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Sunday 02 July | 5 p.m. | Castle Church Wittenberg
Staged liturgical performance in cooperation with the Wittenberg Center for Worship and Sermon Culture
The Castle Church Community, together with the Center for Worship and Sermon Culture Wittenberg, invite you to the scenic-liturgical performance of the St. Mark Passion for choir, organ and soloists by Jan Bender (1909-1994) on Sunday, July 2nd at 5 p.m., in the Castle Church. In the approximately one-hour work, the biblical text of the Passion story according to Mark is reproduced. The soloists take on specific roles such as the evangelist (tenor: Christoph Burmester), Jesus (baritone: Maik Gruchenberg) or the high priest (baritone: Markus Schicketanz). The choir gives its voice to "the people" in partly sensitive or also excited choral movements.
As part of the scenic-liturgical arrangement, the choir and soloists do not act in one place as in a concert, but also scenically in the room. At the upcoming performance, visitors are also invited to become part of the scenic setup and to sing along to selected songs with the accompaniment of the choir and the large organ.
The church musician and composer Jan Bender worked for a long time in the USA, including in Wittenberg's sister city of Springfield, Ohio, at Wittenberg University. Bender's music is characterized as harmoniously modern, expressive close to the text, but not too emotional.
The performers are the Schola Cantorum Adam Rener with soloists. Thomas Herzer and Christoph Hagemann play the two organs in the Castle Church. Dietrich Sagert, consultant at the Center for Worship and Preaching Culture, is responsible for the scenic and liturgical implementation. The overall musical direction is in the hands of the castle church cantor Sarah Herzer.
Admission is free, but a donation is requested at the exit.
According to legend, on October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his 95 theses—his ideas and criticisms of the Church—to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. His ideas were so influential that they transformed the Church. They ultimately led to the founding of the Protestant Church—which is why this day is so important to us. On Reformation Day, Christians celebrate Martin Luther's courage in initiating the reform of the Church and the freedom that faith grants to every individual.
The Thesis Door
According to tradition, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in Latin on this door, inviting scholars to debate them. The purpose of this debate was to clarify whether the Church's practice of selling indulgences was in accordance with the teachings of Jesus. This marked the beginning of the Reformation. The original wooden "Thesis Door" was destroyed in the great fire that ravaged the church in 1760. In 1858, King Frederick William IV of Prussia donated the current bronze door, on the panels of which the Latin text of the theses is cast.
Introduction to Philipp Spielmann
I look forward to exploring the beautiful surroundings of Wittenberg by bike, to beautiful church services, musical highlights, old and new songs, and to meeting you!
History
Around 1340, the Ascanian dukes had an "All Saints' Chapel" built at their castle and founded a collegiate monastery in it for liturgical service. Elector Friedrich the Wise had the palace with the chapel demolished and his new residential palace with a more spacious palace church built on the site. You can find out more about the story here.
Church for children
Every Sunday there is a children's service in the Wittenberg Castle Church, parallel to the adult service. Ms. Felicia Grauel is one of the volunteers for the children's service.