Wilhelmi, Ludwig Wilhelm

Protestant pastor

born: 19.11.1796 in Neuenhain

died: 11.05.1882 in Wiesbaden

Wilhelmi studied Protestant theology in Marburg and Heidelberg from 1814-1816. Even before his theological examination, he was assistant preacher of the German Reformed congregation in Frankfurt am Main in 1816/17.

From 1818, he worked as court chaplain and third pastor in Wiesbaden, 1821-35 also as school inspector for the city and district of Wiesbaden. Here he was responsible for most of the pastoral care; he was a well-known preacher (also for Duke Wilhelm zu Nassau). In 1830, the Duke awarded him the title of Church Councillor in gratitude for his work on the Evangelical Christian State Catechism.

After Karl Philipp Salomo Schellenberg's death, he became the first town pastor and dean. In 1840-47 he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies, in 1851-66 a member of the 1st Chamber of the Duchy, to whose president Duke Adolph appointed him several times. In 1841 he was appointed Episcopal Commissioner and Privy Church Councillor to support the ailing Bishop August Ludwig Christian Heydenreich, and after his death he became Bishop of Nassau. Wilhelmi's death put an end to the old Nassau Protestant episcopate. From 1856 Wilhelmi was chairman of the Nassau Gustav Adolf Association.

In terms of church politics, Wilhelmi was involved in the struggle for a presbyterial and synodal order, as well as in the battle between the Union and Old Lutheranism and between the regional church and free congregations. In 1831, he created the "Evangelical-Christian State Catechism for the Duchy of Nassau" as a textbook for denominational religious instruction in schools, which was not replaced until 1889 by the "Evangelical Catechism" published by the Wiesbaden District Synod. The University of Göttingen awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1837.