V. „So ist es wahr und wirklich, daß zwei Gewalten von unten aufsteigen zur Obrigkeit, und zwey zurück zum Volke" – Friedrich Schleiermacher als Vordenker von Repräsentation und Demokratie in Kirche und Staat.

The protestant theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), the central figure in the history of church and theology in the 19^th century, can be seen as a pioneer of democratic structures in state and church. During the period of the Prussian Reforms he had occasion to realize his theological ideas. In his sermons he appealed to Christians to actively participate in shaping the state. He drafted a constitution for the Protestant church in Prussia, in which leading offices were to be filled by elections. In his academic lectures he made clear that he wanted the political influence of the monarch to be severely limited in favour of democratic participation of citizens in legislation and administration. In his political sermons of those years he did not spare criticism of the king's political decisions. The measure of this criticism was the will of the nation which the monarch has to represent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]