Education
He studied theology in Bonn, Halle and Göttingen, receiving his ordination in 1881.
theologian university professor
He studied theology in Bonn, Halle and Göttingen, receiving his ordination in 1881.
Afterwards he worked as an auxiliary minister in Bonn, and in 1885 became a minister in Seelscheid. In 1891 he taught classes at the seminary in Friedberg, and two years later was appointed professor of practical theology at the University of Strasbourg. In 1896 with Friedrich Spitta (1852–1924), he founded Monatsschrift für Gottesdienst und kirchliche Kunst, a monthly magazine of worship and religious art
With Spitta, he was a primary representative of the Ältere liturgische Bewegung (Older Liturgical Movement), a theological entity that was created by Smend at Saint Thomas, Strasbourg.