Bl.Burchard I of Halberstadt
Posted on October 18, 2018 by admin No comments
Burchard I of Halberstadt, also Burchard of Nabburg, (* 1000 in Nabburg, † October 18, 1059 in Halberstadt ) was a German cleric and politician and Bishop of Halberstadt.
Life
Burchard was a son of Heinrich von Schweinfurt , margrave in the Bavarian Nordgau, and the Gerberga von Henneberg , a daughter of Count Otto II von Henneberg . At the age of seven he came to the well-known monastery school of St. Emmeram in Regensburg, where the later prior of St. Emmeram, Count Arnold von Vohburg, promoted his scholarship.
After his education, he initially devoted himself to secular tasks. The highest office he learned while he was appointed in 1032 by Emperor Conrad II to his chancellor. The first document with the signature of Chancellor Burchard dates from 17 December 1032 and was made in Quedlinburg, the last document of him as chancellor bears the date 26 October 1036.
When Bishop Branthog of Halberstadt died in 1036, Burchard was appointed Bishop of Halberstadt, in the light of his exemplary life for the Middle Ages, on the versatile request of Konrad II. Here he reorganized the administration of the bishopric by dividing it into largely independent archdeaconates.
He also developed a busy construction activity. He built a bishop’s residence and houses for the canons . On the Huy near Halberstadt he built a chapel, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and in its place in 1080 the monastery Huysburg was created. In the north of the city, he founded a monastery, which later received its name, and he built here a chapel, which is to be regarded as the precursor of St. Burchardi Church. Suidiger von Hornburg, later Pope Clement II, received his education at the Halberstadt cathedral school.
He also worked beyond Halberstadt. He was faithful to Konrad II and accompanied him on his Italian train 1038/1039. He also supported the policy of his son and successor, Henry III. Unclear, however, is the relationship with the Empress Agnes after the death of Henry III.
Burchard was involved in the founding of the monastery Goseck. He endeavored to reduce the tensions that existed for the Archdiocese of Magdeburg. Supposedly in 1059 Magdeburg’s Archbishop Engelhard is said to have visited the dying Burchard.
On October 18, 1059 Bishop Burchard died and was buried in Halberstadt Cathedral.
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1060 there was a fire in the cathedral. This was probably the reason that the tomb was already in 1060 transferred to the church of Burchardi Monastery. In 1810, the monastery was abolished in favor of a farm estate and the bones of Bishop Burchard I and his baroque grave monument came to the Franciscan church of St. Andrew, where they are still today.
Because of the slowly enforced canonical rules Burchard was never officially canonized, but revered by the people as a saint and in numerous documents so designated, including in 1253 by Pope Innocent IV In 1253 was a papal indulgence on the feast day of St. Burchard. He is considered the only saint among the Halberstadt bishops.
In 1984, a relic of the saint from St. Andrew’s Church Halberstadt was brought to his hometown of Nabburg. It rests in the right side altar of the parish church in Nabburg.
Literature
Ernst Dausch: St. Burchard I (1000-1059) – born in Nabburg – Bishop of Halberstadt. In annual volume on culture and history in the district Schwandorf, Bd. 11 , S. 7-19.
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