August Pfeiffer (theologian)

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August Pfeiffer, portrait in the Lübeck City Library
August Pfeiffer, copper engraving from 1697
A catechism by August Pfeiffer

August Pfeiffer (born October 27, 1640 in Lauenburg / Elbe ; † January 11, 1698 in Lübeck ) was a German Lutheran theologian, orientalist, author of edification and superintendent of the city of Lübeck.

Life

August was born as the son of the customs collector Philipp Pfeiffer and his wife Maria Schneider. After initial training by private teachers and at the school in his hometown, Pfeiffer moved into the Hamburg Johanneum in 1655 and the University of Wittenberg in 1658 . There he studied with Abraham Calov and Johann Deutschmann and received his master's degree in 1659 . In 1665 he was appointed adjunct of the philosophical faculty in Wittenberg and in 1668 he was appointed extraordinary professor of oriental languages. In 1671 he accepted an appointment as pastor in the Duchy of Oels in Silesia, first in Medzibor (Mittelwalde) and in 1673 in Stroppen near Breslau . There Andreas Acoluthus became his student.

In 1675 he returned to Saxony, was pastor at St. Afra in Meißen and inspector of the electoral state school . After settling in 1676 licentiate and had in 1678 received his doctorate in theology in Wittenberg, he moved in 1681 al archdeacon at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig and became 1684 full professor of oriental languages and received an associate professor at the Theological Faculty of the University of Leipzig . In 1689 the council of the imperial city of Lübeck appointed him superintendent , which was connected with a preaching position at the parish office of the Marienkirche . Like his predecessors, including Meno Hanneken , in this office he consistently represented the standpoint of Lutheran orthodoxy and fought all types of pietism .

family

Pfeiffer married in 1668 with Euphrosyna Maria Hertzog, the daughter of the pastor in Dresden Mag. Johann Hertzog and his wife Barbara Sabina Vollhart. There are four sons and four daughters from the marriage:

  • Maria Elisabeth Pfeiffer married 1695 with Lic.Severus Walther Schlüter († 1697)
  • Sylvius Christian Pfeiffer († in Leipzig)
  • Sigismund August Pfeiffer
  • Johann Ehrenfried Pfeiffer (1677–1713), pastor in Güstrow
  • Euphrosyne Concordia Pfeiffer
  • Johann Chrysostomus Pfeiffer († in Leipzig)
  • Johanna Salome Pfeiffer
  • Christiana Sophia Pfeiffer

Act

Pfeiffer was considered a famous orientalist of his time and an important, albeit controversial, advocate of Lutheran orthodoxy.

As a teenager still devoted to the mystical spiritualism of Christian Hoburg , he turned from it completely as a student under the influence of his professors. He emphasized the orthodoxy and the primacy of Orthodox Lutheranism both against Roman Catholicism ( Lutheranism before Luther ) and against the Pietists, engaging with Philipp Jakob Spener in a long-standing dispute about Christian hope.

Pfeiffer's printed sermons (which, however, only partially reflect his actual preaching style) give the impression of a learned but dry Orthodox. His sermons were more like learned lectures; they consisted of a large number of biblical and historical references, but were not very close to life.

plant

For a complete overview of his works up to the year 1700 see the directory of the prints of the 17th century published in the German-speaking area .

Pfeiffer's extensive literary work revolves around three main areas: exegetical and oriental studies, pamphlets, and edification pamphlets. While Schimmelpfennig found in the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie that Pfeiffer's scholarly works were " by far more important than his polemical and ascetic writings ", the prevailing view today is that his edification writings had the greatest impact.

Mention of three writings by Pfeiffer on the title page of the music book for Anna Magdalena Bach

He is considered to be one of the theologians who strongly influenced Johann Sebastian Bach's beliefs and thinking. Pfeiffer's works can be found in Bach's theological library, and on the title page of the Clavier booklet for Anna Magdalena Bach (1722), Bach noted the short titles of three of Pfeiffer's writings:

  • Ante [sic] Calvinism [actually anti-Calvinism]
  • Christian school item
  • AntiMelancholicus

Bach used Pfeiffer's chorale So you now, my Jesus, good night (originally 24 stanzas), which was included in the Dresden hymn book in 1694, in BWV 412 and 501.

Digital copies

  • The simple-minded bad and right peasant belief. Leipzig 1691 ( urn : nbn: de: gbv: 3: 1-5009 digitized copy of the ULB Halle )
  • Avgusti Pfeiffers / SS Th. D. and Lübeckischen Kirchen Superintendentis, Anti-Calvinismus, Das ist / Kurtzer / clearer / sincere and humble report and teaching From the Reformed religion: How far the Reformed / or commonly called Calvinists / in their belief and teaching / to leave us evangelicals / and which is the most correct way to the desired unity. Böckmann, Lübeck 1699 ( diglib.hab.de digitized copy of the copy from the Herzog August Library )
  • D. Augusti Pfeiffers / Weyland Superintendentis derer Lübeckischen Kirchen / Theologia Juridica Catechetica, or the spiritual law change. Lübeck 1700 ( archive.thulb.uni-jena.de digitized copy of the Thuringian University and State Library )

literature

Web links

Commons : August Pfeiffer  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Entry in the Rostock matriculation portal
  2. ↑ So now, my Jesus, say goodnight , accessed on March 14, 2010.
predecessor Office successor
Samuel Pomarius Superintendent of the Lübeck Church
1689–1698 		Georg Heinrich Gotze
personal data
SURNAME Pfeiffer, August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Lutheran theologian, orientalist, author of edification and superintendent of the city of Lübeck
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1640
PLACE OF BIRTH Lauenburg / Elbe
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 1698
Place of death Lübeck