Georg Calixt

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Georg Calixt

Georg Calixt , also Georg Kallisen (born December 14, 1586 in Medelby , Schleswig , † March 19, 1656 in Helmstedt ) was a German Protestant theologian .

Life

Calixt was the son of Pastor Johannes Callisen (called Calixt) and his wife Catharina, the daughter of Flensburg mayor Claus Richert. After attending school in Flensburg , Calixt studied philosophy and philology at the University of Helmstedt from 1603 . Most of the time, professors Johannes Caselius and Cornelius Martini were his teachers. In 1607 Calixt switched to theology.

In the years 1609 to 1613 Calixt went on a study trip through Germany , Belgium , Great Britain and France . After his return he became known across national borders when he dared to publicly dispute with the Jesuit Augustin (us) Turrianus in Hämelschenburg Castle in 1614 . Calixt owed his chair for theology at the University of Helmstedt, which he held until his death, to this appearance.

Calixt was a representative of a humanistic theology, shaped by Philipp Melanchthon's teachings. Calixt is considered the most important Irishman of the 17th century. From conservative Lutherans such as Johann Hülsemann , Johann Conrad Dannhauer and Abraham Calovius Calixt was very hostility that it allows Concord disallowed by 1577 and the ubiquity declined.

At his request, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg sent Calixt to the Thorner Religious Discussion as an advisor to the Königsberg Lutherans . But Calixt was not recognized by Hülsemann and Calov in particular and therefore excluded from all deliberations. He was therefore unable to officially advise the reformed MPs.

His son Friedrich Ulrich Calixt was also a professor of theology in Helmstedt.

His tomb is on the south wall of the choir of St. Stephani in Helmstedt.

Ecclesiastical significance

Memorial plaque to Georg Calixt

Calixt's efforts to unite the Christian denominations are significant in terms of church history. The impressions of the Thirty Years 'War , the theological proximity to Melanchthon and his thorough knowledge of patristic literature led to the attempt on the basis of the Apostles' Creed and the Church's doctrinal decisions of the first centuries ( consensus antiquitatis , by his opponent Johann Georg cod in 1648 than consensus quinquesaecularis referred ) to bring about an ecclesiastical unity that encompassed the essential Christian truths that distinguished Calixt from the later non-fundamental articles of faith.

The violent Protestant reactions to this attempt at the Thorner Religious Discussion (1645 on the initiative of the Polish King Władysław IV. Wasa ) with the accusation of synergism and crypto- papism (see syncretistic dispute and cryptocatholics ) led to decades of bitter conflict within Lutheranism, in however, Calixt's original intention did not produce any results. On the Catholic side, the no was formulated primarily by the Mainz Jesuit Vitus Erbermann .

Works

De coniugio clericorum , 1783
  • De praecipuis Christianae religionis capitibus hodie controversis disputationes XV. Helmstedt 1613
  • De vera christiana religione et ecclesia. Helmstedt 1633
  • Disputatio Theologica De Autoritate Antiquitatis Ecclesiasticae. Helmstedt 1639. ( digitized in the digital library Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)
  • Epitome Theologiae. Goslar 1619
  • Historia Magorum E Cap. II. Matthaei. Helmstedt 1664 digitized

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The reason for the disputation was the intended conversion of the castle heir Ludolf Klencke to the Catholic Church, which his mother wanted to prevent. Calixt took part in it instead of his teacher Cornelius Martini, who was ill. According to Protestant sources, the disputation ended with a victory for the young Calixt. Klencke, however, converted anyway ( Friedrich Koldewey : Sources for the history of converts Ludolf Klencke . In: Journal of the Harz Association for History and Antiquity , 22nd year, Wernigerode 1889, pp. 49-84 ).
  2. ^ Johannes Wallmann : Helmstedt theology in Conring's time . In: Michael Stolleis (ed.): Hermann Conring (1606–1681). Contributions to life and work . Berlin 1983, p. 48f.

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Calixt, Georg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kallisen, Georg; Callisen, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1586
PLACE OF BIRTH Medelby , Schleswig
DATE OF DEATH March 19, 1656
Place of death Helmstedt