Synod: “Altbischof” Gerhard Egger – farewell thoughts on the Synod
The dismissal of Gerhard Egger at the end of September as acting bishop of the Innsbruck parish Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints coincides with the beginning of the World Synod 2021-2023 of the Roman Catholic Church. But what do these two events have in common?
From baker’s son to bishop
Gerhard Egger was born on May 8, 1954 in Innsbruck into a family of bakers. According to the religious traditions he was in the Roman Catholic. Church baptized. The Christian faith shaped him as an altar boy in the parish of St. Paulus and as a high school student and home resident in the Cistercian monastery of Stams. At the age of 22 he did not change his Christian faith, but his membership in a Christian community. The new community, die Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to his opinion, had a more open and direct access to religious topics and a much lower-threshold structure to be able to participate there as a “simple member”.
Voluntary work
For there is no paid clergy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There, as in the early Church 2,000 years ago, the lay priesthood will be cultivated, believing members with various professional experiences will be called and ordained part-time to certain offices in the priesthood. The office of bishop is also an honorary office, which is exercised for a limited time. The Episcopal Person BECOMES ON STAKE LEADERSHIP BODIES Once the proposal has been approved by the First Presidency of the Church and presented to ward members for confirmation, the new bishop WILL be ordained and installed. The outgoing bishop becomes a “simple member” again and usually takes on other ecclesiastical tasks.
The new bishop in the Innsbruck parish is Dipl.-Ing. Marcus Schmidt MA, studied electronics and information technology at the Technical University of Munich, is currently Corporate Marketing Director in one of the world’s leading medical technology companies in Innsbruck, is married and has four children. To do the job well, a bishop chooses two counselors. Together they hold council on the temporal and spiritual concerns of the church. Klaus Jasche and Jakob Egger are on hand to help Bishop Marcus Schmidt. Bishop Schmidt also presides over the parish council of the Innsbruck parish. All leading women and men of the various church sub-organizations are represented in it. All organizational and pastoral tasks are discussed in the municipal council, and their implementation is planned at short notice. The decisions in the ward council are supported by the bishopric.
Everyone is a protagonist
What is completely normal in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now being attempted by the World Synod of the Roman Catholic. To reach church. They tried to bring the structure of the two camps church office and church people, which had grown over the centuries, closer together. At the end of these two years, the consultative, decision-making, and legislative assembly of bishops will agree new guidelines in a council, but the process there is an open one. Pope Francis emphasized in his address at the beginning of the synod: “Everyone is a protagonist, nobody is just an extra”. He himself is no more protagonist than the others. Pope Francis again described clericalism as a perversion and criticized stare hierarchies in the Roman Catholic. Church. He adds that the consultation of the People of God implies the adoption within the Church of the principles of democracy based on majority principle. He said: “Do not be afraid to enter into the dialogue. Let yourself be moved by the dialogue” and “be prepared for surprises”. The Holy Spirit is always the guide.
Synodal process
For former Bishop Egger, the Pope’s demands have been implemented in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church people and church office are connected and united and indispensable for the vitality of a religious community. Egger wishes the Roman Catholic. Church, especially here in Tyrol with Bishop Herman Glettler, to successfully complete this two-year synodal process. He himself WILL continue to represent the Church of Jesus Christ in the multi-religious platform Innsbruck.