On October 4, the ELCA commemorates Rev. Theodor Fliedner.
Born in Eppstein, Germany on January 21, 1800, Theodor Fliedner was the son and grandson of Lutheran pastors. Though studious as a child, Fliedner also helped both his parents with their daily activities. In 1813 the Napoleonic Wars brought troops to Eppstein, and “camp pestilence” came with them. Fliedner’s father took ill and died, leaving a widow and eleven children. Peter Denninger, a wealthy manufacturer from nearby Idstein, provided funds for Fliedner and some of his brothers to continue their schooling. He studied theology at the University of Giessen, the University of Gottingen, and the seminary at Herborn.
After serving as a private tutor for a wealthy family for a year, Fliedner accepted a call from a small church in Kaiserswerth in 1821. In early 1822 the primary employer in Kaiserswerth went bankrupt, making it impossible for the community to financially support a church. Rather than accept another call, Fliedner stayed on and made several fundraising trips. First he traveled through modern Germany seeking support. Then, he visited the Netherlands and England. In the Netherlands, Fliedner learned about the concept of a Deaconess, an office the Moravian church revived in 1745. In England, he learned about the service of Elizabeth Fry, a worked to improve the circumstances of the poor and also the imprisoned.
When he returned to Kaiserswerth with the funds to support the church and school, he also began visiting the prison in Dusseldorf to preach and provide pastoral care. In 1833, Fliedner opened a halfway house of sorts for women recently released from prison. Then, in 1836, he opened Kaiserswerther Diakonie, a deaconess training institute teaching theology and nursing. Deaconesses took vows to care for the sick, but were allowed to leave the deaconess life if they chose. Several women who significantly advanced the nursing field, including Florence Nightingale trained at Kaiserwerth.
Fliedner added schools for children and teachers as well as an orphanage to the services provided at Kaiserswerth. Then, beginning in 1844, he and his second wife, Caroline, expanded the deaconess movement beyond Kaiserswerth, founding training centers across Europe.
In 1864, Fliedner died of lung disease. At that point, his deaconess movement had grown to 30 motherhouses supporting 1,600 deaconesses. A hundred years later, more than 35,000 deaconesses served worldwide.
Sources:
- Wikipedia contributors. (2025, May 7). Theodor Fliedner. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:12, October 1, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theodor_Fliedner&oldid=1289308408
- Winkworth, C. (1867). Life of Pastor Fliedner of Kaiserswerth. London: Longmans, Green, & Co., from https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn6ad7&seq=183