Christian Drachardt
Christian Lauritzen Drachardt (born June 26, 1711 in Skelskør , † September 18, 1778 in Nain , Canada ) was a Danish missionary .
Life
Christian Drachardt was the son of the merchant Lauritz Christensen Drachardt (1685-1721) and his wife Maren Christensdatter Høystrup (around 1692-1733). After the death of his father he was tutored by his uncle Christensen Drachardt, who was a pastor in Skellerup Sogn . Christian started school in Nyborg when he was 18 . From 1731 to 1736 he studied theology. He then attended the Greenland seminar, where he was taught personally by Hans Egede , who saw no particular talent in him.
Nevertheless, he was ordained in 1739 . He felt drawn to the teaching of the Moravian Brethren and, after initial hesitation, began to do missionary work in Nuuk according to the teaching practiced in Neu-Herrnhut , with which he was exposed to great resistance. Christian Drachardt did not agree with the Danish mission and was a great critic of Hans Egedes. Ultimately, he wanted to transfer the entire Danish community of the colony to Neu-Herrnhut, which he did not succeed. Hans Egede tried to remove Christian Drachardt, and when this was refused, he finished his missionary work in Greenland. Drachardt married Rosina Thieme (1712–1751) on August 6, 1745, who came from Silesia . Christian Drachardt was, after Egede, the missionary with the longest term in office in the early phase of the missionary work in Greenland. Because of his great dedication and love for the Greenland people, he has been described as an extremely capable missionary.
In 1751, because of the death of his wife and in poor health, he returned to Europe, where he settled in Herrnhut and worked as a porcelain painter . In 1765 he moved to Labrador with the missionary Jens Haven to spread the Moravian teachings among the Inuit . Only a little later he moved to England to the Herrnhuter settlement of Fulneck in Leeds . After his second marriage in 1770, he returned to Canada the following year, where he died in 1778.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biography in Dansk Biografisk Leksikon
- ↑ Biography in Biografisk Leksikon for Grønland
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Drachardt, Christian |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Drachardt, Christian Lauritzen (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Danish missionary |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 26, 1711 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Skelskør |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 18, 1778 |
| Place of death | Nain , Canada |