Alexandre Roussel

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Alexandre Roussel (* 1701 or 1702 in Uzès in southern France ; † November 30, 1728 in Montpellier ) was a Huguenot preacher . He is considered an evangelical martyr . (In the German-speaking countries, the Germanized variant of the name Alexander Roussel is often found , sometimes the incorrect spelling Alesandre Roussel .)

Life

Alexandre Roussel was born into a noble family. He grew up in the dangers of the Camisard Wars . His mother, who is considered very pious, raised him in the evangelical faith. He felt called to the clerical office early on, despite the numerous death sentences against Huguenots, which were passed under Nicolas de Lamoignon of Basville (1648–1724), the director of the Languedoc .

The royal edict of May 14, 1724 intensified the persecution of the Huguenots.

Roussel was 25 years old when Antoine Court , impressed by his piety, accepted him. As an evangelical reformed clergyman, Roussel had to go underground because of the aforementioned edict. The preachers of the underground church were called "shepherds of the desert". Roussel managed to escape from his pursuers several times. The young clergyman was able to survive as a traveling preacher in the Cevennes for two years .

View from the mountains to
Le Vigan

He was betrayed for a bounty when he attended a gathering near Le Vigan and Aulas that he was the last to leave. So he was arrested on October 10, 1728, where he could neither flee nor make arrangements to do so. He was then tied and gagged, initially dragged to Le Vigan, ridiculed and abused all the way through. He was then brought to justice. During the trial the judge asked him: “What is your business?” Roussel replied: “Preach the gospel.” “Where did you preach?” Roussel replied: “Wherever I found Christians gathered.” The judge also asked: “ Where was your residence? ”Roussel's answer:“ Under the sky. ”At the instigation of Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury , formerly Bishop of Fréjus , Roussel was sentenced to death by hanging . He was then imprisoned with two comrades in the citadel, which supporters of the Reformation had long referred to as the “house of believers”. Five or six of the dragoons who arrested Roussel were guarding his prison.

Later he was taken to Montpellier at night by some grenadiers, where he was imprisoned in the citadel, in which numerous Huguenot pastors had previously been imprisoned. Therefore, this citadel has also been called the “house of believers” for a long time. When Roussel's mother heard of his arrest, she threw herself at the feet of the 7th Duke of Uzès , Jean Charles de Crussol (lifetime 1675–1739, reign 1693–1739), the governor of Saintonge , whose wet nurse she was once, and pleaded him that he should stand up for his foster brother. The Duke tried to save the young man, but behaved opportunistically and replied that he could only save Alexandre Roussel if he renounced. The mother insultedly refused this proposal. She rushed to Roussel's prison with her son-in-law and other friends. “My son,” she said to him, “you prayed to God instead of the saints. This is a crime in France for which one is not shown mercy. You will fall victim to this. Indeed, we have many friends who can achieve a lot, but they have told me that they would do anything in any other matter, but no one will stand up for someone who calls on God. ”The prisoner reassured his mother and appeared even look forward to his impending, as he evidently hoped, blissful end. As a further rescue attempt, the Duke Alexandre Roussel advised to fake madness. The latter declined with thanks, pointing out that his mind had never been so clear as in this situation. He was asked by Jesuits to renounce the evangelical faith; He was also offered a substantial bribe if he converted to Catholicism. Roussel refused this too.

Shortly afterwards, the officials and the executioner entered the prison together. Roussel knelt down and prayed for courage for his final journey. This was followed by Roussel's execution on the Place du Pérou in Montpellier. He looked calm and serious and was singing the 51st Psalm as he walked to the place of execution , bareheaded and barefoot, with the rope around his neck already . He knelt in front of the gallows and prayed. Then he climbed the ladder, saying, according to tradition, “Father, forgive them; because they don't know what they are doing! ”(Compare the crossword Lk 23,34  LUT and Johann Hüglin .) Then he turned to the executioner and said:“ I forgive you and all who harm me with my heart. ” Alexandre Roussel died quickly on the gallows at the age of only 26. This happened on November 30, 1728.

Afterlife

It is said that Roussel's mother was by no means depressed. Instead, she is said to have been happy that he triumphed over all visible and invisible enemies with his martyr's death. Court visited her for comfort. She is said to have said to him with full conviction: “If my son had shown any weakness, I would never be able to console myself about it. But, since he died steadfast, how do I not have to thank God who made him steadfast! "

Roussel was buried under the ramparts of the citadel of Montpellier. Later, in 1732, Pierre Durand , another evangelical martyr, was buried next to him .

The lament Complainte de la mère de Roussel was soon composed about Roussel's martyrdom, and it spread from mouth to mouth among the Protestant French. His mother is compared with Mary , through whose heart, based on the biblical formulation Lk 2,35  LUT , a sharp sword penetrated under her son's cross . In the song, the unnamed traitor is promised the wages of his “compatriot” Judas , whose post-mortem residence and host he should now share. The corresponding four verses are no longer intact, the rest of the text is on in French antiwarsongs.org be viewed, an audio file to the song can be found on jpc.de .

As mentioned in the previous chapter, Alexandre Roussel was a friend of Antoine Court. In this connection, a private letter from Benjamin du Plan to Court of December 25, 1728, in which Roussel's death is commented on in detail, has been preserved. Using biblical comparisons, Du Plan expresses his hope that Roussel’s example would encourage the Protestant Church in France. After Roussel's death, the persecution of evangelical preachers, especially Antoine Courts, intensified. As a later example of executions of Protestant preachers under Louis XV. Matthias Desubas (1720–1746) called. The last execution of a pastor was that of François Rochette on February 6, 1762 in Toulouse .

In Aulas, near the place where Roussel was arrested, there is a memorial for him and the Protestant martyrs François Bénézet (1726–1752) and Étienne Teissier , called Lafage (1721–1754).

Remembrance day

November 30th in the Evangelical Name Calendar .

In the corresponding German-language calendar lists, the Germanized variant of the name is predominant.

Before the introduction of the official name calendar, the day of remembrance was already listed in:

  • Theodor Fliedner : Book of Martyrs , Kaiserswerth 1849/1859, Vol. 4, pp. 1399-1404
  • Ferdinand Piper : Evangelical Calendar in Witnesses of Truth , Berlin 1874/1875, Vol. 1, pp. 14-25, previously in the Evangelical Yearbook , see sources
  • Prussian Evangelical Oberkirchenrat: Calendar of names for the German people , Berlin 1876
  • Jörg Erb : The Cloud of the Witnesses , Kassel 1951/1963, Vol. 4, pp. 508-520

swell

literature

  • D. Benoit: Alesandre Roussel: prédicateur martyr des Cévennes (1700-1728) , Revue Chretienne, Volume 33, published 1896, pp. 369-390
  • Paul Faivre: Les grandes figures du XVIIIe siècle huguenot. Alexandre Roussel, 1701-1728 , impr. J. Thaumiau, 1929

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Complainte de la mère de Roussel Text on antiwarsongs.org
  2. ↑ Complainte de la mère de Roussel audio file on jpc.de


personal data
SURNAME Roussel, Alexandre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Roussel, Alesandre; Roussel, Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French preacher and evangelical martyr
DATE OF BIRTH 1701 or 1702
PLACE OF BIRTH Uzès in the south of France
DATE OF DEATH November 30, 1728
Place of death Montpellier