Anthony Norris Groves

Anthony Norris Groves

Anthony Norris Groves (born February 1, 1795 in Newton Valence , Hampshire , † May 20, 1853 in Bristol ) was an English dentist and missionary who founded the first evangelical mission for Arabic-speaking Muslims. He worked in Baghdad and later in South India , among others . His ideas influenced a circle of friends in the Brethren movement , including John Nelson Darby and Georg Müller , who later married Groves' sister Mary.

Groves sought to simplify the church and mission and saw it as a return to the methods of Jesus Christ and the apostles as found in the New Testament . As a missionary, his goal was to help local believers build their own church without relying on foreign education, permits, or finances. Groves is considered the father of faith missions . His ideas were widely accepted in evangelical circles.

Life

Childhood and youth

Anthony Norris Groves was the only son of a merchant. In 1810 he began studying chemistry in London , which he finished in 1813 to move to his uncle in Plymouth and learn the profession of dentist there. Out of lovesickness he turned to the Christian faith in 1814 and resolved to become a missionary . At the same time he opened a dental practice, the success of which exceeded his expectations, bringing in £ 400 a year. This livelihood strengthened his hope that his uncle would agree to marry his cousin Mary Bathia Thompson. But it wasn't until the end of 1816 that he succeeded in courting Mary, whom he married in the same year. During this time, the desire to become a missionary flared up again.

Study of the Bible and theology

Outwardly the Groves family was very successful, but inwardly Groves felt that he should give himself to Jesus Christ for a work whose goal it became harder to achieve with increasing wealth. After a spiritually distressed period, Groves began studying the Bible in 1822 . Soon after, he became concerned with the proper use of property and became convinced that part of his income should be given away for the "work of the Lord". Between 1823 and 1825 he began to give up a tenth of his income, then a quarter and finally everything. At the same time, Mary began to serve the poor. These harrowing experiences opened her eyes to her own mental state. She experienced a spiritual rebirth and was ready to follow her husband if God should call him to do missionary work. In preparation for missionary work, Groves began studying theology in Dublin in 1826 and gave up his profession.

Mission in Baghdad

During his stays in Dublin in 1827, Groves met Christians who met outside of all church organizations for prayer and Bible study, which was completely new at the time. This group also strengthened his belief that he could celebrate the sacrament without an ordained minister present. A friend questioned whether ordination was really necessary. When the money required for ordination was stolen from him, he broke off his studies and traveled with his family from London via St. Petersburg to Baghdad . Once there, he founded a school, learned the language and lived with the locals. When the plague broke out in 1831 , Groves' wife Mary and one of his children were among the victims. Shortly afterwards he fell ill with the plague himself, from which he however recovered.

Mission in India

In May 1833, Groves embarked on an extensive journey through all of India and toured Bombay , Ceylon and Calcutta as far as the Ganges plain. On this trip he visited numerous mission stations. After finishing the trip to India in June 1834, Groves sailed back to England . There he met Harriet Baynes, whom he took to be his second wife in April 1835. In 1836 the couple traveled to Madras (India) with a mission team . But just a year later, the mission team moved to Chittoor , where it worked until 1848. Groves returned to England that year, but left it again in 1849 to go to India again. In 1852 Groves returned to England seriously ill. At the age of 58 he died in Bristol in Georg Müller's house .

Fonts

• Christian Devotedness, or the Consideration of our Savior's Precept “Lay not up for yourselves Treasures upon Earth” (1825, ²1829)
• Journal of Mr. Anthony Norris Groves, Missionary, during a Journey from London to Bagdad, through Russia, Georgia, and Persia; also, a Journal of some Months' Residence at Bagdad (1831)
• Journal of a Residence at Bagdad, during the Years 1830 and 1831 (1832)
• On the Nature of Christian Influence (1833)
• On the Liberty of Ministry in the Church of Christ (1834)
• A Brief Account of the Present Circumstances of the Tinnevelly Mission (1835)
• The Present State of the Tinnevelly Mission (1836)
• The New Testament in the Blood of Jesus, the Sole Rule of Morals and Discipline to the Christian Church (1837)
• Remarks on a Pamphlet Entitled “The Perpetuity of the Moral Law” (1840)
• The Tottenham Case (1849)
• Catholic Christianity and Party Communion, Delineated in two Letters, etc. (undated)

Published in German translation:

• The Christian's devotion to his Redeemer or contemplation of the Lord's command: "You shall not gather up treasures on earth", Matt. Cap. 6, V 19. Ehlers, Einbeck 1831.
• Do not be concerned ... The happiness of a dependent life. CLV, Bielefeld 1988, ²2004.

literature

• [Harriet Groves:] Memoir of the Late Anthony Norris Groves, Containing Extracts from his Letters and Journals. Compiled by his Widow. Nisbet, London 1856, ²1857, ³1869. - New edition of the 2nd edition (edited by Sentinel Kulp): Sentinel Publications, Sumneytown (PA) 2002.
• G [eorge] H [enry] Lang: Anthony Norris Groves, Saint and Pioneer. A Combined Study of a Man of God and of the Original Principles and Practices of the Brethren with Applications to Present Conditions. Thynne & Co., London 1939; 2nd edition Paternoster Press, London 1949. - Reprinted: Schoettle, Haysville (NC) 1988.
• Harriet Groves: Anthony Norris Groves. Of one who first sought the kingdom of God. Betanien, Bielefeld 2001, ISBN 3-935558-03-1 (translation of extracts from the memoir , ³1869).
• Robert Bernard Then: Father of Faith Missions. The Life and Times of Anthony Norris Groves (1795-1853). Authentic Media, Waynesboro (GA) 2004.
• Robert Bernard Dann: The Primitivist Ecclesiology of Anthony Norris Groves: a radical influence on the nineteenth-century Protestant church in Britain. Tamarisk Books, Great Barrow, Chester 2007.
• Robert Bernard Dann: The Primitivist Missiology of Anthony Norris Groves: a radical influence on nineteenth-century Protestant mission. Tamarisk Books, Great Barrow, Chester 2007.

Web links

• Literature by and about Anthony Norris Groves in the catalog of the German National Library
• Anthony Norris Groves: The Happiness of a Dependent Life (PDF; 2004; 379 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ^ J. Gordon Melton: Groves, Anthony Norris . (1795-1853). In: Encyclopedia of World Religions . Encyclopedia of Protestantism, No. 6 . Facts of File, New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-8160-5456-5 , pp. 253 (English).