Heiner Koch

Koch was born on 13 June 1954 in Düsseldorf, West Germany. He studied theology, philosophy and education at the University of Bonn and completed his examinations in education science. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Cologne on 13 June 1980, his 26th birthday. He held a variety of positions in Cologne and was often involved in youth ministry. While doing parish work he earned a doctorate in theology with a dissertation on the significance of liberation in Christian religious education. Since 1995 he has been president of the Federation of Historic German Shooting Clubs (German: Historischer Deutschen Schützenbruderschaften (BHDS)). Beginning in 2002 he served as Pro-Vicar General and Secretary General for the committee that organized the celebration of World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005.

On 17 March 2006, Pope Benedict XVI named him auxiliary bishop of Cologne with the titular see of Ros Cré. He was consecrated a bishop on 7 May 2006 by Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne, with Manfred Melzer and Rainer Maria Woelki as co-consecrators. He chose as his episcopal motto the Latin phrase Gaudete semper Dominus prope, "Rejoice always, the Lord is near", taken from the Epistle to the Philippians Phil 4:4.

On 18 January 2013, Benedict XVI named him Bishop of Dresden-Meissen, and he was installed there on 16 March.

In December 2014, he warned against dismissing the concerns of anti-immigrant demonstrators. He said: "While we remain committed to the basic right of asylum for refugees from war areas and victims of political persecution, we must ask ourselves what drives such a large number of people on to the streets every Monday and not tar them all with the same brush by a priori labeling them right-wingers."