Friedrich Breckling

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Friedrich Breckling, engraving by Andreas Luppius (1692)

Friedrich Breckling (in Danish: Frederik Brekling , born February 5, 1629 in Handewitt near Flensburg, † March 16, 1711 in The Hague ) was a Danish pastor and author .

Life

Breckling came from an old Protestant pastor family originally from Breklum (hence the name). His father Johannes (Jens) Breckling (1589–1672) had published several works related to the Lutheran mysticism of Johann Arndt .

He spent his school days in his native Flensburg and then, according to the custom of the time, devoted himself to extensive hiking studies in theology , with Rostock , Königsberg , Helmstedt , Wittenberg and Gießen being the most important stations. In Giessen he got to know Johann Arndt personally. There he also acquired the theological master's degree in 1653 . He then spent some time in Hamburg , where he was to meet Joachim Betke for the first time . In Amsterdam in 1656 he also met Christian Hoburg .

After his return, Breckling administered the pastorate of General Superintendent Stephan Klotz , who had fled from the Swedes , then worked briefly as a field preacher before he became assistant preacher with his father in his place of birth in 1659. His hope of a pastor's position in Schleswig-Holstein was dashed by his open criticism of the church system and the clergy. The polemical complaint Speculum (1660) led to his dismissal without notice and forced him to flee to the more tolerant Netherlands . In Zwolle he founded a small community of like-minded early pietists . It was here that he became literary active and published almost fifty religious books and writings, contributions to Gottfried Arnold's unparthey church and heretic history from 1699/1700. In the course of time, his house literally developed into a gathering point for "enthusiasts" of all shades. The Lutheran early pietist Hermann Jung was one of his friends .

In 1667, however, he again lost his office as pastor in Zwolle, but still stayed there for some time. In 1672 he lived in Amsterdam , then one of the largest printing and publishing centers. The income from his writings was insufficient, so that he had to look for additional income as a proofreader in a printing company.

Among his numerous opponents is also Quirinus Kuhlmann , who published several writings against him. Exhausted from the long years of persecution and the grueling existence in the midst of religious struggles, Breckling finally retired in The Hague in 1690, where he only died in 1711 at the age of 82.

Works (selection)

  • Speculum seu Lapis lydius Pastorum (i.e. mirror or touchstone for the pastors), in which all preachers and teachers of this last world should look at themselves and according to their conscience as eyes that see and judge everything for God, without hypocrisy of themselves, should seriously examine and examine whether they rightly be or not, sent and recognized by God, preachers, teachers, bishops and superintendents; whether they are like right or wrong prophets; whether they have Christ or the Antichrist's image in them; whether they use the right or wrong apostle to designate marks and characteristics: those who are pious and who allow themselves to be taught and punished by the Spirit of God for fraternal remembrance, awakening, testing and improvement; to the wicked, hypocrites, stiffnecked and contradicting but set up as a testimony and presented on their conscience according to the rule of the word of God. Amsterdam 1660
  • Biblia pauperum ... Gospel of the poor. Amsterdam 1662
  • Six witty different scripts. Amsterdam 1697

Literature (selection)

List of works and references

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Entry in the Rostock matriculation portal
personal data
SURNAME Breckling, Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brekling, Frederik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish pastor and author
DATE OF BIRTH February 5, 1629
PLACE OF BIRTH Handewitt
DATE OF DEATH March 16, 1711
Place of death 's-Gravenhage