HERGENRÖTHER, JOSEPH

Ecclesiastical historian and canonist; b. Würzburg, Germany, Sept. 15, 1824; d. Mehrerau Abbey, Bregenz, Austria, Oct. 3, 1890. The son of a professor of medicine, he studied at the University of Würzburg (1842–44) and at the German College, Rome (1844–48), where he was ordained. After receiving a doctorate in theology at the University of Munich (1850), he taught theology there until 1852, when he transferred to Würzburg and became, in 1855, professor of Canon Law and Church history. He was appointed (1868) a consultor for the preparation of vatican council i. In 1879 he was named cardinal and the first prefect of the vatican archives, whose treasures he made accessible to scholars of all nations. His scholarly production was voluminous and wide ranging, although his interests centered mainly on early Christian and Byzantine history. Photius Patriarch von Constantinopel, sein Leben, seine Schriften und das griechische Schisma (3 v. 1867–69), the fruit of 12 years of research, was an objective and heavily documented study. Only in recent years has this classic study been surpassed by the writings of F. Dvornik, M. Jugie, and S. Salaville. Hergenröther edited the works of photius for J. P. migne (Patrologia Graeca v. 101–104) and edited separately Photii Constantinopoli liber de Spiritus Sancti mystagogia (1857). Hergenröther's history of the Church, Handbuch der allgemeinen Kirchengeschichte (3 v. Freiburg 1876–80; 3d ed. 1884–86; 4th ed. 1902–09, ed. J.P. Kirsch, excelled in its wealth and accuracy of information and mastery of sources, but it was not completely free of apologetic tendencies. More a research scholar than a teacher, Hergenröther failed to transmit to students the methods of historical scholarship. He took an active part in German Catholic life and opposed the Church-State policy and theology of the Munich school, being himself a rather moderate exponent of the Roman school. In 1860 he attacked dÖllinger for his lectures on the papal temporal power and his opening address at the Munich meeting of Catholic savants (1863). In Anti-Janus (1870), Hergenröther refuted the exaggerations of Döllinger written under the pseudonym Janus. His polemics against Döllinger, then considered a demigod by German scholars, exhibited a courageous personality, just as his refusal (1864) to accept the bishopric of Limburg displayed a lofty conception of the scholar's role in the Church. His other works included: Der Kirchenstaat seit der französischen Revolution (1860); Catholic Church and Christian State (2 v. 1876, tr. from Ger.); and volumes 8 and 9 of C. J. von hefele, Conciliengeschichte (1887–90). His incompleted Leonis X Pontificis Maximi regesta (1884–91) edited the register of Pope Leo X to 1515.

Bibliography: h. hurter, Nomenclator literarius theologiae catholicae, 5 v. in 6 (3d ed. Innsbruck 1903–13) 5:1620–26. j. kirsch, The Catholic Encyclopedia, ed. c. g. herbermann et al., 16 v. (New York 1907–14; suppl. 1922) 7:262–264. b. lang, "Zum 50. Todestag des Kardinals Josef Hergenröther, Theologisch-praktische Quartalschrift 93 (1940) 302–309. a. bigelmair, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 5:245–246.

[v. conzemius]