Erasmus Sarcerius

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Erasmus Sarcerius on a 16th century engraving

Erasmus Sarcerius (born April 19, 1501 in Annaberg , † November 18, 1559 in Magdeburg ) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer .

Life

Little is known about Sarcerius youth. He is said to have gone to school in Freiberg and attended the University of Leipzig . After the death of his humanistic teacher Petrus Mosellanus , he moved to Wittenberg in 1524 and joined Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon . In the following years he is said to have worked first at schools in Austria and later in Rostock . From 1531 to 1536 he was the first sub-rector at the Katharineum in Lübeck . During these years he made a name for himself through his writings.

In 1536 he was appointed rector of the Latin school in Siegen and in the following year was appointed superintendent of the state by Count Wilhelm von Nassau . His pedagogical experience is expressed in his theological work. Sarcerius wrote catechisms , practical written explanations , and published sermons . His dogmatic compendium "Methodus divinae scripturae locos praecipuos explicans" from 1539/40 comes from the same motifs.

He served as a preacher in Andernach during the Reformation attempt of Archbishop Hermann von Wied and in 1545 in the Babenhausen office , which belonged to the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg . While he was still working in Nassau , he was offered a professorship in Leipzig , but Count Wilhelm would not let him go.

After the Augsburg interim , the count could not hold him. Sarcerius hoped to come to Lübeck or Rostock first , but finally decided to take over the pastoral office of St. Thomas in Leipzig. Through his work in the West and in his Saxon homeland, he gained great influence in church circles. Contemporaries considered him an important figure and treated him with great respect.

From Leipzig, Sarcerius was appointed as superintendent to Mansfeld , where he worked as a visitor and organizer. He laid the foundations for this in his work “Form and Manner of a Visitation for the Counts and Lordship of Mansfeld” in 1554. As a strictly Lutheran theologian, he had a hard time with the followers of Georg Major . This attitude ultimately alienated him from his former teacher Melanchthon completely, which he faced at the Worms Religious Discussion in 1557.

He has published numerous influential writings, for example “Proposal of a Church Congregation”, “Trial Booklet” (1556) or “Pastorale or Shepherd's Book of the Ministry, Nature and Discipline of Pastors” (1559). Contemporaries praised Sarcerius as a pious and theologically well-read man who took a position on internal Protestant disputes, although he mostly followed Luther's line.

His main concern was religious life in the parishes and in theological debates he tried to keep an eye on the effects on practical church work. Determined by the circumstances in Mansfeld, he accepted the call to Magdeburg as a senior in 1559 . He died there after his 4th sermon.

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personal data
SURNAME Sarcerius, Erasmus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lutheran theologian and reformer
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 1501
PLACE OF BIRTH Annaberg
DATE OF DEATH November 18, 1559
Place of death Magdeburg