply moved by her experiences during the Armenian masses she
had attended here, she offered to sponsor the
church building. The foundation stone was
laid on 28 June 1964 in a ceremony which
33
The modern Armenian
alphabet: The 36 basic letters
with 3 additions for phonemes
from other languages
Rose Tricky personally attended. On this
very same day – seemingly quite by coincidence – a group of architects from Yerevan
happened to be visiting Vienna. One member
of the group was the architect Eduard Sarabian, who spontaneously offered to draw up
the plans for the church building. The Viennese architect Walter Dürschmied was commissioned to execute the project. Many Armenians – both individuals and community
groups – from all over the world made donations towards the cost of construction. In
due course, the Church of St. Hripsime – a
name that combines long tradition and modern relevance – was solemnly consecrated on
21 April 1968.
The Republic of Austria added the Armenian Apostolic Church to its list of officially
recognised religious communities on 12 December 1972. In 1981 the Hovhannes Shiraz
Saturday School was founded to provide an
institution of learning for children of Armenian families in Vienna.
Since the end of 2007, Ter Andreas Isakhanyan has been the priest in charge of
the Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria,
which belongs to the patriarchal delegature for Central Europe and Sweden. About
7,000 Armenians currently live in Austria,
3,000 of them in the capital Vienna. In addition to the Armenian community in Vienna,
there are also younger communities in Graz
and Linz.
The Armenian Apostolic Church in
Austria maintains close ties not only with its
sister congregations abroad, but also with
other religious denominations and communities. It is a member of the “Ecumenical
Council of Churches in Austria” and is ecumenically active in various areas as well as
through its intensive decades-long collaboration with “Pro Oriente”.
34
© Syrian Orthodox Church in Austria
2.5 The Syrian Orthodox Church in
Austria
The Syrian Orthodox Church is one of the
early Christian churches that has its roots in
the missionary work of the Apostles Paul,
Barnabas and Peter at Antioch and the Apostles Thaddeus and Thomas at Edessa. To this
day, liturgies are mostly held in Aramaic.
Until the Council of Ephesus in the year
431, its ecclesiastical development proceeded
in accordance with that of the churches of
Rome and of Constantinople. In the 5th century, theological and political controversies
caused the Patriarchate of Antioch to reject
the resolutions reached by the Council of
Chalcedon in 451 and to found its own ecclesiastical tradition which differed from the
other patriarchates of the Catholic Church.
Although not so clearly evident as in some
other church developments, in the past the
views of the Syrian Orthodox Church were
held in the Occident to be monophysitic. In
the light of today’s ecumenical efforts it has
been repeatedly explained that the church
only stresses the identity of Jesus as the Son
of God, and that this had been interpreted as
monophysitic, even though it was fully in line
with the resolutions of the Council of Ephesus in Christological terms. The rejection of
the resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon
had, much rather, been due to political circumstances in the Middle East.
Chorepiscopos), who studied theology in
Turkey, the Lebanon, Vienna and Rome; in
Rome he also studied ecclesiastical law and
civil law, and he still works in various areas
of pastoral care. In 1974, the Syrian Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East founded a
Syrian Orthodox Church in Vienna, and in
the same year the community was admitted
to the Ecumenical Council of Churches in
Austria. The Archdiocese of Vienna placed
the old Lainz parish church at the community’s disposal, where religious services are
held to this day. Currently, the community
also operates a cultural centre in the 21st district of Vienna.
The followers of the Syrian Orthodox
Church today mainly live in Eastern Turkey, Syria, Iraq and the Lebanon, as well as
in Australia, India, and in South and North
America.
Since the mid-seventies the number of
members of the Syrian Orthodox Church
has increased from around 500 to more than
5,000 today. This growth was partly due to
new Syrian Orthodox Christians immigrating from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq,
and partly to the fact that the community’s
early members had meanwhile started families. Almost 95 percent of today’s members
have since acquired Austrian citizenship.
At the beginning of the 1960s, numerous Turkish migrant workers moved to Austria with their families. Many of them came
to work in the textile industry, and, in the
Vienna area, also in horticultural enterprises.
Their spiritual care has been in the hands of
a priest from Eastern Turkey, Vicar-General
Abuna (i.e. Father) Emanuel Aydin (today
In ecclesiastical terms, the Viennese
community of the Syrian Orthodox Church
of Antioch, under the Statute of the Syrian
Orthodox Church of Antioch dated 15 November 1981, is subordinated to the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East with headquarters in Damascus. By the same token,
the statutes of the community councils of
35
Holy Mass of the Syrian
Orthodox Church
all the dioceses belonging to the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch of 14 September
2002 are valid for the Vienna community.
In spite of its name, the Syrian Orthodox Church is not an “Orthodox” church
within the meaning of the federal law regarding the external legal position of the Greek
Oriental Church in Austria. It is rather an
Old Oriental, or non-Chalcedonic Church,
one of the oldest known Christian religious
communities. In the past 25 years the Syrian
Orthodox Church has been able to maintain
itself independently and tend to the religious
needs of its parishioners. Until further communities are founded, the community’s district extends to all of Austria. The community council consists of twelve Austrian citizens.
36
© Coptic Orthodox Church in Austria
2.6 The Coptic Orthodox Church in
Austria
The Coptic Orthodox Church is the oldest
church in Africa, whose members see themselves in the tradition of descendants of the
ancient Egyptians. It traces its origins to
Saint Mark the Apostle, who founded the
Church in Alexandria in the year 61. The
Church in Egypt is also seen as the cradle
of Christian monasticism. It was there that
Saint Anthony the Great founded the monastic tradition and laid the foundations of
monastic life with its rules of chastity, obedience and voluntary poverty. From Egypt
this way of life spread throughout the whole
world. Another leading Coptic Church Father was Saint Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, who formulated the Nicene Creed
that is recognised by all Christians throughout the world and vigorously opposed the
heretic Arian. In the 3rd and 4th century after
Christ, the Coptic Church became a church
of martyrs. The situation only improved in
the 4th century in the era of Constantine the
Great, who allowed the Christians greater
freedom. The Council of Chalcedon in 451
declared monophysitism heretical, leading
to the schism between the Oriental Orthodox Churches, of which the Coptic Church
is one, and the Western Church. The Coptic Church retained its doctrine of the perfect
unity of the two perfect natures of Christ,
the divine and the human. The Coptic Orthodox Church shares full ecclesiastical and
sacramental community with the other Oriental Orthodox Churches. In the 7th century there were already around seven million
Coptic Christians in Egypt.
It was not until the 20th century that
the almost 2000-year-old Coptic Church
opened out beyond Egypt and developed
into a world church. A global ecclesiastical
hierarchy was established to care for the emigrant Copts and around 150 churches were
founded worldwide – in Europe, the USA,
Canada and Australia.
The Coptic Orthodox Church observes
the seven sacraments of Baptism, Chrismation, the Eucharist, Repentance and Confession, Holy Orders, Holy Matrimony and
Anointing of the Sick. Baptism is usually administered to infants by immersing the baby
three times in the holy water. The ecclesiastical year begins on 12 September according to the Coptic calendar and is marked by
seven major feasts: Nativity (on 7 January),
Epiphany (Appearance of the Holy Trinity),
Annunciation, Palm Sunday, Easter, Ascension Day and Pentecost. Great importance is
also attached to the veneration of the Holy
Virgin Mary, the apostles, martyrs and other
saints.
In the 20th and early 21st centuries the
Coptic Church underwent a phase of new
development triggered by Pope Cyril IV. In
1971 the accession of Pope and Patriarch
Shenouda III, who has his seat in Cairo,
marked the beginning of a golden era: not
only has the number of faithful increased
since that date, but there is also a growing
new generation entering the Coptic monasteries, churches and theological colleges. Today, at least 12 million people worldwide belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The Coptic Church community in Austria was established in 1976 under the leadership of Father John Elbaramosy, who was
also responsible for the care of the Copts in
37
Youth work is of special
importance in the Coptic
Orthodox Church
Switzerland, Denmark and Germany. At that
time there were only a few Coptic families
in Austria, most of whom had come to the
country in the 1960s as students or businesspeople. In the early years the Copts were initially guests of the Greek Orthodox Church,
then of the Catholic Church in Wagramer
Strasse in Vienna’s 22nd municipal district.
In particular, Father John was able to forge
a close relationship with the Abbey of the
Scots in Vienna, in whose monastery he lived
as a guest for 25 years and where he was also
able to receive visiting members of his Coptic community.
Today, the Coptic community in Austria comprises some several thousand believers, most of whom live in Vienna and Graz,
but also in Linz, Klagenfurt and Salzburg.
Since the year 2000 the community has been
led by Bishop Gabriel, whose pastoral area
includes eastern Switzerland as well as Austria. Five priests assist him in caring for the
Austrian Coptic community.
With the growing size of the Coptic religious community, the need to build a separate Coptic church became increasingly
acute. In a solemn ceremony held on 25
April 1998, Pope and Patriarch Shenouda III
was finally able to lay the foundation stone
for the church at 4-6 Quadenstrasse in the
22nd municipal district of Vienna. Reflecting
the Coptic tradition, the building unites the
art of East and West. The special atmosphere
has its origins in the legacy of Pharaonic culture – today’s Copts see themselves as the inheritors of the ancient Egyptian artistic tradition. Pharaonic art lives on in the Coptic
monasteries, churches, paintings, frescoes,
icons and woodwork; the Coptic hymns can
be traced back to ancient Egyptian melodies that have been furnished with new substance. The music of the pharaohs has thus
remained alive in the Coptic Church.
In Graz too the Copts were able to acquire their own church through the conversion of an old factory building at 246 Wiener
Strasse.
38
Since monasticism plays a central role
in the Coptic faith, the Coptic religious community purchased Obersiebenbrunn Castle (Lower Austria), a former residence of
Prince Eugene of Savoy, in November 2001.
The castle will not only be used as a monastery, but is also to house an ecumenical centre and a theological college.
The legal position of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Austria has also been improved. In April 2003 the law governing the
“External Legal Relationships of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in Austria” (Oriental Churches Act), which granted the Coptic Orthodox Church the status of a corporation under public law, entered into force.
This act created a uniform legal basis for the
Oriental Orthodox Churches in Austria and
thus placed the Coptic Church on an equal
footing with the two other Oriental Orthodox Churches in Austria, namely the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church.
© Old Catholic Church of Austria
2.7 The Old Catholic Church of
Austria
The Old Catholic Church arose from the opposition amongst Catholics to the two dogmas of papal infallibility and episcopal omnipotence (supreme jurisdiction) of the Pope,
which were pronounced generally binding at the First Vatican Council of 1870.
Those Catholics who for reasons of faith did
not accept these dogmas called themselves
“Old Catholics,” as they declared their allegiance to the one, undivided, ancient, Catholic and Apostolic Church of the first centuries. An “Old Catholic Action Committee”
was formed, whose representatives – among
them the Munich provost and church historian Ignaz von Döllinger – gathered in Munich at the First Old Catholic Congress in
1871 and deliberated further steps.
In Austria, the city hall chapel of St.
Salvator in Vienna’s 1st district was turned
over to the “Anti-Vatican Catholics” by City
Council resolution of 6 October 1871, enabling Father Alois Anton to celebrate the first
Old Catholic mass in this church on 15 October 1871. The next day Cardinal Rauscher
issued a local interdict of the St. Salvator
chapel, which stayed in force until Cardinal Franz König lifted it in 1969. Other Old
Catholic services were held in Warnsdorf in
Northern Bohemia (16 October 1871) and in
Ried/Innkreis (Christmas Day 1871). These
three towns became the centres of the church
communities that formed in the following
years. It was only after several attempts and
protracted negotiations that the Royal and
Imperial Minister for Religious Affairs and
Education finally recognised the Old Catholic Church in Austria per decree dated 18
October 1877.
At the first regular synod (5 May 1879)
the draft of the church constitution, the “Synodal and Community Order”, submitted by
Professor von Schulte was approved and the
synod council elected. Carl Linder was appointed its first president. The synod assem-
bly of 9 June 1879 passed several reforms
such as the participation of laymen in determining church and community matters, the
introduction of the vernacular in religious
services and the abolition of compulsory celibacy and obligatory auricular confession.
It was not until 1888 that the Old Catholic Church was given its own episcopal administrator in the person of Father Amandus
(Milos) Czech; permission to elect a bishop
had been denied by the state on the grounds
that the funds available for this seemed inadequate. In 1896, the bishopric of Vienna
was transferred to Warnsdorf (Northern Bohemia, now Czech Republic). Although the
Old Catholic Church had to contend with
many difficulties in the first decades of its existence (lack of priests, great distances separating the believers, financial problems),
the number of adherents increased appreciably in the following years. In 1901 a branch
community was established in Graz, which
became an independent community as early
as 1909. In 1904 a filial community of the
Ried/lnnkreis community was set up in Linz.
With the collapse of the Danube Monarchy,
the three remaining church communities on
Austrian territory, Vienna, Ried/Innkreis and
Graz, were amalgamated into a single independent bishopric and the cultural affairs department of the Ministry of the Interior and
Education bestowed its approval in a decree
issued on 26 March 1921. Father Adalbert
Schindelar was appointed episcopal administrator and was elected and consecrated
bishop in 1924. In 1922 Salzburg, which had
39
Election of the bishop at the
Extraordinary Synod 2007
hitherto belonged to Ried, achieved the status of an independent church community.
After 1938, the Old Catholic Church of
Austria and later also that of former Czechoslovakia were unified with the “Catholic Church of the Old Catholics of the German Reich” under the laws of the German
Reich. This enforced union brought about a
number of changes. Firstly, new church tax
regulations and a central church tax authority had to be set up, and the “Synodal and
Community Order” had to be adapted to the
changed circumstances. At the same time the
whole church administration was centralised. In the 1940s the Vienna church community was divided into six independent communities. After the war, the biggest problems
consisted in the need to restore the damaged
places of worship and to build new ones to
replace those that had fallen victim to bombs.
The financial situation was more than critical, but fortunately foreign churches came to
the Austrians’ aid. Only with the “Federal
Law concerning financial support to the Old
Catholic Church” (1960) did a certain consolidation take place. In 1980, the Old Catholic Church of Austria obtained a new constitution, which was approved by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Arts on
11 December 1980.
The Old Catholic Church, which has
some 18,000 members in Austria, is a territorial church. Its constitution is episcopal
and synodal, which means that the management and administration of the church are in
the hands of the bishop in cooperation with
the priests and laymen (of both sexes) elected
to the synod council.
The bishop is elected by the synod and
subsequently consecrated by an Old Catholic archbishop or bishop assisted by two
other bishops in the apostolic succession.
The bishop is responsible for the spiritual
guidance of the church, the care and preservation of the confessional foundations and
the liturgy. The ministry is divided into three
levels: the deacon, the priest, and the bishop.
According to the synodal resolutions of 1991
40
and 1995, the ministry is open to women as
well. The synod council assists the bishop
in administrative matters, especially the administration of property. The bishop and the
synod council together form the church government. The synod council consists of three
ecclesiastical and six lay members, who are
elected by the synod for a period of six years.
The bishop and the president of the synod
council are the external representatives of
the church.
The synod is the supreme legislative assembly of the church, and it convenes every
three years. Entitled to vote are the bishop,
the priests, the synodal lay councillors and
the deputies of the community members,
who must be lay persons and may also be
of either sex. Motions can be brought in by
the bishop, the ecclesiastical conference, the
synod council and the church communities.
The Old Catholic Church of Austria today consists of twelve church communities.
The priest is assisted by the parochial church
council, to which at least three, at most fifteen church councillors of both sexes belong.
The community meeting, which consists of
all adult members of the church community,
has the right to submit motions to the synod
and elects the priest, the church councillors
and the deputies to the synod (consisting of
men and women).
The Old Catholic Church of Austria belongs to the Utrecht Union. This is the union of the independent Old Catholic territorial churches represented in the union
by their bishops. Its basic principle is the
“Utrecht Declaration of 1889” and the catholicity of the office and the liturgy that
the churches have in common. The bishops
and their theological advisors regularly meet
at the International Old Catholic Bishops’
Conference (IBC), and their ex officio president is the Archbishop of Utrecht. The IBC
is responsible for all questions pertaining to
the preservation of the community of Old
Catholic Churches and their relations with
other churches. It is entitled to issue tutorial exegeses in the name of the Old Catholic
religious community and to enter into agreements with other churches.
These decisions can only be taken with
the full agreement of all bishops and with
the full approval of each bishop’s local community. Only after such a definitive search
for a broad consensus followed by the acceptance of the parishioners may resolutions reached by the IBC become binding
and be brought into force in accordance
with the Church’s constitution. This implies
that resolutions of the IBC do not necessarily have to be implemented by all member
churches of the Utrecht Union in exactly the
same way or at exactly the same time. International Old Catholic congresses take place
every four years. An International Old Catholic Theologians’ Conference convenes every
year. In addition, there are an International
Liturgic Commission, an International Old
Catholic Forum of Laymen, an Old Catholic-Anglican Bishops’ Conference and an Old
Catholic-Anglican Theologians’ Conference,
all of which deal with matters of common
concern.
41
Evangelical Methodist Church
in Austria
Church Center Vienna, WienFünfhaus
The Methodist churches emerged from a religious revivalist movement within the Anglican Church in the 18th century. The initiator of this movement was the Anglican pastor and Oxford professor of theology, John
Wesley (1703–1791). He was an active and
very successful missionary in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. As a result of the
Enlightenment and the start of the industrial
revolution, England was undergoing profound social change. John Wesley primarily
addressed his message to the underprivileged
working classes, for whom the tenets of the
church did not have much significance. Wesley preached in city streets and in the open
countryside. The central message of his sermons was a call for a life based on love and
service to one’s fellow men. Wesley’s constant battle against social grievances has remained a central feature of Methodism to
this day. It was partly due to Wesley, for example, that England became the first country
to ban the slave trade by act of parliament.
The religious revivalist movement within
the Anglican Church became an independent church in the newly proclaimed United
States in the year 1784. With Wesley’s approval, the Methodist Episcopal Church was
constituted in Baltimore at Christmas 1784,
and the Methodist movement spread quickly
throughout the whole world. When John
Wesley died in 1791, there were 135,000
Methodists. By the year 2000, the Methodist religious community had 70 million members in 130 countries. The Methodist Church
in Austria is part of the United Methodist
Church (which is the official worldwide designation of the Methodist Church).
The United Methodist Church is represented in many countries all over the world
and is part of the one Church of Jesus Christ,
to which it professes together with all Christians of the Apostles’ Creed. For this reason anyone may take part in the life of the
church, regardless of race, colour, country of
42
© Methodist Church in Austria
2.8 The Methodist Church in
Austria
origin and social standing. The United Methodist Church, as part of “the Holy, Universal, Apostolic Church,” believes that the
Lord of the Church calls all Christians to
unity, and it strives for this unity in all walks
of church life.
The Methodist Church in Austria currently has 1,300 members in ten communities
in Vienna, Graz, St. Pölten, Linz, Ried/Innkreis, Salzburg and Bregenz. Methodist work
in Austria began in 1870 in Vienna with the
preacher Christian Dieterle, and state recognition was accorded in 1951. In its latest
amendment, the Constitution states:
••
••
••
••
••
Article 1. (1) The church bears the title
“Methodist Church in Austria.”
(2) It consists of a single religious community compliant with the state laws
recognising religious communities and
extends its activities to the whole federal territory of the Republic of Austria.
Its headquarters is in Vienna.
(3) The Methodist Church in Austria is part of the worldwide Methodist
Church.
Article 2. (1) The tenets of faith of the
United Methodist Church are laid down
in the Church Order.
(2) The United Methodist Church is
a Protestant church. Its creed is based
on the Holy Bible as the foundation
of Christian faith, guide to Christian
life and revelation of everything required to partake in eternal happiness. It
upholds the Apostles’ Creed and hence
professes belief in the One Holy Christian Church.
The Annual Conferences are the basic
bodies of the Methodist Church. In general
they are made up of equal numbers of clergy
and lay persons. With their ordination, the
clergymen and women become lifelong members of the Annual Conference. The lay representatives are elected by the district conferences for a period of four years. The entire work of the Methodist Church in Austria is organised within the framework of the
Annual Conference. The exact functions of
the Annual Conference are laid down in Articles 5 to 8 of the Constitution of the Methodist Church in Austria in accordance with
the rules of the Methodist Church. The Annual Conference is always presided over by a
bishop. The bishop responsible for Austria,
Patrick Streiff, has his seat in Zurich, Switzerland. In his absence he is represented by
the Superintendent.
Several Annual Conferences are united
in a Central Conference. Among other
things, the Central Conferences are responsible for the election of the bishops and the
© Methodist Church in Austria
The internal structure of the Methodist
Church can only be comprehended in combination with the institution of conferences.
Conferences are advisory and legislative
bodies. They constitute the structure of the
church and coordinate its diverse activities
in a meaningful way. At the local level a conference consists mainly of laymen, whereas
at all other levels (regional and worldwide)
the clergy and the laity are equally represented. This conference structure allows the
Methodist Church simultaneously to combine extensive freedom at the local level with
responsibility for the entire church. The local communities convene in district conferences and through these are integrated into
the Annual Conference (Synod) and the entire Methodist Church. The district conference comprises all members of the local community who assume any kind of responsibility or perform tasks within it. The district
conference assembles at least once a year under the chairmanship of its superintendent.
On these occasions the ministers and all lay
assistants report on their activities.
assignment of their tasks. The Annual Conferences chaired by a bishop form a diocese. The bishop is answerable to the Central Conference for the administration of his
or her office. The highest authority at the
global level is the General Conference. It is
responsible for legislation in all matters regarding the church. The Central Conference
and the General Conference convene every
four years. Currently there are three Central Conferences in Europe. The Methodist Church in Austria belongs to the Central
Conference of Central and Southern Europe,
which comprises Annual Conferences in the
following countries: Algeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Macedonia, Austria,
Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, Slovakia, the
Czech Republic and Hungary. The Methodist Church is a founding member of the
Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria.
Since 1990 it has been in full table and pulpit fellowship with the Protestant Church A.
and H.C., which implies mutual recognition
of the ordination and cooperation in many
fields (e.g. religious education).
From its very beginnings, the Methodist
Church has, in a time characterised by loss
of faith, always regarded it as its first and
foremost task to invite people to enter into
a relationship with God and to spread salvation in all countries on the basis of the Scriptures. In the understanding of the Methodist
Church, this salvation finds expression in a
life which assumes responsibility in politics,
society, culture, and the family, and is based
on the love of God and all men.
43
Mess in Wien-Fünfhaus,
Vienna
of the church in what is now the Republic of
Austria.
2.9 The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in Austria
God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ,
are at the centre of worship of the Latterday Saints and their church theology. Jesus Christ died on the cross to redeem mankind of all sin. The members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrate
Christmas and Easter in the same way as all
other Christians. Their sacred scriptures include the standard works of the Bible and
the Book of Mormon, who is considered a
further witness of Jesus Christ.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints – also known under the name of
“the Mormons” – was founded in the northeast of the United States on 6 April 1830.
The church’s headquarters is in Salt Lake
City, Utah. The first community of Latterday Saints in Austria was founded in Haag
am Hausruck in 1901; in 1955 the church
was officially recognised in Austria.
© Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Only a few years after the church’s
foundation, the first missionaries arrived
on the European continent via England. A
Mormon named Orson Hyde came to Austria in 1841. He was a member of the leading body of the church, the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles. In 1883, missionaries were
sent to Vienna. In the same year the first baptism was performed in Lambach, Upper Austria. Paul Haslinger became the first member
Speech at the Sunday Mass
44
Around the turn of the century, a
farmer by the name of Johann Huber lived
in the village of Rottenbach, near Haag am
Hausruck in Upper Austria. One day an old
school friend, the carpenter Martin Ganglmayer, came to see him. The two friends
had a most interesting conversation. Martin
Ganglmayer had emigrated to America and
had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there. Johann Huber was fascinated by what he heard, and on 27 April
1900 he was baptised in Munich.
Huber made no secret of his conversion
and very soon everyone in the neighbourhood knew about it. Harassment and persecution were the result. The Michelmeier
farmhouse in Rottenbach was the first meetinghouse. It was not until the end of the First
World War, when the provisions of the Peace
Treaty of Saint-Germain relating to religion
came into force, that the uproar subsided.
The community established its centre in
Haag am Hausruck and could now develop
more freely, but religious services were still
disrupted and church members driven from
their homes.
From the turn of the century until the
beginning of the First World War, a few missionaries were active in Vienna. A small community came into being and the membership
rose from 21 to 46 persons. In 1914, the
missionaries were recalled to America and
shortly afterwards the community was dissolved. In 1920 the Viennese community was
reinstated, and has existed ever since.
Excepting a few single early conversions, regular missionary work was begun in
the provincial capitals of Linz and Salzburg
only after the First World War. The communities in Graz, Klagenfurt, Innsbruck, Dornbirn, Bruck/Mur, Wels, St. Pölten and Wiener
Neustadt were founded after the Second
World War. The church was formally recognised by a decree issued by the Federal Ministry of Education on 27 September 1955.
© Frank Helmrich
The first church building was erected
1937 in Haag am Hausruck, and another
in Salzburg in 1953. The church’s first own
community hall in Vienna was consecrated
in 1961, and other community premises in
Vienna and other places in Austria followed.
All these were built without public-sector assistance. In 1988 the church owned 13 community halls and cultural centres.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints in Austria is divided into two districts known as “stakes” (“Pfähle”). The Vienna-Austria Stake was founded on 20 April
1980 and embraces the provinces of Vienna,
Burgenland, Lower Austria and Styria. The
Salzburg-Austria Stake followed on 19 January 1997, and embraces the provinces of Upper Austria, Salzburg, Carinthia and Tyrol.
Vorarlberg is internally organised as a separate stake. A stake embraces several church
communities (wards) and functions autonomously. The head of the stake is the president, who is assisted by two advisors. Lay
priests manage the stakes and wards in an
honorary capacity.
The worldwide membership of the
church as of the end of 2008 was 13.5 million. In Austria there are 17 church communities with almost 3,900 members. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
is presided over by the Austrian Community
Council, which has its seat in Vienna.
The First Presidency, consisting of three
men and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is in charge of the global administration
of the church and lays down its guidelines.
The First Presidency has its seat in Salt Lake
City. The First Presidency and members of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles travel all
over the world, meeting with local members
and other church leaders.
The bishop is the leader of a community in an honorary capacity. He is mainly
concerned with the pastoral care of the community members and charity work. In these
tasks he is assisted by church officials (men,
women, and young people), who also ac-
tively contribute to community life without remuneration. A well-organised visitation schedule helps the bishop support needy
members and people in distress. The bishop
cooperates closely with the chairwoman of
the community’s women’s organisation. An
outstanding feature of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints is that all community members take an active part in community work.
The bishop is married and exercises
his office alongside his profession. Bernd
Scheuch, Bishop of the Graz community on
his responsible position: “I can only speak
for myself, but I wouldn’t know how to help
or advise people or provide support in family
matters if I didn’t know the beauties and the
challenges of partnership, the joys and problems with children or working life from own
experience.”
The church demands that its members
emulate Jesus Christ’s example and treat
their fellow men with brotherly love and
tolerance. The church implements charity
projects for people in need in Austria and the
world at large. Welfare programmes support
individuals in their development. Health
rules advise members to eschew alcohol, nicotine and drugs. The church teaches the importance of abiding by the law and respecting the state.
The family plays a central role in the
church, which teaches that the principles of a
Christian life are best exemplified and practised within the family. The parents’ responsibility is strongly emphasised. The church
45
Church headquarters in Austria, Vienna
particularly recommends family prayers and
a weekly family evening that allows regular open dialogue between the generations.
Values such as honesty and brotherly love
should be stressed and passed on from the
parents to the children.
An excerpt from the publication “The
Family – A Proclamation to the World”
reads: “We call upon responsible citizens
and officers of government everywhere to
promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.” This proclamation
was promulgated by the President of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
on 23 September 1995.
46
In response to the consequences of the
French Revolution (1789-1793), the early
19th century saw a revival of spiritual life and
deepening of religiousness among believers
all across Europe. Christian groups prayed
that the Holy Spirit would again pour forth
and new apostles would be sent. The two
first communities of the new apostolic faith
emerged in Albury and London (England).
From these beginnings in the latter half of
the 19th century sprang the New Apostolic
Church. New Apostolic Christians have
been living in Austria for about 100 years.
The New Apostolic Church was officially
recognised by the state in 1975.
Religious values and traditions
The New Apostolic Church is founded on
Jesus; its Apostles continue the work of the
early church, in which the original Apostles also continued to work on behalf of Jesus. The New Apostolic Church wants to
help its believers to find the way to God. Its
faith is based on the Holy Scriptures (following the 1984 edition of Luther’s Bible translation). The Holy Baptism with water, baptism with the Holy Spirit, or Holy Sealing
(baptism with the Holy Spirit performed by
an Apostle), and the Holy Communion are
sacraments of the earliest church which are
celebrated in the New Apostolic Church today. As the Holy Baptism with water is performed in rite, it is recognised among the
Christian Churches.
Jesus’ command that “You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your mind. [...]
You shall love your neighbour as yourself,”
inspires the lives of New Apostolic Christians. In celebrating mass, they keep alive
the joyful expectation of the second coming
of Christ. The Word of God, worked by the
Holy Spirit as driving force, is handed down
by the Apostles and the Church ministers.
© New Apostolic Church in Austria
2.10 The New Apostolic Church in
Austria
Jesus Christ’s Gospel is preached in the
Church services in a free sermon, i.e. without a manuscript. The central event of the
mass is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist; communion is received by all members
of the congregation after the collective recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and absolution
from sins. The musical performances by
choirs and orchestras during mass are a special expression of the solemn encounter with
God. In addition to the sacraments, believers
receive special blessings at confirmation, betrothal, marriage and wedding anniversaries.
Funeral services are conducted by ministers
or Apostles. Memorial services and prayers
for the dead are important rites which are at
the centre of three special services each year.
Social values und activities
The members of the New Apostolic Church
pursue their everyday activities just like everybody else; they enjoy the beauty of life and
are, of course, no freer from suffering than
other mortals. Aware that all life has its one
source in God, they appreciate and respect
their fellow humans, regardless of origin
and descent, living circumstances and religion, illnesses or disabilities. This awareness
also informs their attitude of care to protect and preserve human life and work for a
liveable environment for the generations to
come. This positive attitude towards life is
founded on the belief in redemption by Jesus and eternal communion with God. Thus
New Apostolic Christians are well integrated
into society and develop their personalities
freely, shaping their private lives strictly according to individual decisions. They assume responsibility and fulfil their duties, are
47
The Eucharist
© New Apostolic Church in Austria
Choir
active in the workplace and have friends inside and outside the Church. Individual pastoral care helps and supports them in life’s
vicissitudes.
Position with respect to public/
political life
The New Apostolic Church has no political or economic aims. It does not collect
membership fees, but finances itself solely
through voluntary donations from its members. Funds are used on non-profit principles. The annual accounts are reviewed by
independent auditors.
Structure and offices
The structure of the New Apostolic Church
allows for a minimum of centralised control.
The central ministry with the Chief Apostle
is respected as the supreme authority in matters of faith. The Church hierarchy is modelled on the early Christian communities and
has evolved in keeping with the needs of the
congregations. Women are active in the communities in many areas. In 1981, Mag. Rudolf Kainz from Linz was ordained as the new
Apostle for Austria. He is currently President
of the New Apostolic Church in Austria and
is supported in the execution of his duties by
two bishops (as of February 2009). The New
Apostolic Church in Austria currently has
two dioceses with a total of seven districts,
each of which has a leading District Elder.
The approximately 5,200 New Apostolic
Christians in Austria are organised in 55 local parish communities. Pastoral care for the
local congregations is provided by deacons,
48
ministries (Priest, District Evangelist, Shepherd, District Elder, Bishop) and Apostles
(Apostle, District Apostle, Chief Apostle).
Most of these ministers, who are ordained
by the laying on of hands, exercise their office in an honorary capacity, have a family
and work in lay jobs. Volunteers also work
as teachers in religious education, which follows a state-approved curriculum, and as organists, choristers and orchestral musicians
in the religious services.
2.11 The Jewish Religious
Association
As historical sources show, the history of
Jews in Vienna goes back to the beginning of
the 10th century. Initially, their right of settlement was not restricted to certain areas near
the ducal palace; they were free to buy property in other parts of the town as well. However, as a result of anti-Semitic pressure from
Viennese citizens, a ghetto was arranged in
the area around today’s Judenplatz in the
13th century.
At the end of the 13th and throughout
the 14th century, the Jewish community in Vienna was reputed to be the leading community of German Jewry. Among the so-called
“Wise Men of Vienna” were the rabbis Isak
Or Sarua, Avigdor ben Elijah ha-Kohen and
Meir ben Baruch ha-Levi. Duke Albrecht V’s
financial difficulties and the widespread hatred of the Jews among Vienna’s Christian
community led to the cruel persecutions of
1420/21, as a result of which many Jews
were expelled and many others died a martyr’s death.
Only a small number of Jews lived in
Vienna in the 15th and 16th centuries. Not
until the beginning of the 17th century was
a form of community life revived in what is
now “Leopoldstadt”, Vienna’s 2nd district;
in 1632 the community comprised about
500 families in 136 houses. This community
gained respect in the world of Jewish erudition thanks largely to the efforts of two resident rabbis, Jom-Tow Lipman Heller and
Sachbtaj Scheftel Horowitz. The apparent
peace, however, was not due to last long.
Again the deep-rooted anti-Semitic resentment in the population was responsible for
the Emperor’s decision to ban the Jews from
Vienna.
Individual Jews in possession of special
“privileges” limited to their person started
returning to Vienna after 1675, but only very
slowly. The other expellees moved to Fürth
in Bavaria, to Brandenburg and to other German towns, and enhanced Jewish life in their
new surroundings. Distinguished personalities among the new arrivals in Vienna were
prominent “court purveyors” such as Samuel Oppenheimer, Samson Wertheimer (who
was appointed Head Rabbi of Hungary in
1693) and Diego Aquilar, the founder of the
Sephardic Community in Vienna, which due
to the Turkish nationality of the Sephardic
Jews had obtained official recognition already a century before the foundation of the
Ashkenazic Jewish Community.
In 1781, Emperor Joseph II, son of
Maria Theresa, issued the Tolerance Patent
for Austria, which in many respects paved
the way for the emancipation movement of
the 19th century. At that time, Vienna became the centre of Hebrew book printing in
Central Europe and was, from the end of the
18th century through the first decades of the
19th century, also the centre of the Haskalah
Movement (Jewish Enlightenment).
In 1826 the town synagogue was built,
a symbol of compromise between the supporters of religious reform and the traditionalists. This compromise was also reflected
in the appointment of Isaac Noah Mannheimer as preacher and director of the religious school.
Jews took a prominent part in the revolution of 1848 and were soon afterwards
granted equal rights status, unofficially in
1849 and constitutionally in 1867. The year
1848 also witnessed the official foundation
of a Jewish community in Vienna, which
was initially based on a provisional statute
issued in 1852. In 1868 the Jewish community gained its definitive, officially recognised
statute, which subsequently received its final
form on the basis of the Jewish Act of March
1890 (regulating the organisation of the Jewish religious community), which is basically
still valid today.
The Jewish Religious Association of
Vienna thus became the sole Jewish community recognised by the authorities, an
49
© Ouriel Morgensztern
who were driven here in the search for a new
home.
Interior view of the Town
Temple, Vienna
umbrella organisation for the followers of
all the various Jewish movements in all their
various houses of worship.
After centuries of suppression, the revolution of 1848 and the subsequent recognition of their freedom brought the Jews to
a positive and happy turning point that was
not only of considerable importance to the
Jews themselves but to Vienna and Austria
as a whole. Thus at the end of the 19th and
during the first quarter of the 20th century,
Vienna became the centre of Zionism, the
Jewish national movement. In his book “The
Jewish State”, Theodor Herzl (1860 - 1904),
who lived and worked in Vienna, forcefully
formulated the 2000-year-old yearning of
the Jews for their own state. Until the years
1938 - 1945, when it was almost totally destroyed, Viennese Judaism excelled in a remarkable manner in all fields of culture and
science.
In the year 1938 about 180,000 Jews
were living in Vienna. Only a few hundred
members of the Jewish community survived
the persecution, expulsion, and extermination of the following years. The Jewish Religious Association of Vienna, which was
reinstated after 1945 and today numbers
only 7,000 members, is the successor of the
pre-war community in legal terms, but not
in terms of the identity of its members, to
a large part refugees from all over Europe
50
The Jewish Religious Association of Vienna, the largest of the affiliated Jewish communities in Austria (Graz, Linz, Salzburg
and Innsbruck) that are united in the Federal
Association of Jewish Religious Communities in Austria, currently counts about 7,700
registered members and some 4,000 to 5,000
persons of Jewish confession not registered
in one of the religious communities.
Organisation and functions
The Kultusvorstand is the community’s executive committee and highest authority.
It consists of 24 members who are directly
nominated by the community members for
a period of four years. The committee then
elects from its ranks a president who externally represents the community and internally holds the function of head of the community administration, as well as two vicepresidents, the members of the representatives’ council and the members of various
expert commissions. The main function of
these commissions is the preliminary deliberation of the pending matters, which are
then submitted to the Kultusvorstand for the
passing of resolutions. Two secretaries general, one responsible for all issues relating to
ideational objectives (Jewish religious practice, culture, public relations, social, educational, security and other matters) the other
in charge of commercial and organisational
matters, are commissioned to coordinate the
activities of the Jewish community in line
with the guidelines and resolutions of the
Kultusvorstand.
Article 3 of the Vienna Jewish com­
munity’s statutes states that the community
is responsible for “the satisfaction of the religious needs of its members and the maintenance and preservation of the institutions
necessary for this purpose within the area
delimitated by the national borders”.
© Ouriel Morgensztern
In particular, the community pledges to be
responsible for:
••
••
••
••
••
••
the establishment, maintenance and upkeep of religious and ritual institutions,
the regular celebration of the daily public services, the performing of ritual
slaughter, and the ritual bath;
the appointment of the Rabbinate Council, and the employment and remuneration of the rabbis and other religious officials as well as the administrative staff
and the community servants;
the provision of religious education and
its supervision;
the preservation and upkeep of 43 cemeteries in Vienna, Lower Austria and
Northern Burgenland, of which in particular the Jewish departments of the
Vienna Central Cemetery, Gate 4, are
still in use, and the burial of the dead
in accordance with Jewish rites, in
compliance with the relevant laws and
regulations;
the care of the numerous mass graves
of Jewish martyrs buried in non-Jewish
burial grounds;
the preservation and upkeep of existent community institutions and foundations devoted to educational purposes, the support of the indigent, widows and orphans, nursing and care for
the aged and charitable and humanitarian purposes in general, as well as the
establishment of new such institutions,
as the community’s resources allow;
moreover the preservation of the ritual
character of all these institutions and
foundations.
In concrete terms, this means, among other
things:
tion housing a kindergarten, a nursery
school, a primary school and a grammar school, which, apart from providing secular education, also give Jewish
children in-depth instruction in Jewish
religion and culture. For the children of
Russian Jewish immigrants, the school
performs a valuable integrative function.
3. It provides, within the framework of
the public education system, for religious education, which is obligatory for
all children of the community.
4. It also supports the strictly Orthodox
Talmud Torah elementary and Machsike Hadass secondary school and the
orthodox Lauder Chabad primary and
secondary school with a special focus
on the integration of the children of
Russian Jewish immigrants, as well as
three orthodox afternoon schools that
offer intensive instruction in various
religious subjects for children aiming at
higher levels of religious education.
1. The Jewish community of Vienna
maintains a large synagogue in the
town centre, the “Wiener Stadttempel”,
which was completed in 1826, as well
as eleven association houses of prayer.
5. It maintains an old-people’s home with
30 rooms, as well as a nursing home
with 60 rooms and a geriatric ward
with 60 beds.
2. It maintains the so-called Zwi Perez
Chajes School, an educational institu-
6. The community supports more than
1,000 indigent community members
51
Celebration of the
Bar-Mitzwah
with monthly contributions or one-time
grants, it visits sick people, arranges
language courses and gives advice in
social matters.
7. In organising cultural events at the
community centre, it endeavours to
serve the interests of its members and
to provide a forum for contacts with
the non-Jewish environment.
8. It mobilises all its forces to combat
anti-Semitism.
52
© Islamic Religious Community in Austria
2.12 The Islamic Religious
Community in Austria
Islam, one of the world’s largest religions
with currently more than one billion adherents worldwide, has about 339,000 followers in Austria (according to the national census of 2001) and is therewith the third largest
religious community after the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. The Islamic
Religious Community was granted full state
recognition with the Islamgesetz enacted in
1912. The first Islamic religious community
was constituted in 1980.
In 1964, the Islamic Social Services
Association was established, among other
things with the goal of laying the formal and
material foundations for an Islamic religious
community in Austria.
In 1979 the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture approved the
establishment of the first Islamic Religious
Community in Vienna and the constitution
submitted by the Islamic Religious Community of Austria. On the basis of this constitution the first official bodies of the Islamic Religious Community were elected.
The constitution embraces the following administrative districts:
••
••
••
••
the Islamic Religious Community Vienna (Vienna, Lower Austria and
Burgenland),
the Islamic Religious Community Graz
(Styria and Carinthia),
the Islamic Religious Community Linz
(Upper Austria and Salzburg),
the Islamic Religious Community Bregenz (Vorarlberg and Tyrol).
The official authorities of the Islamic Religious Community are:
••
for each religious community:
–– the Community Meeting,
–– the Community Board,
–– the First Imam.
••
Islamic Center, Vienna
for the Islamic Religious Community in
Austria:
–– the Shura Council,
–– the Supreme Council,
–– the Mufti.
The aims of the Islamic Religious Community are the preservation and cultivation
of the Islamic faith among the followers
of Islam. All officials and employees of the
community must possess an adequate degree
of religious education and a good working
knowledge of German.
An adequate degree of religious education means that the person in question must
comply as well as possible with the tenets of
Islam, and advise and instruct others with regard to compliance with these tenets.
The Community Board consists of eight
members and is elected for a period of four
years by a regular general community meeting. The members thus elected to the Board
by simple majority vote immediately elect
the President, the General Secretary and the
Treasurer, as well as their deputies. The election requires the approval of the Supreme
Council. The Shura Council is the highest official authority of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria. It consists of at least sixteen members.
The Shura Council is made up of the
presidents, the general secretaries, the treasurers, and the first imams of each religious
community, with each of them having a casting vote. The remaining members are elected
53
by the community boards according to the
respective number of community members.
Europe in 2003. To mark the Austrian EU
Presidency in 2006, the Islamic Faith Community of Austria (IGGiÖ) in cooperation
with the Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the City of Vienna organised the Conference of European Imams and
Ministers in Vienna. Both these conferences
adopted noteworthy final declarations that
received much attention in Europe and in the
Islamic world.
The Supreme Council is the executive
organ of the Shura Council. It consists of ten
members elected by the Shura Council. Half
the members must have adequate religious
education. The Mufti is a member of the Supreme Council in an advisory capacity.
The Islamic Religious Community in
Austria is outwardly represented by the President of the Supreme Council, who is also
the President of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria. The Mufti decides on all
religious issues within the Islamic Religious
Community. He is elected by the members
of the Shura Council by simple majority vote
and must possess the necessary religious and
educational qualifications.
First and foremost, however, the Islamic
Religious Community in Austria regards itself as an indigenous Austrian institution.
While its principal aim is to protect the interests of Austrian Muslims, it also aspires
to contribute to the realisation of a multireligious and multi-cultural society in Austria through dialogue and active cooperation
with the other state-recognised churches and
religious communities. Above all, the Islamic
Religious Community in Austria supports
all efforts to integrate the Islamic Religious
Community into Austrian society while yet
retaining its singular religious and cultural
identity. The Islamic Religious Community
in Austria feels deeply bound to the worldwide Islamic community and is interested
in maintaining a friendship with the Islamic
countries without incurring a relationship of
dependence on any one foreign state.
© Islamic Religious Community in Austria
One of the most important tasks of the
Islamic Religious Community in Austria is
the religious instruction of some 55,000 children. The about 430 teachers appointed by
the community receive a remuneration from
the Austrian State. The Islamic Religious
Community refrains from levying a religious
tax, even though it receives no state grants.
Vienna has also been the venue of several in-
Al-Fatiha, 1st Sure of the
Koran
ternational Islamic conferences, among them
the meeting of the Muslim World League in
1986 and the so far largest Islamic conference on the solution of the problems of Muslims in Europe in 1988. A conference of the
heads of all Islamic centres and imams in Europe was organised on the occasion of the
nomination of Graz as Cultural Capital of
54
© Austrian Buddhist Religious Association
2.13 The Austrian Buddhist
Religious Association
Buddhism, looking back on a 2,500-yearold tradition, is one of the world’s great
religions.
The path and goal of Buddhism
The goal of Buddhism is the awakening, or
realisation of Buddhahood. This means freeing oneself from suffering and unfolding all
the spiritual qualities present in one’s mind.
In order to achieve this goal we must first
confront our present situation, which explains why the first two teachings of the Buddha concern “The Truth of Suffering” and
“The Truth of the Origin of Suffering”. In
an analysis of the current state of the world,
the Buddha showed to what extent our lives
are governed by discontent and problems,
and demonstrated that the reason for all this
sorrow is to be found in our ignorance and
misunderstanding of “reality”. The Buddha made clear that this misconception of
our subjective ego and the world around us
leads to spiritual suffering and corresponding behaviour. Negative actions and their
attendant mind-set bring new suffering and
problems upon us. This law, which governs
all action, is described by the Sanskrit term
“karma”. Karma means “action” and implies that all action has a commensurate effect. Thus positive action results in joy and
happiness, negative action in sorrow and disharmony. The law of karma does not therefore mean that one is subject to a predetermined fate. It is we ourselves who decide our
fate, because we influence our karma with
our attitude and every action we take, thus
continuously creating new karma and influencing the quality of our lives.
Within the framework of the misconceptions we all have of ourselves and the world
about us, we each have our own very personal interpretation of all that happens to us.
We experience everything in the light of our
own subjective experience and are caught in
this narrow empirical world. This process,
that continues from life to life, is referred to
as the conditional wheel of existence.
The awareness of our present situation
being connected with our actions goes hand
in hand with the understanding that we ourselves have the power to realise our potential Buddhahood. With his “Truth of Extinction of Suffering” and the “Truth of the
Path”, the third and fourth of the “Four Noble Truths,” the Buddha pointed to the goal
of enlightenment and showed that each and
every one of us is capable of correcting our
misunderstanding of ourselves and the world
around us and of freeing ourselves from our
flaws.
The path to this aim depends mainly on
“getting a grip” on our own minds through
correct conduct, meditation and wisdom.
With the help of meditation and consciously
positive behaviour we may deepen our love
and compassion for all beings on the one
hand and our insight into the nature of
things on the other. This gradually draws us
away from self-centeredness and its attendant suffering and ultimately allows us to attain Buddhahood.
Meditation and mindfulness are the tools
used for mental training. Our mind becomes
clearer and we gradually become aware of
its unlimited nature. This state of consciousness creates the basis for us to perceive ourselves, our fellow human beings, and the
world around us as they really are and to detach ourselves from the various conceptions,
interpretations, hopes and fears that stand in
the way of such a genuine consciousness.
55
Vesakh Celebration (in commemoration of the birth and
the enlightenment of Buddha),
Vienna 2007
Good conduct, i.e. actions motivated by
the wish to do good to others and ourselves
support our spiritual development. They
make for a life of harmony and provide the
basis for the inner strength necessary for the
practice of meditation.
In his teachings, the Buddha first analysed our world and its underlying principles and then showed a way that enables the
individual to conquer suffering and develop
the ability to help others through control of
his/her mind, growing awareness and correct
conduct. The Buddha taught a way of total
self-responsibility. All the Buddha did was to
give recommendations, and it is up to the individual to decide how far he/she is prepared
to integrate them into his/her own life.
During his forty-five years of teaching, the Buddha added numerous precepts
on various topics and aspects of life to the
basic pillars of Buddhism, the “Four Noble
Truths”. Within this wealth of teachings, different Buddhist traditions emphasise different elements.
This great variety in the ways in which the
teachings are interpreted and put into practice, and the meditations derived from them
reflect the variety in mankind. All Buddhist
traditions, however, have the same goal: the
unfolding of one’s inner abilities, the development of love and compassion, the achievement of spiritual peace and enlightenment,
and, finally, Buddhahood, the realisation of
the full potential inherent in everyone.
Buddhism in Austria
The roots of Buddhism in Austria go back
to the turn of the century when Karl Eugene
Neumann (1865 - 1918) founded the first
Buddhist circle in Austria. From 1938 - 1945
all Buddhist activity in Austria was forbidden.
Small private circles made small new beginnings after the Second World War, and in the
mid-1950s joined to form the Buddhist Community. This development finally led to state
recognition of Buddhism as a religious community under the name of “Austrian Buddhist
Religious Association” in 1983.
56
Institutions and structure of the Austrian
Buddhist Religious Association
The Austrian Buddhist Religious Association serves to gather together all Austrian
and non-Austrian followers of this religion
living in Austria. Its central managing bodies are the Managing Committee, the Sangha
Council, the Assembly of the Buddhist communities and the Arbitration Board.
The Managing Committee manages the
Austrian Buddhist Religious Association’s
affairs and is its external representative. It
consists of a president, two vice-presidents,
and a general secretary who tends to all administrative and financial matters, as well as
the representative of the Buddhist community. All posts may be filled by either men or
women. The Managing Committee reports
to the Sangha Council and is elected every
five years by the members of the Austrian
Buddhist Religious Association.
The Sangha Council is the supreme decision-making body of the Austrian Buddhist Religious Association. Represented in
the Sangha Council are the individual orders, the Dharma groups, the institutions
and foundations as well as the representatives of the Managing Committee and the
Buddhist communities, all of whom are entitled to vote.
The Sangha Council convenes at least
four times annually, and its tasks include,
among many others, the registering of orders and groups, the appointment of religious teachers, the development of educational programmes, constitutional issues, the
spiritual care of prisoners and the approval
of the budget.
The members of the Sangha Council perform their tasks in a purely honorary capacity. Similar to the members of the
Managing Committee, they are obliged to
lead their lives in harmony with the aims of
Buddhism.
The Buddhist community embraces all
members of the religious community who
have their domicile in the respective area.
The community distributes information
about the Teachings of the Buddha, organises
events and advises its members on religious
matters. In addition, it assists the individual
representatives of the Austrian Buddhist Religious Association nominated on an honorary basis in almost all Austrian provinces in
coordinating their work and communication
tasks aimed at providing the best possible
support to anyone interested in Buddhism as
well as existing Buddhist groups. The Austrian Buddhist Religious Association comprises 23 individual orders, Dharma groups
and Buddhist institutions from all schools of
Buddhism.
••
Theravada Buddhism
–– Theravada School
–– Sayagyi U Ba Khin
••
Mahayana Buddhism
–– Bodhidharma Zendo
–– Daishin Zen Austria
–– Fo Guang Shan
–– Peace Stupa Institute
–– Senkozan Sanghe Nembutsu Do
–– Nipponzan Myohoji
–– Österreich Soka Gakkai Int.
••
Vajrayana Buddhism
–– Drikung Kagyud Order
–– Karma Kagyü Austria
–– Karma Kagyü Sangha
–– Maitreya Institute Gutenstein
–– Austrian Dzogchen Community
–– Palpung Yeshe Chökhor Ling
–– Panchen Losang Chogyen Gelug
–– Rangjung Yeshe Gomde
–– Shambhala Meditiation Centre
–– She Drup Ling Graz
–– Thekchen Dho-ngag Choeling
stitutions include centres such as the Buddhist Centre in Scheibbs, and foundations.
Each of these orders and groups has the
right to be represented in the Sangha Council, and hence they account for most of the
representatives in this body. The orders,
Dharma groups and institutions are spiritually autonomous, and regulate the religious
lives of their members in accordance with
their individual teachings and traditions.
Since 2006, the Mobile Hospice of the
Austrian Buddhist Religious Association has
been taking care of people in their last stage
of life, tending to them both in their homes
or in in-patient facilities and irrespective
of their religious denomination and provenance. It organises nursing and other care
services to disburden relatives and help them
conserve their strength and supports them in
their grief.
At the international level, the Austrian
Buddhist Religious Association is represented in the European Buddhist Union and
is an active member of the World Fellowship
of Buddhists.
Orders are Buddhist religious communities that are integrated in an authentic school
of teachings and exercises. Dharma groups
are Buddhist religious communities that have
evolved in response to the particular cultural
situation of the people in Europe. Further in-
57
2.14 Jehovah’s Witnesses in
Austria
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria belong to the
international community of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is currently active in more than
230 countries and territories. The number
of active adherents stood at 7.1 million in
2008, of whom 20,723 lived in Austria. Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians. They strive
to follow Christ by leading their lives in accordance with the guiding principles of the
Bible.
History
In the early 1870s, regular and systematic Bible studies were started by a group led by
Charles Taze Russell (1852 - 1916) in Pennsylvania (USA). This Bible study group explored various religious teachings, among
them the “coming of the Kingdom of God”.
Resolved to pass its knowledge on to others,
the group began to issue a publication called
“The Watchtower”. From its first appearance in 1879, “The Watchtower” has grown
into the most widely disseminated religious
magazine today, with an average circulation
of 37.2 million copies published in 174 languages worldwide.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have been active in
Austria since 1911. The first office of the denomination was opened in Vienna in 1923.
In the Nazi era, Jehovah’s Witnesses were
deprived of their civic rights, their religion
was banned and they suffered persecution
– mainly because of their refusal to use the
“Heil Hitler” salute and participate in military activities. Membership in the international community of Jehovah’s Witnesses
alone could lead to persecution, even of
children and youngsters. During these hard
times, about 90 per cent of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria were held in prisons or concentration camps, and more than a quarter
of them were killed.
After 1945 the community resumed its
organised activities with renewed zeal, and
58
in 1998 Jehovah’s Witnesses were accepted
as a legal personality and registered as a religious denomination. They acquired the status of an official state-recognised religious
community on 7 May 2009.
Teachings
God’s name: Early on, Jehovah’s Witnesses
were known as “Bible Students”. The name
“Jehovah’s Witnesses” was adopted in 1931.
This name can be found in the Bible, in Isaiah
43:10, which says: “‘You are my witnesses’,
is the utterance of Jehovah.” (Bible quotations are taken from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures). “Jehovah” (or
“Yahweh”) is the name of God as it is written nearly 7,000 times in the Hebrew Bible.
God’s word: All beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses are based on the Bible. For them, the
Holy Scriptures are far more than a cultural
legacy of humanity. Like the Apostle Paul,
they believe that “all Scripture is inspired of
God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness”. (2 Timothy 3:16).
God’s Kingdom: Jesus taught his followers the Lord’s Prayer, which includes the
following petitions to God: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in
heaven, also upon earth”. (Matthew 6:10).
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that this prayer
will be answered in the near future. The Bible describes the Kingdom of God as a real
government, with Christ ruling as King from
the heavens above. God will use this Kingdom to have his will done on earth. Ruling
the Kingdom also includes restoring Paradise
on earth, abolishing injustice, poverty, famine, crime, violence, war, environmental pollution, even disease and death.
Preaching the gospel: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that everybody has the right
to make his or her own decisions in religious matters, and that this right should
be respected. However, they are also convinced that God himself reveals in the Bible
how he wants to be worshipped. Therefore,
they engage in missionary work, drawing on
© Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria
biblical example. In the view of the Witnesses, love of their fellow humans requires
them to make the biblical truths available to
as many of them as possible. Preaching the
word of God publicly and from door to door
is an important part of their religious service
(Matthew 24:14, 28:19-20).
Attitude towards the state: Jehovah’s
Witnesses take a fundamentally positive attitude towards the state and society. They
fully recognise the rule of law and the principle of democracy and regard democratically elected organs of government as legitimate powers put in place by God (Romans
13:1-7). In keeping with this position, Jehovah’s Witnesses are known to be law-abiding citizens who take their civic duties seriously and are willing to cooperate with government authorities and organs of the state.
By bearing Christian witness and loving their
neighbours in word and deed, they contribute to social stability and promote peace and
tolerance in society.
Structure
According to the Bible, the leaders of the
early Christians in the first century AD were
a group of disciples who were closely connected through Jesus’ teachings. They guided
the Christian congregations in religious matters, and their guidelines helped to preserve
the unity of the teachings. They also provided the necessary spiritual support (Acts,
chapters 15 and 16).
Today, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s
Witnesses provides guidance, encouragement
and advice, and issues guidelines based on the
Bible to help Jehovah’s Witnesses to preserve
the unity of their teachings and give them
the necessary spiritual support. The Governing Body has its seat in Brooklyn, New
York, and consists of several experienced Bible scholars who preside over the worldwide
community of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Administration Center, Vienna
sions on the basis of instructions from the
Governing Body. The Branch Committee
is in charge of the administrative and legal
supervision of the Austrian community, its
sub-organisations and institutions.
These include Assemblies (local congregations), which number 296 at present. Each
Assembly is made up of about 50 to 120
Witnesses and is headed by a group of responsible elders or supervisors (Greek: presbýteroi or epískopoi). These are assisted by
ministerial servants (Greek: diákonoi) who
attend to organisational tasks. The community appoints suitable members to these offices, which are held in permanency. The offices are honorary positions; office-holders
volunteer to perform their tasks out of religious motivation, knowing that they are performing sacred services to worship and glorify God.
Jehovah’s Witnesses call their places of
worship Kingdom Halls. They are used not
only to celebrate religious services and teach
the members of the congregation, but also
function as centres for the dissemination of
the “good news of the Kingdom” in the geographical territory that is allocated to the
local Assembly. Through public evangelism,
people are invited, regardless of race, gender,
or education, to learn more about the Bible
and make the experience that living according to the biblical values is possible in the
modern world and is a way to happiness.
The spiritual supervisory body of the
community in Austria is the Branch Committee, which is currently composed of five
Elders. This body works and makes deci-
59
3 List of registered confessional
communities
Baha’i – Religious Community in Austria
Thimiggasse 12, 1180 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 479 11 53
Fax: (+43-1) 479 89 58
www.at.bahai.org
Free Christian Community
(Pentecostalists)
Radmayrweg 2, 4060 Leonding
Phone: (+43-732) 67 86 30
www.freiechristengemeinde.at
Federation of Baptist Congregations
in Austria
Krummgasse 7/4, 1030 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 713 68 28
Fax: (+43-1) 713 68 28-0
www.baptisten.at
Church of the Seventh-day Adventists
Nussdorferstrasse 5, 1090 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 319 93 01
Fax: (+43-1) 319 93 01-23
www.adventisten.at
Federation of Evangelical
Congregations in Austria
Im Frauental 6, 2100 Korneuburg
Phone and Fax: (+43) 2262 741 93
www.beg.or.at
Christian Movement for Religious
Renewal in Austria
Mariahilfer Strasse 49, 1060 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 587 12 87
Fax: (+43-1) 888 21 10-17
www.christengemeinschaft.at
ELAIA Christian Community
Zulingergasse 6, 2700 Wiener Neustadt
Phone and Fax: (+43) 2262 839 44
www.elaia.at
60
Islamic Alevi Congregation in Austria (IAGÖ)
Schererstraße 4, 1210 Vienna
www.aleviten.at
Hindu Religious Society in Austria
Lammgasse 1, 1080 Vienna
Phone and Fax: (+43-1) 877 75 62
www.mandir.at
Mennonite Free Church of Austria
August-Göllerich-Strasse 3a, 4600 Wels
Phone: (+43-7242) 45 424
www.mennoniten.at
The Pentecostal Community of God in
Austria
Maculangasse 1, 1220 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 333 77 29
www.gemeindegottes.at
4 Addresses and contacts of recognised
churches and religious communities in
Austria
Catholic Church
President of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference: Cardinal Christoph Schönborn OP,
Archbishop of Vienna
Secretary General of the Austrian Bishops’
Conference: MMag. Dr. Peter Schipka
Rotenturmstrasse 2, 1010 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 516 11-3280
Fax: (+43-1) 516 11-3436
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.bischofskonferenz.at
Protestant Church A. and H.C. in Austria
Evangelical High Consistory A. and H.C.
Severin Schreiber-Gasse 1+3, 1180 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 479 15 23-0
Fax: (+43-1) 479 15 23-110
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.okr-evang.at
Contact: Bishop Michael Bünker Bishop of
the Protestant Church A.C. and President
of the Evangelical Supreme Church Council
(Oberkirchenrat) A. and H.C.
Protestant Church A.C. in Austria
Severin Schreiber-Gasse 1-3, 1180 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 479 15 23-0
Fax: (+43-1) 479 15 23-110
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.okr-evang.at
Contact: Bishop Michael Bünker
Protestant Church H.C. in Austria
Dorotheergasse 16, 1010 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 513 65 64
Fax: (+43-1) 512 44 90
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.reformiertekirche.at
Contact: Vienna Superintendent Thomas
Hennefeld
Greek Orthodox Church in Austria
Greek Oriental Metropolis of Austria
Fleischmarkt 13, 1010 Wien
Phone and Fax: (+43-1) 533 38 89
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.oekumene.at
Contact:
Metropolitan Archimandrit Arsenios
Kardamakis
Greek Orthodox Church Community of
the Holy Trinity
Fleischmarkt 13, 1010 Vienna
Phone and Fax: (+43-1) 533 38 89
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.oekumene.at
Contact:
Archimandrit Germanos Katsarikas
Greek Orthodox Church Community of
St. George
Griechengasse 8, 1010 Vienna
Phone and Fax: (+43-1) 533 38 89
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.oekumene.at
Contact:
Archimandrit Germanos Katsarikas
Serbian Orthodox Church Community
of St. Sava
Veithgasse 3, 1030 Vienna
Steinergasse 3, 1170 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 406 82 93-0
Mobile: (+43-664) 543 63 93
Fax: (+43-1) 406 82 93-10
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.serb-kirche.at
Contact: Archpriest Djordje Knežević,
Episcopal Vicar for Austria
61
Romanian Orthodox Church Community
of the Holy Resurrection
Chapel and Office:
Löwelstrasse 8/2, 1010 Vienna
Phone and Fax: (+43-1) 533 03 29
Church: Simmeringer Hauptstrasse 161,
1110 Vienna
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.rumkirche.at
Contact: Rev. Episcopal Vicar Nicolae Dura,
Representative in the Ecumenical Council of
Churches
Russian Orthodox Church Community
of St. Nicholas
Archpriest Vladimir Tyschuk (parish priest)
Jaurèsgasse 2, 1030 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 713 82 50
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.russischekirche.at
Contact: Archdeacon Viktor Schilowsky
Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community
of St. Ivan Rilski
Kühnplatz 7, courtyard, 1040 Vienna
Phone and Fax: (+43-1) 894 72 49
Mobile: (+43-664) 224 43 70
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.bok.at
Contact: Rev. Archpriest Episcopal Vicar
Ivan Petkin
Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria
Kolonitzgasse 11, 1030 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 718 09 65-0;
Fax: (+43-1) 718 09 65-21
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.armenian.at
Contact: Archimandrite Haigazoun
Najarian, Pontifical Legate for Central Europe and Scandinavia
Syrian Orthodox Church in Austria
Speisinger Strasse 107, 1130 Vienna
Phone and Fax: (+43-1) 804 09 16
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.suryoye.at
Contact: Rev. Chorepiscopos Episcopal
Vicar Emanuel Aydin
62
Coptic Orthodox Church in Austria
Quadenstrasse 4-6, 1220 Vienna
Phone: (+43-650) 900 90 17
Fax: (+43-1) 282 74 43
St. Anthony’s Monastery
Marktplatz 1, 2283 Obersiebenbrunn
Phone: (+43-650) 900 90 13
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.kopten.at
Contact: Bishop Gabriel, Coptic Orthodox
Bishop of Austria
Old Catholic Church of Austria
Schottenring 17/3/12, 1010 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 317 83 94-0;
Fax: (+43-1) 317 83 94-9
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.altkatholiken.at
Contact: Bishop John Okoro
Methodist Church in Austria
Sechshauser Strasse 56/13, 1150 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 604 53 47;
Fax: (+43-1) 897 58 76
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www. emk.at
Contact: Superintendent Pastor Lothar Pöll
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (Mormons) in Austria
Böcklinstrasse 55, 1020 Vienna
Fax: (+43-1) 890 629 315
E-mail: kirchenvorstand@hlt
Internet: www.hlt.at
President Helmut Wondra
Contact: Alfred and Elisabeth Pietsch,
PR work
Phone (+43-664) 1621 404
E-mail: [email protected]
New Apostolic Church in Austria
Church President Rudolf Kainz
Prechtlerstrasse 14, 4030 Linz
Phone: (+43-732) 34 61 07
Mailing address for all correspondence,
organisation and administration:
Mittersteig 10, POB 49, 1051 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 586 05 21-0
Fax: (+43-1) 586 05 21-30
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.nak.at
Contact: Walter Hessler,
Public Relations Officer
Phone: (+43-650) 280 51 52
E-mail: [email protected]
Austrian Buddhist Religious Association
(Austrian Buddhist Union)
Fleischmarkt 16, 1010 Vienna
Phone and Fax: (+43-1) 512 37 19
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.buddhismus-austria.at
Contact: President: Gerhard Weissgrab
Secretariat: Alexandra Woditschka
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria
Fasangartengasse 35, 1130 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 804 53 45
Fax: (+43-1) 804 53 46
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.jehovas-zeugen.at
Contact: Walter Schneeweiss
Jewish Religious Association
Jewish Community of Vienna, President
Ariel Muzicant
Seitenstettengasse 4, 1010 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 531 04-104
Fax: (+43-1) 531 04-108
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.ikg-wien.at
Chief Rabbi Paul Chaim Eisenberg
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Secretary General for Jewish
Matters
Raimund Fastenbauer
Phone: (+43-1) 531 04-105
Fax: (+43-1) 531 04-108
E-mail: [email protected]
Secretary General for Commercial Matters
Friedrich Herzog
Phone: (+43-1) 531 04-300
Fax: (+43-1) 531 04-139
E-mail: [email protected]
Islamic Religious Community in Austria
Bernardgasse 5, 1070 Vienna
Phone: (+43-1) 526 31 22
Fax: (+43-1) 526 31 22-4
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Internet: www.derislam.at
Contact: President Fuat Sanac, Chairman
of the Supreme Council of the Islamic
Religious Community
63
Owned and published by:
Federal Chancellery, Federal Press Service
Ballhausplatz 2, 1014 Wien
Translated by: Maria Bennett
Designed by: ARGE Grafik
Vienna, November 2011