Prussia

PRUSSIA.

I. Introduction of Christianity.

1. The Prussian People; First Missionary Efforts.

The people which in history is called Prussian is the population that in the migration of nations settled in that part of the Baltic coast-land which in the second half of the Middle Ages was known as Prussia. Their name Pruzi, or, in its lengthened form, Prutheni (their country, Prucia or Prussia), is derived from the Lithuanian Protas, i.e., insight, understanding: they called themselves Pruzi, the sagacious. The character of these people can hardly be established to-day, since they were extinct by the end of the seventeenth century. Their language has been preserved in two translations of the Lutheran catechism, the so-called Old Prussian catechism, Königsberg, 1545, 1561. From these linguistic fragments it is evident that the early Prussians were neither Germans nor Slavs, but belonged with their neighbors, among whom were the Lithuanians, to that special branch of the Indo-Germanic group which is called Lettish, As to the south of them the Poles had settled and to the west the Wends, they had no contact with Germany. Their religion was nature worship, a naive polytheism, deifying sun, moon, stars, thunder, birds, and quadrupeds. The common center of sacrifice was Romove, a place near Domnau (23 m. s.e. of Königsberg, East Prussia); the place of worship was under trees, especially the oak. The people believed in a future life and retribution of a material kind. They dwelt in free, independent communities without national feeling. Their pursuits were agriculture and cattle-raising, trade and the chase. They practised polygamy, while women were treated as merchandise and slaves. The sick were exposed or slain, and drunkenness was a common vice. Hospitality, however, stood in high esteem. Because of their exclusion toward the south and west, Christianity could not come to the Prussians before the Christianization of the Poles and Wends. The first missionary attempt was made in 997 by Bishop Adalbert of Prague (q.v.), but without success. Bruno, Count of Querfurt, a relative of Otto III., who made a similar attempt, was suddenly captured by the heathen, with eighteen of his companions, and beheaded in 1009. In 1207 Abbot Gottfried from the monastery of Lekno in Greater Poland baptized some people, but was prevented by his early death from organizing congregations. Another monk, named Christian, probably also from a Cistercian monastery in Greater Poland, had better success, owing to the energetic assistance of Duke Conrad of Masovia and Cujavia. Christian entered the so called territory of Culm from the south, and between 1207 and 1210 preached Christianity in the neighborhood of Löbau (74 m. s.e. of Danzig) and on the boundary line of Pomerania under the authority of Pope Innocent III. Between 1212 and 1215 he became "bishop" in Prussia. Two chiefs, Warpoda and Svabuno, with others were converted and received baptism in Rome. They granted pieces of land to their bishop, in the neighborhood of Löbau, and Duke Conrad of Masovia gave him the larger part of the territory of Culm, which possessions became a secure foundation of the Prussian bishopric.

2. Order of Teutonic Knights.

To protect the converted Prussians from the hatred of their countrymen, Pope Honorius III. demanded, in Poland and Pomerania, in 1217, and in Germany, in 1218, the preaching of a crusade against the Prussian heathen. Not until 1223 did the crusading armies from Silesia and Pomerania enter the territory of Culm. At the same time the Prussians fell fiercely upon Pomerania and Masovia. Christian, who had taken refuge in the fortified castle of Culm, and Conrad of Masovia were in the greatest peril and turned to the heroic Order of Teutonic Knights, promising them large grants of land for the conquest of Prussia. Hermann of Salza, the grand-master of the order, who sojourned at that time in Italy at the court of Ferdinand II. of Hohenstauffen, consented, although he was not immediately prepared to send an army; but in 1228 he sent a deputation of his knights to receive the land grant of Culm. In addition Bishop Christian also conferred upon him a tithe from his own possessions at Culm and in 1231 the gift of a third of his lands and its appurtenances. In the mean time Pope Gregory IX., in 1230, renewed the demand for a crusade against the Prussian heathen, and in 1231 Hermann Balke with an army of knights crossed the Vistula at Nassau and advanced toward Pomerania. Wherever the order gained a footing, fortresses were erected and German colonists attracted. Thus arose the towns of Thorn, Culm, Grandenz, Marienwerder (1233), Elbing (1237), and Königsberg (1255). In 1238 the Teutonic order in Prussia united with the Order of the Brethren of the Sword in Livonia so that it could extend its missionary and colonizing activity far into the East. Wherever a town was founded there arose a church. Here and there a church or monastery was erected in the country. During an invasion from Samland, Bishop Christian was taken captive in Pomerania (1232). After his release in 1238 through Christian merchants, he accused the order of having made no efforts at ransom and of having robbed him of his possessions and privileges. The pope sent a legate who decided in favor of the order, conceding to the bishop only one-third of the conquered land and only the spiritual functions in the territory of the order. A reason why Christian did not enjoy any longer the favor of the papal court is to be found in the fear of leaving such a 315large territory under the rule of one person. Pope Innocent IV. accordingly divided Prussia, in 1243, into four episcopal dioceses: Culm, Pomerania, Ermland, and Samland; and these four bishoprics together with those of the Baltic provinces were put under the authority of the archbishop of Riga. This was entirely after the desire of the Teutonic order; for an archbishop living in Riga could not hinder their plans in Prussia. Moreover, the Teutonic knights established the tradition that the bishoprics and cathedral chapters should be occupied by priests from their own order. The treaty of peace between the Prussians and the order, concluded at Christburg in 1249, throws light upon the inner history of the mission. The Prussians promised to renounce heathenism entirely and adopt Christianity; however, a long time passed before the entire country as far as the Lithuanian boundary was subjected. The order was assisted in 1254 by Ottocar II., king of Bohemia, to whom was assigned the castle of Königsberg; and in 1266 by Margrave Otto III. of Brandenburg, who built the fortress of Brandenburg. By 1283 the knights were masters of the country from the Vistula to the Eastern border of modern East Prussia. In 1309 the grand master removed his seat to Marienburg (27 m. s.e. of Danzig), and for about 100 years from that time the order performed a leading part in the events of eastern Europe until the envy and hatred of the Poles broke their power in the terrible battle of Tannenberg (75 m. s.w. of Königsberg) (1410). The territory west of the Vistula was surrendered to the sovereignty of Poland, and that eastward of the river was accepted as a fief. The seat of the order became Königsberg in 1466. The Teutonic order had conquered Prussia in its own interest as a support to the German nobility, became wealthy through trade but the object of hatred, built at the seats of occupation such churches as the cathedral at Königsberg and the Church of St. Mary at Danzig, and allowed the entrance of twenty-four monasteries for men and nine for women; but it did nothing for learning, and did not effect the Christianization of the people. The first to introduce real Christianity was the first Evangelical prince of the duchy of Prussia, Albert of Prussia (q.v.; 1525–1568); but by his time the pitiable remnant of the knights had been almost entirely absorbed by the Germanic colonization.

(Paul Tschackert.)

II. Statistics.

1. Gain and Loss.

The modern kingdom of Prussia with an area of 134,588 square miles contained, according to the census of Dec., 1905, a population of 37,293,324 (1900, 34,472,509), who are distributed among 88 town districts and 489 country districts. The confessional distribution of the population is shown in the following table:

Provinces.	Area, Square Miles.	Evangelicals; Old Lutheran and Old Reformed.	Roman Catholics	Other Christians	Jews.	Without Confession
East Prussia.	14,266	1,720,565	278,190	17,781	13,553	87
West Prussia	9,856	764,719	844,566	16,254	16,139	68
Brandenburg	15,377	3,238,207	230,599	21,540	40,427	1,133
Berlin, District of	24	1,695,251	223,948	19,140	98,893	2,916
Pomerania	11,627	1,616,550	50,206	7,829	9,660	81
Posen	11,183	605,312	1,347,958	2,907	30,433	27
Silesia	15,563	2,120,361	2,765,394	9,839	46,845	172
Saxony	9,749	2,730,098	230,860	9,981	8,050	232
Sleswick-Holstein	7,336	1,454,526	41,227	4,834	3,270	391
Hanover	14,865	2,361,831	371,537	10,222	15,581	373
Westphalia	7,801	1,733,413	1,845,263	18,471	20,757	186
Hesse-Nassau	6,060	1,420,047	585,868	13,430	50,016	691
Rhenish Prussia	10,420	1,877,582	4,472,058	30,304	55,408	985
Hohenzollern	441	3,040	64,770	1	469	2
Prussia		23,341,502	13,352,444	182,533	409,501	7,344
		(62.59%)	(35.80%)	(0.49%)	(1.10%)	(0.02%)
1908		21,817,577	12,113,670	139,127	392,322	9,813
		63.29%	35.14%	0.40%	1.14%	0.03%

From 1817 to 1900 the percentage of Evangelical population increased steadily, so that finally Protestants and Roman Catholics were almost equally proportioned. From 1900 there is noticeable a retrogression on the Evangelical side, due among other causes to Polish immigration. From change of confession as well as additions and losses the Evangelical church in Prussia had, in 1905, a gain of 6,911 persons against a loss of 3,741. Conversions from the Roman Catholic to the Evangelical church have increased in the last ten years in proportion to the increase of population: in 1895, 3,228; in 1905, 5,939. The loss of the Evangelicals to the Roman Catholics is far smaller: in 1895, 295; in 1905, 441. The Prussian state churches were increased also by the conversion of 346 Jews. The sects, however, and especially the dissidents of the Evangelical church, caused heavy losses. In Berlin and vicinity more than 1,000 people left the Evangelical church in 1905, mostly from anti-Christian motives; in the whole of Prussia there. were 3,245 withdrawals, so that the net gain was reduced to 3,170. According to the latest statistics of 1906, 12,007 persons left the State Church as dissidents. It is to be assumed that most of them renounced Church and Christianity through the agitation of the Social Democrats.

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2. Ecclesiastical Facilities.

The religious needs of the Evangelical population with reference to clergy, church buildings, and funds can not be supplied in equal proportion throughout the country. On Jan. 1, 1905, entire Prussia had 24 general superintendents, 639 superintendents (including the metropolitans), 9,620 clergymen in independent offices, 8,390 parishes, 10,456 spiritual offices, 11,795 churches, and 4,322 other buildings devoted to church service. The province of Saxony, the mother country of the Reformation, is best provided for; as it possesses on the average one clergyman for every 1,600 and one church for every 1,000 Evangelicals. The most unsatisfactory conditions exist in Berlin and in the provinces of East Prussia, West Prussia, Posen, Westphalia, and Rhenish Prussia; in Berlin on account of the densely crowded population for whom there are only few churches and proportionately few clergymen; in the provinces on account of the wide extent. of local districts, and because these are frequently merged into one parish, owing to the preponderance of Roman Catholic numbers. To illustrate the inequitable distribution in spite of the progress made, the Church of the Apostle Paul in Schöneberg, Berlin, has seven clergymen to 140,000 in comparison with sundry rural congregations of one clergyman to 300. In the matter of dioceses, some consist of twenty to forty parishes; others of only two to ten. The Prussian Evangelical military clergy stands under the chaplain-general of the army, who is at the same time over the imperial body-guard and chaplain of the navy. Every provincial army-corps and the guard have their superior chaplains, of whom there are in Prussia thirteen, with seventy-six subordinate division and garrison chaplains. Special difficulties regarding the care of congregations in individual localities arise from the fact that the language of the Evangelical population is not everywhere German, the Slavic in its various dialects being the main exception. At the close of 1907 there were in Prussia about 197 Evangelical congregations using the Polish language, East Prussia alone having 123 Polish congregations with 136 clergymen, and 71 congregations in which 88 clergymen preached Lithuanian. The Danish language was used in 113 churches of Sleswick-Holstein. The supply of the churches with clergy has not kept pace with the increase of population. From 1895 the number of candidates for the ministerial office has decreased more than one-half. In the old Prussian state church 523 candidates were examined in 1895; in 1906 only 202: ordained in 1895, 312; in 1906, 242. In 1907 there were only 46 candidates available in East and West Prussia, Pomerania, Posen, Silesia, and Westphalia, in Saxony about 25. In consequence a great many assistant pastorates remain vacant. So far as ascertained for 1907, 38 new parishes with 98 clerical positions were organized to an increase in the Evangelical population of 300,000. The number of theological students decreased from 4,536 in 1900 to 2,228 in the winter semester of 1907–08.

3. Auxiliary Support.

In the mean time a marked improvement and legal regulation in the remuneration of the clergy and the care of the retired and of the bereft survivors has been made; such as, from 1895, the uniform regulation of a common fund for the widows and orphans of clergymen; from 1899, of an auxiliary salary fund uniformly regulating incomes to the limit of 4,800 marks; and the synodical legislation in 1907–08 for the extension of the latter and the establishment of a retired pension fund for the Evangelical clergy. These measures, it is hoped, will offset the alarming decline in clerical and church facilities. The auxiliary salary fund by the act which went into effect Apr. 1, 1908, regulates salaries up to a benefice of 6,000 marks. Below that all positions are divided into nine classes based upon their ground income and ranging by intervals of 300 marks from class I., 1,800 marks, to class IX., 5,400. Thus, a pastor receives, beside parsonage or equivalent, in class I., 1,800 marks, to which the auxiliary fund adds 600. Moreover, this classification serves also as the scale for increments due to length of service, beginning at the end of the third and proceeding by intervals of three years to the end of the twenty-fourth. The auxiliary fund contributes the excess beyond the ground in come and advances additions so that every clergyman is guaranteed from 2,800 marks after the third year of service to 6,000 after the twenty-fourth. Besides, in cases of necessity, additions can also be made, even permanently, to the ground income. By the synodical act of Dec., 1907, the pastor will receive a recompense for removal from charge to charge. The auxiliary fund is instituted by the state churches, and enjoys a legal status. It is administered by a presiding board of five members appointed by the king and an administrative committee of fifty-five members, representatives of the national synods. The parishes have to render, under receipt of the income of the prebendary estate, besides the ground income and various additions to the clerical incumbent, an insurance contribution, graduated according to the class to which they belong, ranging from 1,500 marks in class 1. to 300 marks in classes V.–IX. In the case of in ability, they may receive revocable aid from the re-enforcement fund of the consistory (see below). To inaugurate the adequate disbursement of the fund the state budget for 1908–09 assigned 10,000,000 marks. The deficit is covered by the state churches which tax their members on the basis of the state levy. With reference to the retired pension fund, by the act which went into effect Apr. 1, 1908, every clerical who is disqualified by physical disability or the decline of physical or mental powers, or in any case after attaining the age of seventy, is entitled to an annual pension, which is in no case to be less than 1,800 marks nor more than 6,000. This fund, organized like the auxiliary fund, is raised, apart from the contributions for the clergy of societies in Prussia and elsewhere, by an annual state appropriation of 1,600,000 marks, and the levy of the state churches which covers the deficit. In consequence of the legislation of 1889 and 1892 there was founded a special fund for the widows and orphans of deceased clergymen. In 1895 the other state churches joined the fund and it is now 317organized in the same way as the other funds. Widows accordingly receive from 700 marks to 1,300 marks; orphans receive to the end of the eighteenth year 400 marks and half-orphans, 250. On the basis of extensive guaranties of the State the Evangelical church in Prussia is now supported by two kinds of taxes: (1) such as every member owes to his parish, district, and province, within the consistorial district; (2) such as benefit his state church in its widest relations, including pension, auxiliary, and widows' funds, and the support of ecclesiastical administration and general objects. Regarding the second, for instance, the state church of the older provinces raises a legally established assessment of 5¼ per cent of the state taxes. Beside these revenues the state church of the older provinces raises a not inconsiderable sum by a biennial collection for the most urgent necessities of needy congregations in the Evangelical state churches. Various provincial churches are heavily endowed for general and parish purposes. Besides, there is a state contribution for Evangelical clergymen and churches which in 1907–08 amounted to 2,080,037 marks. The right of appointment in the nine older provinces, for about 3,000 positions, belongs to the state church government, 2,257 of these in alternation with parish organizations, since 1874; for 2,265 positions, it belongs to patrons; for about 700, to communal corporations; for about 1,350, to congregations; and for about 90 to provincial board other than ecclesiastical. The number of positions filled by the church government and private patrons is by far the largest, but in all cases the congregations possess the right to submit protests against candidates on the grounds of doctrine, conduct, or qualification. In the later provinces, Hanover, Hesse-Nassau, Sleswick-Holstein, the state church authorities control the majority of appointments.

III. Ecclesiastical Organization.

1. Evangelical.

1. State Church Government.

The church governing boards culminate in the person of the king, following tradition from the time of the Reformation, on account of, State first, an organic connection of Church and State of an ecclesiastico-political nature, guaranteeing the peaceful relations of both; and, secondly, on practical grounds, to provide, within the monarchy, over against the presbyterial form, a stable executive and protection for the Evangelical bodies. At the head of the state church comprising the older Prussian provinces. stands the Evangelical supreme church council at Berlin. Including the secular president and spiritual vice-president it consists of thirteen ordinary members, including the chaplain general. They are appointed for life by the king, at the common proposal of the supreme council and the minister of worship. The duties of the council comprise, among others, consultation with the king in all affairs of legislation and administration reserved for supreme decision; communication with the state central boards on matters of common resort; and the privileges and duties, according to the order of June 29, 1850, of the synodal system, the supervision of worship in relation to dogma and liturgy, of the preparation of candidates for the spiritual office, of the employment, office-bearing, and discipline of clergymen, and the decision in cases arising over elections, grievances, and other legal questions.

At the head of every province there is a consistory under the direction of a secular president and with its seat at the capital of the province. In subordination to the supreme council the consistory is entrusted with the administration of the external and internal affairs of the Church in its province, and the general superintendent is one of the members. The latter keeps the church government in touch with the clergy and congregations, takes part in the synods, introduces the superintendents, conducts the general church visitations, and consecrates new churches. Under the auspices of the consistory acts the commission for the examination of candidates, offering the two tests, for the privilege of preaching and of assuming office. The provinces of the state consistories, with the single exception of the district of Frankfort, are divided into dioceses (ephorien) presided over by superintendents, who are state officials. They mediate between the consistories and the congregations and their ministers, exercise immediate personal supervision over the official conduct of clergymen and the life of the congregations, and over candidates residing within their dioceses. A principal part of the work of half of the superintendents of Prussia is the inspection of the district schools.

2. Congregational and Synodal Constitution.

According to the historical development of the individual state churches of the monarchy, the internal constitution is based upon various legal acts which are valid only for their respective territories. According to that of the Eastern provinces, which may be considered the type of all Prussian church organization, the ministers, who in doctrine, pastoral care, administration of the sacraments, and the other ministerial functions remain independent, are assisted in the congregation by a smaller and a larger representative corporation. Both are elected by the male members above the age of twenty-four who have lived at least one year in the place. All men entitled to election are eligible, in so far as they have proved their interest in the church by participation in the services and sacraments. No one is eligible for the smaller body (elders) who is less than thirty years of age. The elections are valid for six years. The number of elders shall be not more than twelve and not less than four; the number of representatives of the congregation shall be three times as many. The patron may personally claim the office of the elder or have a representative. In very small congregations the meeting of all members entitled to election takes the place of the representatives of the congregation or vestry. The minister presides over these bodies. The smaller body ("church council," or presbytery) covers a great variety of duties, religious, disciplinary, administrative, and others pertaining to instruction and charities. The larger body forms a wider outer circle, and, with the church council, exercises mainly material and fiscal functions. Wider self-administration is constituted by the representatives of a whole diocese in a district synod. In their constitution 318there is much variety. In the eastern provinces the district synods consist of the superintendent as the presiding officer, of the entire parish clergy, and of a double number of elected lay members, of which one-half is elected from present or former elders by the representative bodies of the congregations; the other half from respected and experienced men of the synodal district by the representation of the larger congregations, for three years. In Rhenish Prussia and Westphalia, on the other hand, the district synod consists of the clergy men and one elder of every congregation. The district synod has no parliamentary character like the congregational representatives; it is rather the board of the district communion with definite powers of decision. It assembles annually, and its duties comprise the treatment of affairs of general interest, restricted privileges of supervision, and the exercise of church discipline of second instance. The third grade of self-administration of the old Prussian state church is the provincial synod; it consists of the delegates elected from the district synods or unions of synods of small dioceses, of a deputy of the theological faculty of the province, and of the members appointed by the king (not over one sixth of the entire number). Besides the supervision of discipline in doctrine, worship, and constitution, and the execution of proposals of the state government of the church, the provincial synod has to give its assent to ecclesiastical laws the validity of which is restricted to the province. No catechisms, text books, hymnals, manuals, or regular provincial collections can be introduced without its sanction; and it supervises the funds of the district synod, directs the administration of the fund of the provincial synod, decides on the expenditure of church and home collections for the benefit of needy congregations of its district, and is permitted to deputize two or three of its members to the examination commission of the consistory (ut sup.). The presiding head, consisting of a president and from two to six associates, is privileged to take part in the important business affairs of the consistory; and must take a hand with it in proposals for the filling of state church government offices, and in decisions upon objections raised by congregations against the doctrines of their clergymen, and upon all charges of heresy. The general synod is the synodal organ of the entire state church of the nine older provinces. It consists of 150 members elected from the nine provincial synods, of a deputy of the district synod of Hohenzollern, 6 deputies of the theological faculties, all (13) general superintendents, and 30 members to be appointed by the king. The president, vice-president, and six secretaries are elected by the body at the opening of each assembly, to continue until final adjournment. It has primarily the right of assent to all acts of the legislative body of the state church government. Subject to it are the regulation of the freedom of doctrinal teaching, the obligations of clergymen by virtue of their ordination, the norms of agenda for the Church as a whole, the institution and abolition of sacred holidays, changes in the congregational and synodal order, as well as of fundamental changes in the constitution of church government, church discipline with reference to general duties, and disciplinary authority over clergymen and other officers, the requirements for applicants, and fundamental rules on appointment and on matrimony. The second synodal organ of the old Prussian state church is the presiding board of the general synod, consisting of a presiding officer, his proxy, and five associates, for whom also five substitutes are elected. As an independent college it may make proposals for the abolition of defects in ecclesiastical legislation and administration; and it may prepare also drafts of laws for the general synod. In matters which can not be postponed until the convention of the general synod, it may act with the full power of that body. It administers the fund of the general synod and cooperates with the supreme church council in receiving appeals on heresy, in reviewing the proposed acts submitted by the state church government to the general synod for adoption and the instructions of the former to the latter for the execution of its enactments, in proposals for the appointments of the general superintendent, in representation before the courts of justice, and in other affairs of the central administration of the Church, in which it is admitted by the council. As third synodal organ there is elected by the general synod the council of the general synod which is constituted of eighteen members, beside the presiding board of the general synod. It ends its function with the opening of the next regular general synod, and meets once a year in Berlin, to act as advisory counsel to the supreme church council. Outside of the older provinces, the order is in the main similar. The other Evangelical religious communities, the so-called sects, have no great importance in Prussia. Without propaganda and in peaceful relation to the state church are the Mennonites (13,860) and the Unity of the Brethren, distinguished for their institutions of training and missions. The Old Lutherans of Breslau do not relinquish their confessional aloofness; likewise the Dutch Reformed of Elberfeld. Insignificant are the free religious communities organized on the basis of absolute freedom, i.e., indefiniteness. But the propaganda of American and English denominations such as the Irvingites (45,654), Darbyites, Baptists (42,370), Methodists, and the Salvation Army has considerably increased, and has drawn, especially in the larger cities, from the state churches.

2. Roman Catholics

The organization of the Roman Catholic Church in the older provinces is based on the papal bull De salute animarum of July 16, 1821, sanctioned as to essential content and published in the code after royal approval, Aug. 23, of that year. The bull defined eight bishoprics: Cologne, Paderborn, Münster, Treves, Breslau, Ermland, Gnesen-Posen, and Culm. There is one ecclesiastical province in the east and one in the west, where the Roman Catholic population is the most dense: respectively, the archbishopric of Gnesen-Posen including the bishopric of Cum; and that of Cologne, including the suffragan bishoprics of Treves, Münster, and Paderborn. Hesse-Cassel is included in the bishopric of Fulda and Wiesbaden in that of Limburg, both under the archbishopric of Freiburg which includes also Hohenzollern. 319The rest of Prussian territory is divided into exempt dioceses which are immediately subject to the pope, namely, Breslau, Berlin, Ermland, Hildesheim, and Osnabruck. The bishops are chosen by the chapters which have advisory privilege in the administration and are appointed, in the old provinces, partly by the king and partly by the bishop, in the new, alternately by bishop and chapter. The choice of a bishop must meet with the king's approval. The Roman Catholic parish organization was legally fixed by statute of June 20, 1875, but this covers only affairs of property; a layman receives no right to participate in the inner administration. This law demands of every parish the or ganization of a presiding board and a vestry. Over properties and public institutions and over the church-tax system the state has supervision, the same as over the Evangelical bodies. By statute that went into effect Apr. 1, 1899, the state appropriates for the revocable reinforcement of the Salaries of priests of weak churches the sum of 3,438,400 marks. In compensation the state has guarded itself by various laws against the ultramontane encroachments of the Roman Catholics; such as that (Dec. 28, 1845) prohibiting appointment to all priests ordained abroad; that (July 4, 1872) prohibiting the Jesuits; that (May 31, 1875) excluding all Roman Catholic orders from Prussian soil; and that (Feb. 13, 1887) establishing the oath of fidelity for Roman Catholic bishops to king and state. A chaplain-general was reinstated in 1888 who has charge of the Roman Catholic chaplains. See also Los von Rom.

(E. von der Goltz.)

Bibliography: On the introduction of Christipnity consult as sources: Codex diplomaticus Prussicus, ed. J. Voigt, vols. i.–vi., Königsberg, 1836–81; Scriptores rerum Prussicarum, vols. i.–v., Leipsic, 1861–74; Preussisches Urkundenbuch, politische Abtheilung, vol. i., part 1, Königsberg, 1882; Neues prussische Urkundenbuch, part II., Danzig, 1885 sqq.; and the literature given in Potthast, Wegweiser, pp. xxii–xxiii. Consult further: A. Schott, Prussia Christiana, Danzig, 1738; J. Voigt, Geschichte Preussens von den ältesten Zeiten bis zur Reformation, 9 vols., Königsberg, 1827–39; M. Töppen, Historisch-komparativa Geographie von Preussen, Gotha, 1858; K. Lohmeyer, Geschichte von Ost- und Westprsuesen, part 1, Gotha, 1880 (has almost the value of a source book); Hauck, KD; Rettberg, KD; Friedrich, KD; and the literature under Adalbert of Prague.

On modern Prussia as sources consult: E. Friedberg, Die geltende Verfassungsgesetze der evangel.-deutschen Landeskirchen, Freiburg, 1885–92; E. Nitze, Die Verfassungs- und Verwaltungsgesetze der evangel. Landeskirche in Preussen, Berlin, 1895; H. Lilge, Gesetze and Verordnungen über die evangel. Kirchenverfassung, 7th ed., Berlin, 1905; Crisolli and M. Schultz, Verwaltungsordnung für das kirchliche Vermögen, Berlin, 1904; the works on ecclesiastical law (Kirchenrecht) by H. F. Jacobson, Halle, 1866; P. Hinschius, Berlin, 1869–97; A. L. Richter, 8th ed., Leipsic, 1886; F. H. Vernig, Freiburg, 1893; W. Kahl, Freiburg, 1894; R. Kohler, Berlin, 1895; Gossner, Berlin, 1899; A. Franz, Göttingen, 1899; F. Heiner, Paderborn, 1901; E. Friedberg, 5th ed., Leipsic, 1903; and P. Schoen, Berlin, 1903–06; and the Gesetzsammlung für die königlichen preussischen Staaten, an annual published by the Staateministerium.

The freshest statistical data are to be found for the Protestants in Kirchliches Jahrbuch, ed. J. Schneider (an annual); for the Roman Catholics in H. A. Krose, Kirchliches Handbuch (also annual); and the fullest historical statement for recent times is in F. Nippold, Handbuch der neuesten Kirchengeschichte, 5 vols., Berlin, 1901. On the Protestant church consult: A. Mücke, Der Friede zwischen Staat and Kirche, 2 vols., Brandenburg, 1882–88; H. F. Uhden, Die Lage der lutherischen Kirche in Deutschland, Hanover, 1883; S. Baring-Gould, The Church in Germany, London, 1891; K. Rieker, Die rechtliche Stellung der evangel. Kirche Deutschlands in ihrer geschichtlichen Stellung bis zur Gegenwart, Leipsic, 1893; R. Rocholl, Geschichte der evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland, Leipsic, 1897; G. Goyau, L’Allemagne religieuse. Le Protestantisme, Paris, 1898; P. Schoen, Das Landeskirchentum in Preussen, Berlin, 1898; G. H. Schodde, The Protestant Church in Germany, Philadelphia, 1901; T. Braun, Zur Frage der engeren Vereinigung der deutschen evangel. Landeskirchen, Berlin, 1902; J. Niedner, Grundzüge der Verwaltungsorganization der altpreussischen Kirche, ib. 1902; idem, Die Ausgaben des preussischen Staates für die evangelische Landeskirche der älteren Provinzen, Stuttgart, 1904; R. Seeberg, Die Kirche Deutschlands im 19. Jahrhundert, Leipsic, 1903; T. Hoffmann, Die Einführung der Union in Preussen und . . . Separation der Altlutheraner, ib. 1903; H. A. Krose, Confessionsstatistik Deutschlands, Freiburg, 1904; E. Kalb, Kirchen and Sekten der Gegenwart, Stuttgart, 15; E. Förster, Die Entstehung der preussischen Landeskirche unter der Regierung König Friedrich Wilhelms III., 2 vols., Tübingen, 1907; M. Bär, Westpreussen unter Friedrich dem Grossen, vols. i.–ii., Leipsic, 1909.

On the Roman Catholic Church consult: H. Brück, Geschichte der katholischen Kirche in Deutschland, Mainz, 1896–1903; K. Sell, Die Entwickelung der katholischen Kirche im 19. Jahrhundert, Leipsic, 1898; Die katholischen Kirche unserer Zeit und ihrer Diener in Wort und Bild, 2 vols., Munich, 1900; J. May, Geschichte der Generalversammlungen der Katholiken Deutschlands 1848–1902, Cologne, 1903; O. Hegemann, Friedrich der Grosse und die katholische Kirche in den reichsrechtlichen Territorien Preussens, Munich, 1904; P. Goyau, Catholicisme, 1800–1848, 2 vols., Paris, 1905.