Johann Friedrich von Schulte (April 23, 1827 - December 19, 1914) was a German legal historian

Legal history

Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and is set in the wider context of social history...

 and professor of canon law

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

 who was born in Winterberg

Winterberg

Winterberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland.-Geography:...

, Westphalia

Westphalia

Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...

. He was a leading authority on Catholic canon law.

In 1854 he became a lecturer at the University of Bonn

University of Bonn

The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...

, and during the following year was appointed professor of German legal history and canon law at the University of Prague. In 1873 he returned to Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, where he was a professor of canon law until 1906. In 1881-82 he was rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 at the university.

Schulte opposed the First Vatican Council

First Vatican Council

The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...

, and was architect of the basic templates regarding church law for organization of the German Old Catholic Church

Old Catholic Church

The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...

. He was also author of the Synodal- und Gemeindeordnung (Synodal and Municipal Order) of 1874, the fundamental law of the Old Catholic Church in Germany. From 1871 to 1890 he was president of the Old Catholic Congress.

From 1874 to 1879 he was a member of the German Reichstag

Reichstag (German Empire)

The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....

 (National Liberal Party

National Liberal Party (Germany)

The National Liberal Party was a German political party which flourished between 1867 and 1918. It was formed by Prussian liberals who put aside their differences with Bismarck over domestic policy due to their support for his highly successful foreign policy, which resulted in the unification of...

). He died in Obermais near Meran on December 19, 1914, at the age of 87.

Selected publications

• System des katholischen Kirchenrechts (The system of Catholic church law), 1855
• Die Lehre von den Quellen des katholischen Kirchenrechts (Theory of the sources of Catholic church law), 1860
• Die Rechtsfrage des Einflusses der Regierung bei den Bischofswahlen (The legal question of the influence of the government in the choice of bishops), 1869
• Die Stellung der Konzilien, Päpste und Bischöfe vom historischen und kanonistischen Standpunkte und die päpstliche Konstitution vom 18. Juli 1870 (The Position of Councils, Popes and Bishops from the Historical and Canonical Standpoints and the Papal Constitution, July 18, 1870), 1871
• Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des Kanonischen Rechts von Gratian bis auf die Gegenwart (The History of Literature and Sources of Canon Law of Gratian
  Gratian (jurist)
  Gratian, was a 12th century canon lawyer from Bologna. He is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Franciscus Gratianus, Johannes Gratianus, or Giovanni Graziano. The dates of his birth and death are unknown....
  
   up to the Present) (1875-1880, four volumes)
• Lehrbuch des Katholischen und Evangelischen Kirchenrechts (Textbook of Catholic and Protestant Church Laws), 1886
• Der Alt-Katholizismus - Geschichte seiner Entwicklung, inneren Gestaltung und rechtlichen Stellung in Deutschland. Aus den Akten und anderen authentischen Quellen dargestellt (Old Catholicism - History of its Development, Interior Composition and Legal Position in Germany, according to Documents and other Authenticated Sources)
• Lebenserinnerungen drei Bände (Memoirs in Three Volumes), 1908-1909)