(1053–1181) Catholic Prince-Bishops (1181–1474) Catholic Administrators and Prince-bishops (1474–1532) Due to the Reformation, the Catholic diocese was suppressed in 1555, without formal successor. Lutheran Schwerin Lutheran Administrators of the Prince-Bishopric (1532–1648) Lutheran Regional Bishops of Mecklenburg since 1921 When the Grand dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz abdicated, the Lutheran state churches became independent and adapted their new Church Orders, providing for a function called Landesbischof (state bishop). In 1934 the regional churches merged into the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg. 1921–1933: Gerhard Tolzien (for the Church of Mecklenburg-Strelitz) 1921–1930: Heinrich Behm (for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) 1930–1934: Heinrich Rendtorff (for Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at last also leading the merged church body of all of Mecklenburg) 1934–1945: Walter Schultz 1946–1971: Niklot Beste 1971–1984: Heinrich Rathke 1984–1996: Christoph Stier 1996–2007: Hermann Beste 2007 to date: Andreas von Maltzahn, since the merger of 2012 for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany New Catholic hierarchy in Schwerin from the 20th century After a century and a half of abandonment, the Catholics on the territory were merely taken care of as missionary, part of the vast Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern Missions of Northern Germany, the first post-Reformatory parish having been established in 1709 (St. Anna, Schwerin). Since 1930, the Catholic parishes in the former diocese of Schwerin (and all of Mecklenburg) were part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück. However, Mecklenburg Soviet occupation zone, whereas Osnabrück was in the British occupation zone (i.e. in the other half of partitioned Germany, and of the political world during the Cold War), so the Bishop of Osnabrück appointed an episcopal commissary. Since 1959, the Osnabrück diocese posted an auxiliary bishop in Schwerin, responsible for Mecklenburg's Catholic parishes : Bernhard Schräder, first 1946 – 1959 episcopal commissary for the episcopal commissariate of Schwerin, then 1959 – 1971 auxiliary bishop of Osnabrück diocese for the episcopal commissariate in Schwerin. 1971 – 1973 (see below): Heinrich Theissing, coadjutor of Osnabrück diocese for the episcopal commissariate in Schwerin On July 23, 1974, the jurisdiction was restored as pre-diocesan 'permanent' Apostolic Administration of Schwerin, its territory being formally split off from the Diocese of Osnabrück. It got two episcopal incumbents : Heinrich Theissing, Apostolic Administrator (July 23, 1973– retired December 5, 1987) with episcopal rights of a residing bishop for the episcopal office in Schwerin; Titular Bishop of Mina (March 13, 1963 – death November 11, 1988), first as Auxiliary