The church historian Volker Leppin has been chairman of the new Jakob Böhme advisory board since 2020, alongside the Lord Mayor of Görlitz, Octavian Ursu. This was founded as part of the establishment of the new Jakob Böhme Center and will organize international conferences in Görlitz from this year on. The theologian Volker Leppin, born in Helmstedt, grew up in Marburg, worked for ten years at the chair for church history in Jena and is now the dean of the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the University of Tübingen. Among other things, he is a member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences and campaigns for ecumenism, such as the communal Last Supper for Protestants and Catholics.
Professor Leppin, in addition to your role as dean in Tübingen you are now taking over on a voluntary basis of the chairman of the new Jakob Böhme advisory board. What brings you to Görlitz?
The initiative for this connection came from the Mayor of Görlitz, Michael Wieler, who represents the city’s concern to maintain Jakob Boehme’s legacy. He was looking for a scientist for the advisory board and looked where people traditionally deal with Jakob Böhme or are interested in Protestant mysticism. Since I was doing research on Böhme, among other things, he came up with me, we talked about it, and I was happy to say yes.
The church historian Volker Leppin is dean of the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the University of Tübingen and chairman of the Jakob Böhme advisory board in Görlitz. © Daniela Wagner
Was I agree does Protestant mysticism mean?
This is the continuation of medieval Christian mysticism and a form of piety that seeks immediate closeness to God without intermediate steps. It is also a tradition from which Martin Luther drew deeply. That is why the idea that one could “buy oneself free” of one’s sins with letters of indulgence was such a big problem for him. For Luther it was about a change of the whole life and the grace of God alone.
“Without intermediate steps” does a closeness to God mean that you don’t need a pastor or church building?
I wouldn’t say that it doesn’t need it, but for the mystics it is not of crucial importance for the relationship between man and God. Jakob Böhme exemplifies this search and the thought that one cannot work for one’s own salvation, but that man lives by the grace of God. Protestant mysticism is an important dimension of the 2,000 years of church history that I teach in Tübingen.
Jakob Böhme was scolded and persecuted by the church during his lifetime. What role does he play in church history today?
Unfortunately, he does not appear enough in it, here he is more of a marginal figure. He is valued more by philosophy. This is a shame for theology, because the philosophers in particular have pointed out that there are many ideas in Böhme that are compatible with our Christianity today. It helps to place the dogmatic tradition such as the two natures of Jesus Christ in a very broad context and thus to understand it anew.
The Jakob-Böhme-Center is to be built in the Trinity Church on the Görlitzer Obermarkt. © Archive / Pawel Sosnowski
What do you think the Jakob Böhme Center planned for the Görlitz Trinity Church can achieve, who can it attract?
Above all, philosophers and cultural scientists from all over the world conduct research on Jakob Böhme, and his influence extends to Australia and America. If a center that is unique in Germany is set up for him in Görlitz, it can attract people from all over the world. This scientific Jakob Böhme advisory board is also something unique compared to many other associations that are associated with Böhme due to the local connection to Boehme’s places of work. To be in the middle of this wonderful ensemble of the old town with the Böhmes house on the Polish side near this interesting figure is very fascinating.
Have you already been to Görlitz and know the Trinity Church?
Yes, we took a look at the church during the first meeting of the advisory board, in which a total of ten scholars are members. I was in Görlitz many years ago and only then again last year. We met in the spring, after which the lockdown overwhelmed us too. As a church historian, I find it extremely exciting that Jakob Böhme is part of this Görlitz gem, which also includes the Holy Sepulcher. To be able to accompany all of this scientifically is wonderful.
You will organize an international Jakob Böhme conference in Görlitz every two years, the first this autumn. Are you planning as if the pandemic is over?
Yes, we are currently planning a face-to-face meeting from September 16 to 18 in the Synagogue Kulturforum with 14 lectures by international scientists and hope that everyone will be vaccinated by then. One of the speakers is a Böhme expert from Australia. I hope, of course, that he can arrive. We are expecting 20 nationwide visitors and hope for a number of participants from Görlitz and the surrounding area. Under normal circumstances around 50 visitors could take part, under Corona conditions we would have to see.
Are these conferences only intended for scientists or for anyone who would like to understand Böhme?
It’s about both. Science shouldn’t be a deterrent, but rather help to classify certain thoughts. First of all, it is a matter of understanding Böhme in his time and surroundings, and of locating him historically. This should simplify access and connect it to Görlitz and Lusatia. One of the lectures at this year’s conference will be public, then the art historian Claudia Brink will talk about what Böhme can still tell us today. That will also be of interest to the people of Görlitz.
Many people try to understand Jakob Böhme and read his works, but fail. Do you have a tip for access?
Unfortunately, it is so – reading Böhme is tough bread, even for experts. It is therefore best to approach the interpretation of scientists and then read the texts yourself on the basis of these suggestions. This is exactly what the conferences are for.
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