Adolf Zahn

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Adolf Johannes Cleophas Zahn (also: Adolph Johannes Kleophas; born September 28, 1834 in Mützenow ; † February 27, 1900 in Stuttgart ) was a Protestant theologian . He was an Evangelical Reformed cathedral preacher in Halle and pastor at the Dutch Reformed congregation in Elberfeld and Stuttgart and is considered a representative of neocalvinism .

Live and act

In Neustettin , where his father was transferred from the Mützenow parish near Stolp to this superintendentage , Zahn attended the Fürstlich-Hedwigsche Gymnasium . He studied Protestant theology in Halle from September 1853 to Easter 1856 and continued his studies in Tübingen in 1857. In October 1857, Zahn passed his first theological exam and in March 1859 his second.

The dogmatist Julius Müller and the exegete August Tholuck were among the professors at the theological faculty of the University of Halle in 1855 and 1856, which Zahn assessed as important . As a Reformed pastor, Zahn took a critical look at the doctrines they represented. In his printed résumé as a cathedral preacher in Halle, Zahn named the university professor Johannes Wichelhaus and the doctorate theologian Hermann Kohlbrügge as the clergymen who introduced him to the “understanding of the Holy Scriptures”. Zahn stayed temporarily in Switzerland to apply for a pastor's position there. After unsuccessful efforts to secure the prospect of a pastorate, he was appointed preacher at the cathedral church in September 1859 in order to be available as assistant preacher to the cathedral preacher and theology professor Ludwig Gottfried Blanc . His ordination as a pastor took place on October 22, 1860 in Magdeburg. The appointment of Zahn to a cathedral preacher position, the 3rd position, became possible when the previous position holder, cathedral preacher Wilhelm Focke, was appointed to the second pastoral position due to the retirement of Ludwig Gottfried Blanc as 2nd cathedral preacher in the autumn of 1860 - Blanc remained as professor of Romance languages ​​still active in Halle - could move up. His academic degree Lic. Theol. acquired Zahn in Vienna in 1871 and the Dr. theol. 1872 in Marburg. Zahn's inauguration as 3rd cathedral preacher took place on December 9, 1860 by the 1st cathedral preacher and consistorial councilor Andreas Samuel Neuenhaus with the assistance of his father Johann Friedrich Adolph Zahn, who was pastor in Neustettin in Giebichenstein until his retirement, as well as the cathedral preacher Blanc. Cathedral preacher Zahn worked in Halle for 16 years from 1860 to 1876 and in his farewell sermon on October 29, 1876 thanked the evangelical reformed abbess and all the “conventuals” of the noble Jenastift for the hospitality shown to him as pastor and justified his Step to change from the Uniate regional church in Prussia to the Elberfeld Reformed congregation, “which, in contrast to the regional Reformed congregation, called itself the Dutch Reformed congregation”. However, Zahn only stayed in Elberfeld until 1880 and then moved to the Reformed parish in Stuttgart, where, in addition to his parish work, he mainly worked as a journalist.

Private matters including relatives

On May 4, 1862, Zahn married Pauline, born on November 26, 1836. von der Heydt. She was the daughter of four children of the privy councilor Daniel von der Heydt , who was a co-founder of the Dutch Reformed Church in Elberfeld in 1847. The marriage with Pauline resulted in five children, one of whom died immediately after birth: Afterwards were born: Johannes (* February 19, 1865), Alwine (* August 2, 1868), Paula (* September 18, 1870) and Meta (born February 29, 1872). When Adolf Zahn published the birth dates of his children in Stuttgart at Easter 1881 in the life picture especially of his relatives by marriage "von der Heydt", his wife's family, only two of his children were still alive: Johannes and Meta. Zahn chose the Bible verse as the motto for the life story of his father-in-law Daniel von der Heydt: Look at the rock from which you were hewn, and the well, from which you were dug.

His mother, Kleophea Zahn, born in St. Gallen in 1797, died in Giebichenstein near Halle an der Saale in 1860, was a daughter of the St. Gallen Pietist Anna Schlatter-Bernet and her husband, Hector Stephan Schlatter (* 1805; † 1880). Adolf Zahn was a cousin of the Protestant theologian and professor for New Testament and systematics in Bern, Greifswald, Berlin and Tübingen Adolf Schlatter .

One aunt was Anna Zahn, née Schlatter (* 1800; † 1853). As a result of this family relationship, Adolf Zahn was a cousin of the teacher and director of the Adolfinum grammar school in Moers, Johannes Zahn and his brothers, the Protestant theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Erlangen Theodor Zahn and the Protestant theologian and inspector of the North German Mission Society , Franz Michael Tooth . Adolf Zahn was closely related to these cousins ​​through his father, Johann Friedrich Adolf Zahn (born January 8, 1795 in Wasserthaleben ; † February 5, 1866 in Giebichenstein), who last worked as superintendent a. D. lived near his son in Giebichenstein when he was still a cathedral preacher in Halle. The father of his cousins, the educator Franz Ludwig Zahn , was a younger brother of his father. Both brothers, Johann Friedrich Adolf and Franz Ludwig, were sons of Pastor Johann Gottlieb Zahn (born September 6, 1762 in Wasserthaleben; † April 3, 1845 ibid) and his wife Amalie Karoline Christine, née Koch (born January 1, 1771 in Großenehrich ; † February 17, 1853 ibid).

When Zahn was still a cathedral preacher in Halle, he used the library in the Jenastift, which was a “treasure trove” for his “historical studies”. Most of the books had been donated by Christians of the Evangelical Reformed Confession who frequented the aristocratic women's monastery, as well as " canonesses " from there , as he occasionally referred to the aristocratic women because of the religious daily routine with prayer hours in the secular von Jenaschen fräuleinstift.

Halle sermons in the cathedral and in St. Moritz in the war year 1870

In his published sermons in Halle in the cathedral and in the church of St. Moritz during the 1870 war against France , the Reformed pastor described and judged in a contemporary and enlightening way: “There is something terrible about the war. It remains murder, even if it is orderly murder ... All passions rage above the battlefields, the last remnant of what is human is disappearing. You sink under the animal. And now French and German together? ... No criminals are dismissed here, but your sons. ”In a divine service in memory of the deceased on November 20, 1870, the cathedral preacher named the nuns von Boenigk (* 1825–1895 ) and the nuns von Kitzing ( 1836–1874 ) from the jenas, each of which had to lament the death of a brother.

When the Franco-German war dragged on and Adolf Zahn celebrated Christmas 1870 with his family in Halle, he wrote down what moved him and his community in an eight-verse poem. Two of them are particularly impressive because of their expressiveness:

The world lies deep and full of laughter of blood /
The peoples murder each other in hatred /
And greedily fed up with the sword /
And the war continues to devour the jaws.

The child of the earth can get used to everything:
God thunders over him with power /
Throws him into the starless night:
He wanders around and stays away from him with his longings.

Fonts

Due to his numerous publications, Adolf Zahn is also considered a writer.

  • Announcements about the clergy of the evangelical-reformed cathedral parish in Halle ad S.: for the three hundred year commemoration of the Heidelberg Catechism. Hall 1863 ;.
  • Calvin's pupils in Halle on the Saale. With the portrait of Calvin after Theophil Schuler's copy of the Geneva original, engraved in copper by F. Knoll and a view of Moritzburg and cathedral after C. Würbs engraved in steel by Joh. Poppel, Halle, 1864; (Reprint 2010); ISBN 978-1-141-78783-8 .
  • The influence of the Reformed Church on Prussia's size. Hall 1871 ;.
  • De notione peccati, quam Johannes in prima epistola docet, commentatio. Halis Sax, 1872; .
  • Farewell words were spoken in the cathedral church in Halle on August 27, September 3 and October 29, 1876. Halle 1876.
  • The grandpa. A picture of life. Stuttgart 1881
  • From the life of a reformed pastor. Barmen 1881.
  • The causes of the decline of the Reformed churches in Germany. Barmen, 1881.
  • together with J. Künzli: In memory of Herm. Friedr. Kohlbrügge: Doctor of theology and pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church in Elberfeld. Elberfeld 1882.
  • A church robbery: Contribution to the history of the Reformed Church in Württemberg. (Separate print from the "Deutsche Reichspost"). Stuttgart, 1882
  • Calvin's judgments about Luther: a contribution to the Luther celebration from the Reformed Church of Germany. Ludwigsburg 1883.
  • Zwingli's services to the biblical doctrine of the Lord's Supper. JF Steinkopf publishing house, Stuttgart 1884.
  • Outline of a history of the Protestant Church on mainland Europe in the nineteenth century. Stuttgart 1886.
  • The Protestant Swabia: a church image of the time. Heilbronn 1886.
  • Outline a History of the Evangelical Church in America in the Nineteenth Century. JF Steinkopf Publishing House , Stuttgart 1889.
  • Wander through scripture and history. Gütersloh 1891.
  • Serious glances at the madness of modern criticism of the Old Testament . Gütersloh 1893.
  • Studies on John Calvin: the Judgments of the 19th Century Catholic and Protestant Historians on the Reformer. Gutersloh 1894.
  • Israelite and Jewish history: judgment on the writing of J. Wellhausen . With supplements: Outline of a story from the Old Testament canon. Isaiah's testimony. A criticism. The growth of waste. The new professor in Tübingen. The justification of Köhler. The Luterhbiograph on the Pentateuch. Gutersloh 1895
  • The last two years of John Calvin's life. Leipzig 1895
  • Lectures on critical questions: the Old Testament: 1. Lecture on the criticism of the Old Testament, held April 27, 1897. 2. Lectures held in Tübingen in the winter of 1896/97 on the Book of Joshua, the Books of Kings, the Psalms and the Law . Published by E. Ungleich, Leipzig 1898.
  • The last two years of John Calvin's life . Revised reprint, Stuttgart, 1898
  • About the biblical and ecclesiastical concept of crediting: a contribution to the doctrine of justification. Scheffer & Company, Amsterdam, 1899
  • Zahn as editor:
    • Women's letters: Anna Schlatter , Wilhelmine von der Heydt and Kleophea Zahn. Halle, 1862 (3rd edition 1875)
    • The doctrine of the Holy Scriptures on the word of God, on the nature and works of God, on man and the law of God by Johannes Wichelhaus [..]. Along with messages from his life. 3rd, modified edition, Stuttgart, 1892
  • A winter in Tübingen. Sketches from the life of a German university town and information from lectures on the Torah of Moses in the light of the Holy Scriptures; with two supplements: The basic ideas of the book of Job. Address to William Henry Green. Stuttgart, 1896;

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pastors' book of the Church Province of Saxony. Volume 9. Biograms Tr - Z. Published by the Association for Pastors in the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Center for Pietism Research at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in conjunction with the Francke Foundations in Halle (Saale) and the Evangelical Church in Central Germany . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig, 2009, p. 479; ISBN 978-3-374-02141-3 .
  2. ↑ Adolph Zahn: Information about the clergy of the evangelical-reformed cathedral community in Halle ad S.: for the three hundred year commemoration of the Heidelberg Catechism . Halle 1863, p. 51.
  3. ↑ A. Zahn: From the life of a reformed pastor. Barmen 1881 ( DNB 578456966 ). Second revised edition, Easter 1885, p. 16 f.
  4. ↑ Adolph Zahn: Information about the clergy of the evangelical-reformed cathedral community in Halle ad S.: for the three hundred year commemoration of the Heidelberg Catechism . Halle, 1863, p. 51.
  5. ↑ Biographical data: Domprediger Focke ( Memento of the original from June 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sachsen-anhalt-wiki.de
  6. ^ Meyers Großes Konversationslexikon , 3rd volume, Leipzig a. Vienna, 1907, keyword “Blanc”, p. 16
  7. ↑ Adolph Zahn: Information about the clergy of the evangelical-reformed cathedral community in Halle ad S.: for the three hundred year commemoration of the Heidelberg Catechism . Halle 1863, p. 52 f.
  8. ↑ A. Zahn: A winter in Tübingen: Sketches from the life of a German university town and information from lectures on the Torah of Moses in the light of the Holy Scriptures; with two supplements: The basic ideas of the book of Job. Address to William Henry Green. Stuttgart, 1896, p. 7.
  9. ^ Gender journal : Parents of Adolf Zahn .
  10. ^ A. Zahn: Farewell spoken in the cathedral church in Halle on August 27, September 3 and October 29, 1876 . Halle 1876, p. 32 and 35;
  11. ^ Gender Journal : Marriage .
  12. ↑ Adolph Zahn: The grandfather. A picture of life . Stuttgart 1881, p. 14.
  13. ↑ Inside title page "The Grandfather", motto from the "Prophetic Book" Isaiah in the Old Testament ; Half-sentence in verse 1, chap. 51 .
  14. ↑ Kleophea Schlatter descent .
  15. ↑ Review of “God's Grace and Man's Misery” .
  16. ^ Frank Heidermann's Genealogy; Johann Friedrich Adolf Zahn .
  17. ↑ A. Zahn: From the life of a reformed pastor . Barmen, 1881, p. 12
  18. ↑ A. Zahn: Calvin's pupils in Halle an der Saale , comment on “13. The social benefit ”p. 113.
  19. ↑ A. Zahn: Sermons held in the cathedral and in St. Moritz zu Halle ad Saale during the war in 1870 , Halle, 1870, sermon in the cathedral on Matthew Chapter 24, verses 5–7, p. 7; digitized from the library d. University. Halle (Saale)
  20. ↑ Monika Kubrova: From the good life. Noble women in the 19th century . Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2011 pp. 390f., Continuation of Table 1 “Conventual women (1703 to 1948)”; ISBN 978-3-05-005001-0
  21. ^ A. Zahn: Sermons held in the cathedral and in St. Moritz zu Halle ad Saale during the war in 1870 , Halle, 1870, p. 76.
  22. ↑ A. Zahn: From the life of a reformed pastor . Barmen, 1881, p. 127; DNB 578456966
  23. ^ Adolf Zahn in the German biography
  24. ↑ BSB digital MDZ reader
  25. ↑ BSB digital MDZ reader
  26. ↑ BSB digital MDZ reader
  27. ↑ University Library of the Humboldt University of Berlin : Fk53300
  28. ^ University library of the Humboldt University of Berlin (Grimm Center): Theol. F7515: F8
  29. ^ University library of the Humboldt University of Berlin (Grimm Center): Theol. 4505: F8
  30. ^ University library of the Humboldt University of Berlin : Ew 58791
  31. ^ University library of the Humboldt University in Berlin : Ce 86225
  32. ^ University library of the Humboldt University in Berlin (branch library in the theological faculty, basement): 1962F380
  33. ↑ BSB digital MDZ reader
personal data
SURNAME Zahn, Adolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zahn, Adolph Johannes Kleophas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German reformed clergyman
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1834
PLACE OF BIRTH Mützenow
DATE OF DEATH February 27, 1900
Place of death Stuttgart