Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal
| Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal | |
|---|---|
Archbishop of Mainz | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Mainz |
| In office | 18 July 1774 – 4 July 1802 |
| Predecessor | Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach zu Bürresheim |
| Successor | Karl Theodor von Dalberg |
Friedrich Karl Joseph Reichsfreiherr von Erthal (3 January 1719 – 25 July 1802) was
Family
Erthal was born in
Election
Erthal's predecessor, archbishop
Both the papal nuncio and the emperor Joseph II had expected Erthal's election to improve relationships with the Archbishopric. However, Erthal, in his position as Archchancellor wanted to have an important role in the politics of the Holy Roman Empire himself, opposing the dynastical tendencies of the Emperor. In 1785, he even joined the Prussian-led mostly Protestant Fürstenbund, a coalition of princes organized to oppose Joseph's scheme to exchange Bavaria for Belgium.
Relationship to the Enlightenment
Erthal did not pursue his opposition to the enlightenment for very long, reinstating the modern government of his predecessor in 1777. After 1781, Erthal's politics were dominated by the Enlightenment. The universities of Mainz and Erfurt were reformed according to new ideas, and a hymnal in German language was published. He became one of the most notable supporters of free-thought in theology and of Febronianism in the government of the Church. Georg Forster, a Protestant, became his librarian and William Heinse, another Protestant, and author of the lascivious romance "Ardinghello", was his official reader. Erthal suppressed the Carthusian monastery and two nunneries at Mainz and used their revenues to meet the expenses of the university, in which he appointed numerous Protestants and free-thinkers as professors. Notorious unbelievers such as Felix Anthony Blau and others were invited to the university in 1784 to supplant the Jesuits in the faculty of theology.
Theological position
As a spiritual ruler, Erthal was guided by the principles of Febronianism. In union with the Archbishops Max Franz of Cologne, Clemens Wenzeslaus of Trier, and Hieronymus Joseph of Salzburg he convoked the
End of the archbishopric
His opposition was made futile by the revolutionary wars: The troops of General Custine occupied Mainz on 21 October 1792; Mainz capitulated without a fight. Erthal fled to Aschaffenburg for the time of the republican government in Mainz.
By the treaty of Campo Formio in 1797 Erthal was deprived of his possessions west of the Rhine and by the Concordat of 1801 he lost also spiritual jurisdiction over that part of his diocese. The negotiations concerning the reimbursement of Erthal for the loss of his territory west of the Rhine were not yet completed when he died on 25 July 1802, and was succeeded as archbishop by Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg.
Erthal is buried in St. Peter und Alexander collegiate church at Aschaffenburg.[2]: 72
References
- ^
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Friedrich Karl Joseph, Freiherr von Erthal". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ISBN 3-7701-0746-2.
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