List of bishops, prince-bishops and administrators of Lübeck
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Coat-of-arms of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck as of 1605 in Siebmacher's Wappenbuch
The following persons were Bishops of the Diocese of Oldenburg or Lübeck (until 1180), Prince-Bishops of the diocese of Lübeck and the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck (1180–1535), Lutheran Administrators of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck without pastoral function, and pastoral chairmen of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church in the Region of Lübeck.
Not all incumbents of the Lübeck See were imperially invested princely power as Prince-Bishops and not all were papally confirmed as bishops. In 1180 part of the Lübeck diocesan territory were disentangled from the Duchy of Saxony and became an own territory of imperial immediacy called Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire. The prince-bishopric was an elective monarchy, with the monarch being the respective bishop usually elected by the Lübeck cathedral chapter, and confirmed by the Holy See, or exceptionally only appointed by the Holy See. Papally confirmed bishops were then invested by the emperor with the princely regalia, thus the title prince-bishop. However, sometimes the respective incumbent of the see never gained a papal confirmation, but was still invested the princely regalia. Also the opposite occurred with a papally confirmed bishop, never invested as prince. A number of incumbents, elected by the chapter, neither achieved papal confirmation nor imperial investiture, but as a matter of fact nevertheless de facto held the princely power. The respective incumbents of the see bore the following titles:
Bishop of Oldenburg (Aldinborg/Starigard) until 1160
Bishop of Lübeck 1160–1180
Prince-Bishop of Lübeck from 1180 to 1586, which the incumbents in 1535 and between 1561 and 1586 being de facto Lutherans
Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck 1586 to 1803. Either simply de facto replacing the Prince-Bishop or lacking canon-law prerequisites the incumbent of the see would officially only hold the title administrator (but nevertheless colloquially referred to as Prince-Bishop). After 1648 (Peace of Westphalia) the Lutheran administrators were generally imperially accepted as holding the princely regalia.
Catholic Bishops of Oldenburg (Aldinborg/Starigard) till 1160[]
German: Johannes II., also Dyst or Deest, d. 21 September 1259
as John III
1260–1276
German: Johannes III., also Tralowe, d. 4 January 1276; Rudolph I, King of the Germans invested him with the princely regalia for the prince-bishopric, founder of the prince-episcopal castle in Eutin
b. ca. 1236
1276–1317
double tomb with (1341–50)
as Henry II
1317–1341
as John IV
b. ca. 1291
1341–1350
German: Johannes IV., also Muel or Muhl; double tomb with (1341–1350)
1350–1377
d. 5 January 1377
as Nicholas I
?–1392
1377–1379
German: Nikolaus I., also named Ziegenbock, since 1379 Bishop of Meissen
Conrad of Geisenheimas Conrad III
1379–1386
also Gysenheim, Giesenheim, Beymondi; b. in Geisenheim, d. 30 May 1386 in Lübeck.
John of Klenedenstas John V
1386–1387
German: Johannes V., also Clendenst, Kleendienst, or Kleindienst, b. in Lübeck, d. 3 August 1387 ibidem.
as Eberhard I
1387–1399
also Everhardus de Atendorn, Evert von Attenderen, Athendorn; b. in Lübeck, d. on 21 March 1399.
as John VI
1399–1420
German: Johannes VI., also Dülmen, Johann Dulmen, b. in Dülmen, d. 1 January 1420 in Lübeck
in 1803 secularised to Principality of Lübeck within the Duchy of Oldenburg; also Duke of Oldenburg (1823–1829)
Chairperson of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Lübeck (Eutin) (1921–77)[]
Duke Frederick August and his successors served as summus episcopus of the Lutheran church of the Duchy of Oldenburg, including the Principality of Lübeck. After the abdication of the Duke in 1918 the Lutheran church in the principality seceded as Evangelical Lutheran State Church of the Region of Lübeck within the Free State of Oldenburg with effect of 19 May 1921.
Pastoral chairperson of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of the Region of Lübeck (Eutin)[1]
Land Provosts/Bishops
Life
Term
Notes
Image
Coat-of-arms
1867–1929
1921–1929
titled Superintendent and later Land Provost, the new office was established after summepiscopacy (monarchic governorate of the Lutheran church) ended with the abdication of Oldenburg's monarchs
1891–1987
1930–1978
titled Land Provost (1930–61), thereafter Bishop
On 1 January 1978 the Evangelical Lutheran State Church merged with other neighbouring Landeskirchen in the new North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church, which also staffed a position titled Bishop of Lübeck and Holstein between 1978 and 2008.
Sources[]
Friedrich Wilhelm Ebeling, Die deutschen Bischöfe bis zum Ende des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts - Biographisch, literarisch, historisch und kirchenstatistisch dargestellt, vol. 1, Leipzig 1858, S. 562-589.
Ernst Friedrich Mooyer, Verzeichnisse der deutschen Bischöfe seit dem Jahre 800 nach Chr. Geb., Minden 1854, S. 56-57.
Hermann Grote, Stammtafeln, Leipzig 1877
Notes[]
^Seceded from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg first as Evangelical Lutheran State Church of the Region of Lübeck within the Free State of Oldenburg (as of 1921), after 1937 renamed to Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Eutin.