Edith Steins Umgang mit Krisen – Phänomenologie, Gemeinschaft und Glaube

Abstract

We focus on two crucial phases of Stein’s life: one leading her in 1922 into the communion of the Roman Catholic Church, the other one in 1933 into the Carmelite communion, both strengthening and deepening her fellowship with Jesus Christ. Neither of these steps was forced, but always had its origin in Stein’s own free decision, which bears telling similarities to Alexandre Koyré and Alfred von Sybel, as well as clear differences to Martin Heidegger and Hans Lipps. In the midst of crises Stein weighed and ventured new beginnings in spite of an uncertain future, but did so trusting to find new stable ground. Though her asking and searching was clearly individual, the answers she got and the openings she found always occurred in vivid communities, who – being focused on Christ – were both reliable and open for others. Sr. Adele Herrmann of St Mary Magdalene’s Dominican Convent in Speyer and classical biographer of Stein wrote that Stein eventually found ‘was lebt und bleibt und hält’. So the article aims at highlighting these experiences of Edith Stein’s and argues for appreciating them as her crucial legacy which should be harnessed in order to face current socio-political crises – that always concern and challenge the individual, too – and master them in a reasonable and sustainable way.