FRIEDRICH RITTELMEYER (1872–1938) was a Lutheran minister and theologian who led the founding The Christian Community. Rittelmeyer came to prominence as a leading liberal theologian and preacher early in the twentieth century, advocating a socially engaged ‘Christianity of deeds’ (Tatchristentum). During the First World War he became one of the most high-profile clergymen in Germany to oppose the war publicly. From the 1910s his thinking was gradually influenced by the philosopher, spiritual researcher and teacher Rudolf Steiner. In 1922 a group of mainly Lutheran pastors and theology students founded The Christian Community, a Movement for Religious Renewal. Rittelmeyer remained at the helm of the movement until his death.