Abstract
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy did not have a Jewish religious upbringing. His father Abraham’s choice to have his children baptized Protestant continued to guide Felix. After his father's death, Felix continued to follow in his footsteps. Assumptions about Felix’s continued religious Judaism have no foundation. The meaning of Felix’s personal catechist
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teacher Friedrich Wilmsen was previously unjustly ignored .Todd, like Werner and Sposato related Felix to the theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher. Felix, however, was not a ‘Schleiermacher-Schüler’: his praxis of faith was based on a different tradition. Analyses of Felix’s religious statements point to Wilmsen’s religious experience. Felix’s emphasis on the ‘So Gott will!’ testifies to a deep, dependent faith. On the one hand Felix believed in a ‘liebe Herr Gott’ who manifested himself in nature, but at the same time was convinced that his will could go against man. In times of happiness, Felix’s faith was characterized by gratitude. At other times, hypochondria about one’s own health, anxiety about the health of others and an imaginary fear of losing family members could paralyze the composer’s creative work.
Felix recognized traditions outside Protestantism and was willing to contribute to another liturgical tradition. He himself remained convinced Protestant. Wilhelm Seidel’s idea that Felix considered himself a liberal, tolerant Protestant must be rejected. Beyond the Aufklärung he wanted to return to tried and tested sources such as the Bible, the Psalms, Martin Luther’s songs of faith, and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. In doing so, he completely ignored the heated discussion about the historicity of biblical miracle stories. Felix may have considered himself politically liberal for a long time, but as a reaction to expressions of Junghegelian, he chose a different position for sure at the end of his life.
The significance of Felix’s wife Cécile for his well-being and work has been underestimated. She came from an Eglise Reformé in Frankfurt am Main, where her father had been a pastor. Contemporaries unanimously called her ‘fromm’ (pious).
In Leipzig, the young couple joined the Reformierte Kirche. Research shows that he was demonstrably a member of this congregation. At Felix’s funeral, Howard made a speech. This sermon was initially untraceable, but further investigation has brought important fragments to light. Part of another sermon, by W.A. Lampadius, has also been found in the course of the present research. It was published in the press, probably because Howard’s speech was considered too austere by many. Both address the idea that Felix considered his talents to be gifts and wanted to be first and foremost subservient to God. Thanks to Howard’s sermon fragment found, a sentence has been preserved that characterizes Felix’s life: ‘er sei ein edler, kindlich frommer Mensch gewesen’.
Attempts to place Felix in a specific theological or ecclesiastical context are fruitless. The many influences he underwent contributed to his uniqueness. The quotations collected from his many letters in the course of the present research give reason to critically review previously given views on the theological position of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
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