DUNIN, dn'nin, MARTIN VON: Archbishop of Posen and Gneaen; b. at Wat, near Rawa (45 m. s.w. of Warsaw), in Poland, Nov. 11, 1774; d. in Posen Dec. 26, 1842. He was the son of a landed gentleman, and studied at the Collegium Germanicum in Rome. After he had fulfilled various positions as a clergyman he became suffragan bishop to Archbishop Theophilus von Wolicki in Posen tend succeeded him in the archbishopric in 1831. His significance lies in the controversy between the Roman Church and the Prussian government concerning mixed marriages (see Droste-Vischering). The usage in Posen was lenient until the appearance of the brief of Pius VIII., dated Mar. 25, 1830 (Mirbt, Qttellen, pp. 350-353). Dunin wished to enforce this brief in Posen, or to petition the Curia for special directions concerning mixed marriages in his archdiocese. The Prussian government refused both requests. After the allocution of Gregory XVI. on Dec. 10, 1837, relative to Droste-Vischering (q.v.) had become known, on his own responsibility Dunin forbade his clergy, under penalty of suspension, to assist at any mixed marriage, unless the education of the children in the Roman faith had previously been promised. He stood by the position taken in his circulars even against the authority of the royal ministerium. Thereupon a suit was brought against him, although he maintained that the case should not come under the cognizance of the civil court, and the clergy refused to give their testimony. On his side there stood the prince bishop of Ermland, Stanislaus von Hatten, and Bishop Sedlag of Kuhn, but not the Prince Bishop Sedhlitzky of Breslau. The sentence of the higher court of appeals in Posen, pronounced in 1839 against the archbishop for exceeding his official power, gave him six months' imprisonment in a fortress and removal from office. For the first punishment the king substituted the requirement that he should stay in Berlin until the controversy was settled. Nevertheless, Dunin left the capital secretly and returned to Posen to resume the functions of his office. On Oct. 8, 1839, he was arrested and brought to the fortress of Kolberg, where he stayed until the king died. Frederick William IV. set him free and even restored him to office after he had modified his obnoxious regulations. The government, however, was not able to secure any recognition of the old milder usage. On the whole, Dunin's actions did not have the same importance as the procedure of Droste-Vischering, although his cathedral chapter, the diocesan clergy,
24 |
Bibliography: H. F. Jacobson, Ueber die gemischten Ehen in Deutschland und insbesonders to Preussen. Leipsic. 1838; K. G. N. Rintel, Verteidigung des . . Martin von Dunin, Würsburg, 1839; K. Hass, Die beiden Ersbischöfe, pp. 153-200. Leipsic. 1839: F. Pohl, Martin von Dunin, Marienburg, 1843; H. Schmid. Geschichte der katholischen Kirche Deutschlands, Munich, 1874; H. Brück. Geschichte der katholischen Kirche Deutschlands, vol. ii., Leipsic, 1903.
![]() | Calvin College. Last modified on 08/11/06. Contact the CCEL. | ![]() |