Friedrich Heiler

1892-1967. German theologian. A Roman Catholic, he studied theology, philosophy, and oriental languages at Munich. Under the influence of N. Söderblom* he became a Protestant, joining the Lutheran Church at Uppsala (1919). He was appointed professor of comparative history of religions at Marburg (1922). Influenced by the writings of Friedrich Von Hügel,* he took a more Catholic line and became a leader of the German High Church Union from 1929. He founded an Evangelical order of Franciscan Tertiaries. He edited the Hochkirche from 1930. His finest work was Das Gebet (1918; ET Prayer, 1932), a study of prayer from its most primitive forms to mystical contemplation. Other works include Der Katholizismus (on Roman Catholicism, 1923); Evangelische Katholizität (1926), and Die Wahreit Sundar Singha (1927).