This study in church history examines Herdera ™s ecclesiastical ministry in Saxon-Weimar (1776-1803). Thematically it follows on from Hayma ™s biography (1880/85), but instead of subordinating Herdera ™s official activities to the history of his life and work it presents the first comprehensive account of his official functions on the basis of their institutional and structural constants. Apart from staffing decisions and draft concepts for his three central fields of activity (church, school and university), his ministry is outlined using new archive material. This study was awarded the Hans Lilje Prize by the GAttingen Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006.