Peter Joseph Elvenich was a German Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 theologian and philosopher who was born in Embken, a village that today is part of Nideggen

Nideggen

Nideggen is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south of Düren....

, North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

. He was a principal supporter and defender of Hermesianism, a theological belief system named after theologian Georg Hermes

Georg Hermes

Georg Hermes , German Roman Catholic theologian, was born at Dreierwalde, in Westphalia, and was educated at the gymnasium and university of Münster, in both of which institutions he afterwards taught....

 (1775–1831).

He studied theology and philosophy in Münster

Münster

Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...

 and 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....

, and in 1821 became a schoolteacher in Koblenz

Koblenz

Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...

. Two years later he was 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...

, where in 1826 he became an associate professor of philosophy. In 1829 he attained a full professorship at the University of Breslau.

Following the papal decrees of September 26, 1835 and January 7, 1836, of which Pope Gregory XVI

Pope Gregory XVI

Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...

 condemned the writings of Georg Hermes, Elvenich travelled to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 in order to the convince the Pope to withdraw the condemnation. His efforts were in vain, and several years later the condemnation was reiterated by Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

. In 1843 Elvenich was removed from his post in Breslau at the request of Johannes von Geissel

Johannes von Geissel

Johannes von Geissel was a German Catholic Archbishop of Cologne and Cardinal.-Life:Gessel was born in Gimmeldingen in the Electoral Palatinate....

, coadjutor to the Archbishop of Cologne. After the Vatican Council

Vatican Council

The First Vatican Council took place in 1869 - 1870 and was the 20th of ecumenical councils recognized by Roman Catholicism.The Second Vatican Council took place in the 1962 - 1965 and was the 21st....

 of 1870, he became a member of the 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...

.

Selected publications

• Verteidigungsschrift in 2 Lieferungen, (Breslau 1839)
• Aktenstücke zur geheimen Geschichte des Hermesianismus (Documents on the Secret History of Hermesianism), (Breslau 1845)
• Der Hermesianismus und Johannes Perrone, sein römischer Gegner and Pius IX..., die Hermesianer und der Erzbischof Johannes von Geissel, (Breslau 1848)
• Drei gegen Einen in der Reinkensschen Angelegenheit unter dem Namen Sincerus Pacificus, (Breslau 1862)
• Beiträge aus der Provinz in der Baltzerschen Angelegenheit unter dem Namen Mich. Schlichting, (Breslau 1864)
• Die Wesenheit des Geistes (The Entity of the Spirit), (Breslau 1857);
• Die Beweise für das Dasein Gottes nach Cartesius (The Evidence for the Existence of God after René Descartes), (Breslau 1868);
• Der unfehlbare Papst and Der Papst und die Wissenschaft ("The Infallible Pope", and "The Pope and Science"), 1870