Klebitz (Klebitus),Wilhelm, a German theolo- gian of tlie Reformation period, and favorably inclined to the reformatory movement, flourished at Freyburg about 1560. Nothing further is known of his personal history. He wrote De buccella intincta, quam comedit Judas, Matt, xxvi, contained in the Crit. Sac. vol. vi ; and, in the bitter controversy which he waged with Hes- husius (q. v.), Victnriam veritatis ac ruinam Papatus Suxonici contra Tilenuinnum Ileshusium de S. Synaxi.
Klee, Heinkicii, one of the most distinguished Ger- man Roman Catholic theologians of modern times, was born at IMunstermaifeld, near Coblentz, April 20, 1800. In 1809 he entered the Seniinarium puerorum of Jfay- cnce, and in 1817 the great theological school under Lie- bermann. At the early age of nineteen he became a professor in the minor theological school, a situation which he lield for some ten years, and, in connection with pastor Schmitz, greatly developed the sciences of philology and psedagogics. He was ordained priest in 1823, became professor of Biblical exegesis and Church history in the theological seminary in 1825, and a few- years after professor of philosophy. In 1825 he attained
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the (lep^-ee of D.D. at WUrzburg by liis able ilissertatioii Ih cliiliasmo primorum sceculuruin. In 1827 he wrote a treatise on Auricular Coiijession, and in 1821) a conimen- tary on the Gospel of St. John. He acquired at the same time great popularity at jNIayence as a preach- er. So great, indeed, was his renown, that several high- schools endeavored to secure him, but he finally accept- ed a call to Bonn University. Here he gave great sat- isfaction to the strict Roman Catholic party, but had a long and severe controversy with Hermes (q. v.) and the Ilermesians, who were then protected by the arch- bishop. Klee taught the popular doctrine that faith ■was the basis of theology ; Hermes, on the other hand, inclined more to accept philosophy as its basis. With Klee, who evidently endeavored to infuse into the the- ological system of Romanism a philosophical metliod, objective reason, revelation, Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church, all having the same origin, must nat- urally constitute part of an indivisible whole, v.'hich it remained only for subjective reason to prove by the tes- timony of history, and to arrange in obedience to faith. Thus, with him, the definition of religion was chiefly ob- jective: "Religion is a union between God, as truth, and man, as recognising him," etc.; "Religion is real- ized by revelation on the part of God, and bj' faith on the part of man;" "The Church is Christianitj' in its jtrescnt state and activity ;" " The Church, in its natm-e, is such as Christ has made it ;" " The inward and out- ward life of the Church is established and preserved by the hierarchy;" "It is the most perfect divine-human polity;" "Christ established the primacy in order to jjreserve the unity of the hierarchy." He argued against Hermes that the Roman Catholic doctrine of faith has for the theologian and thinker the same authoritative evidence as the empiric laws of nature for the student of natural philosophy. This is losing sight of the lact tliat nature is the result of necessary laws, and a pure action of God, while Church tradition is but the result of historical freedom, which wc find full of defects, and has therefore to be judged on the ground of its origin and of its continued validity. In his theory Klee was a Kantian, but in practice he was an ardent Roman Cath- olic ajwlogist. It maj^ even be questioned whether the strong traditionalistic faith of Klee and his school, which permits only a historical demonstration of the truth of revelation, has rendered any great and lasting service to Roman Catholic theology. Klee's system coincides with the final development of abstract Protestant supranat- uralism, inasmuch as he makes the truth of the whole S}-sicni of revelation to depend upon historical proofs. jMevertlieless his system is much more dangerous than Hermes's, for while the latter identified philosophical certainty with confidence of faith, Klee identified phi- losophy with ecclesiastical Christianity itself. He gave permanent form to these doctrines in System der Kuihol. Dor/iiuitik (Bonn, 1831). "When Clement August became archbishop, Klee's system prevailed ; he was appointed examinator, and his lectures on dogmatics, which had always been well attended, were crowded. The exile of the archbishop, however, changed his position, and he accepted a call to Munich in 1839. He died there July 28, 1841. Besides the above mentioned works he wrote Commtntar iibcr d. A2)ostels Paidus Sendschreiben a. d. Homer (Mentz, 1830) ■.—Enajkl.d. Theolnrjie (ibid. 1832) : — Audi'i;um) d.Jiriej'es a. d. Ilehriier (ibid. 1833) : — Die Ebe (ibid. 1833) :—}>». Katlwl. Ikujmutik (ibid. 1834-35, 3 vols. ; 3d cd. 1844) : — Doymewjeschichte (ibid. 1835-37, 2 vols.). His Grujidrisx d. Kal/iol. Moi-al was published after his death (in 1843) by llimioben. See, besides the authorities cited in the article Hermes, Herzog, Reul- Unq/klojmdie, vii, 711 ; Wetzer und Welte, Kirchen-Lex. vi, 213 sq. ; Migue, Conclusions, p. 1239.
Klefeker, Bkhnhakd, a German preacher of dis- tinction, was born at Hamburg Jan. 12, 1760, and was educated at Leipzig University, which he entered in 1779, and where, under the instruction of that eminent German pulpit orator ZoUikoffer, he laid the foimdation
for his future excellency as a preacher. In May, 1791, he was called as regular preacher to Osnabriick, and, after a stay of five years, removed thence to his native city to assume the pastorate of St. James's Church. Here he labored Avith great acceptance and success until his death, June 10, 1825. Though Ivlefeker aimed to be eminently successful in the pidpit, his literary efforts betoken a mind of rare activity. He published, besides several w^orks on ])ractical religion and his Sermons, a homiletical magazine (flomileiisches Ideennuiffazin, 1809- 19, 8 vols. 8vo) : — Praktische Vorlesungen ii. das N. Test. (1811-12, 3 vols. 8vo). See Doring, Deutsche Kanzel- redner, p. 158 sq.