Aegidius Gillissen

Aegidius Gillesen

Aegidius Gillissen also: Aegidius Gillis (* July 12, 1712 in Middelburg , † June 13, 1800 in Leiden ) was a Dutch Reformed theologian.

Life

The son of the Middelburg citizen Gilles Gillesen and his wife Anna Knypers were baptized on July 24th. After attending the Latin school in his hometown, in 1732 he began studying theology at the University of Groningen under Cornelius van Velzen (1696–1752). After completing his studies, he was called to Borssele as a pastor in 1737 . In 1739 he received another appointment to Ritthem and in 1740 to Wolfaartsdijk, which he refused. In March 1741 he took office in Terneuzen , in 1745 he moved to Bergen op Zoom and in 1746 to Vlissingen . In March 1747 he was appointed professor of theology and academy preacher at the University of Franeker . In April 1748 he received an honorary doctorate in theology of the university and took over the chair on May 1, 1749. He refused calls to pastors in Rotterdam and Utrecht .

During that time, as a follower of the orthodox line of Gisbert Voetius, he gained widespread recognition in the Reformed church circles of the Netherlands. Here he also took part in the organizational tasks of the Frisian university and was rector in 1760/61. In 1765 he followed a call to professor of theology at the University of Leiden , where he was rector of the Alma Mater in 1768/69 . In 1789 he asked for his dismissal for reasons of age. After eleven years of retirement, he died in Leiden in 1800.

On May 3, 1751, he married Cornelia Petronella Willekens in Middelburg (around 1730 in Middelburg; † May 28, 1799 in Leiden), the daughter of the late Jacob Willekens and his wife Johanna Zuydhoeck. The son of Aegidius Willekens Gillesen emulated his father as a theologian. He became pastor in Hekelingen in 1799, pastor in Krimpen am Lek in 1780, pastor in Leiderdorp in 1790 and pastor in Leiden in 1793. For political reasons his term of office was suspended from 1796 to 1802 until he was finally released into retirement in 1821 and died on January 15, 1841.

Works

• Vorst Messias vrede beschikkinge aan de Gelovige Kerk, en door seven heroes en eight vorsten uyt de people, hair lost van het geweld van Assur of Intrereden te Vlissingen over Micha V: 4, 5. Middelburg 1746
• Oratio De praesentibus theologici fundi calamitatibus. Franeker 1749 (is said to have also appeared in Dutch in 1749)
• Disputationes duae de sacrosanctis Evangeliis ad Apocryphos quosdam libros non accommodatis. Franeker 1754,
• Oratio funebris in Obitum (...) Emonis Lucii Vriemoet. Franeker 1760
• Oratio de Deistorum objectionibus Christianae religionis propagandae aptis. Franeker 1762
• Oratio de veterum haereticorum injusta defensione. Leiden 1765
• Oratio de fabulius Ecclesiasticis temere arreptis ad infirmandam Evangelii veritatem. Leiden 1769

literature

• Johann Christoph Strodtman: The new learned Europe. Johann Christoph Meißner, Wolfenbüttel, 1760, part 15, p. 645 ( online )
• GILLISSEN (Aegidius of Gillis). In: Jan Pieter de Bie, Jakob Loosjes: Biographical woordenboek van protestantsche godgeleerden in Nederland. Martinus Nijhoff, Den Haag, 1931, vol. 3, p. 251, ( online )
• Laurentius Knappert: GILLISSEN (Aegidius) . In: Petrus Johannes Blok , Philipp Christiaan Molhuysen (Ed.): Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek . Part 4. N. Israel, Amsterdam 1974, Sp. 656–657 (Dutch, knaw.nl / dbnl.org - first edition: AW Sijthoff, Leiden 1918, reprinted unchanged).
• Abraham Jacob van der Aa : Biographical Woordenboek der Nederlanden. Verlag JJ van Brederode, Haarlem 1862, vol. 7, p. 188, ( online , Dutch)
• Barend Glasius: Biographical Woordenboek van Nederlandsche Godgeleerden. Muller Brothers, 's-Hertogenbosch, 1851, Vol. 1, p. 526, ( online , Dutch)
• WBS Boeles: Frieslands Hoogeschool en het Rijks Athenaeum te Franeker. A. Maijer, Leeuwarden, 1889, Vol. 2, Booklet 2, p. 497
• J. van der Baan: Gillissen (Aegidius) In: De Navorscher. JC Loman, Amsterdam, 1878, pp. 397-399, ( online )