Erik Benzelius the Elder

Erik Benzelius the Elder . sometimes Eric Benzelius the Elder (born December 16, 1632 in Bensbyn, Luleå municipality , † February 17, 1709 in Uppsala ) was a Swedish Lutheran theologian and archbishop of Uppsala .

Life

Benzelius, who came to Uppsala for training in 1644, studied at the university there from 1648 and in 1661 acquired the title of Master of Philosophy. He was then employed by Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie and made a study trip to Germany, France, England, Holland and Belgium with his son Gustaf Adolf (1647–1695) from 1663 to 1665. The encounter with other currents, however, strengthened his anchoring in Lutheran Orthodoxy , which was already shown in the Disputation De vitando Syncretismo (1664 at the University of Giessen ).

After returning to Uppsala, Benzelius became Associate Professor of History and Moral Philosophy, and the following year Associate Professor of Theology. At the same time he was ordained . In 1668 he moved up to a full professorship and served as rector of the university in 1674 and 1680 . In 1675 he was promoted to Dr. theol. PhD. In his courses and publications he made a name for himself primarily as a church historian. From 1675 he was also a member of the pastor's office in the Swedish State Council and soon gained great influence on church politics.

After he was already in 1686 by King Charles XI. had been entrusted with the religious education of the crown prince , the king appointed him in 1687 bishop of Strängnäs . However, he continued teaching and took on other duties outside of his diocese. He had already participated in the revision of the church constitution ( kyrkolag ), which was completed in 1686 , and was now involved in the editing of a new catechism, a new Bible translation and a new hymn book . Here he campaigned against innovations that he considered dangerous for the unity of the church. He also wrote a textbook on homiletics in 1694 , which was in use until the end of the 18th century.

After the death of Olaus Svebilius , he was appointed Archbishop of Uppsala and served as the highest dignitary of the Church of Sweden until his death . Here he fought u. a. Pietism invading Sweden . He was also responsible for rebuilding the city after the great fire of 1702.

family

Benzelius was born the son of the farmer Henrik Jakobsson and his wife Margareta Jonsdotter. He took the name Benzelius (after his place of birth) during his student days.

Benzelius had ten children from his first marriage to Margaretha Odhelia (1653–1693), daughter of Professor Erik Odhelius , including:

• Margareta Benzelia († 1710), married to Bishop Olaus Nezelius
• Christina Benzelia (1673–1724), married to Bishop Zacharias Esberg
• Erik Benzelius the Younger (1675–1743), Archbishop
• Olof Benzelstierna (1678–1726), assessor at Svea hovrätt
• Lars Benzelstierna (1680–1755), mineralogist and governor
• Jakob Benzelius (1683–1747), Archbishop
• Nils Benzelstierna (1686–1737), captain
• Gustaf Benzelstierna (1687–1746), librarian
• Henrik Benzelius (1689–1758), Archbishop

The sons were accepted into the hereditary nobility in 1719 and thus founded the Benzelstierna family . The three sons, who were clergymen, renounced the title of nobility and kept the name Benzelius .

The second marriage in 1695 with Anna Mackeij (1648–1704) remained childless.

Fonts (selection)

• Dissertatio philologica De messia Judaico, e rabbinorum maxime commentariis brevi subinde epricrisi adjuncta . Diss. Uppsala 1675
• Epitome rhetoricæ ecclesiasticæ, qvam per collegia publico-privata diversis temporibus habita in Regia Academia Upsaliensi, studiosæ juventuti proposuit , 1694 (3rd edition 1771)
• Breviarium historiæ ecclesiasticæ, veteris & novi testamenti, discentium usui destinatum, iteratis vicibus juventuti propositum, multorum desideriis expetitum, nunc demum typis descriptum & cum privilegio regio evulgatum . Strängnäs 1695 (several new editions up to 1802)

literature

• Henrik Afzelius: Erik Benzelius d. Ä .: en kyrkohistorisk lefnadsbild från Sveriges storhetstidehvarf . Marcus, Stockholm; Vol. 1: 1897; Vol. 2: 1902.
• R. Holm: Eric d.ä. Benzelius . In: Svenskt biografiskt lexikon , Vol. 3, Stockholm 1922, p. 233 (online resource)

Web links

Commons : Erik Benzelius den äldre  - collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Carolus Lithman	Bishop of Strängnäs 1687–1700	Johannes Bilberg
Olaus Svebilius	Archbishop of Uppsala 1700–1709	Haquin level