Georg von Polentz
Georg von Polentz (* 1478 in Gärtitz , Electorate of Saxony ; † 1550 in Balga , Duchy of Prussia ) was the first Protestant bishop in the Principality of Samland .
Life
Polentz came from an old noble Saxon family and studied law at the University of Bologna . Under Pope Julius II he became a secret clerk at the Curia . Then he was a soldier in the service of Emperor Maximilian I. Under Margrave Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach , Grand Master of the Teutonic Order , he came to Altstadt (Königsberg) . The Curia confirmed him in 1519 as Bishop of Samland.
From Johann Briesmann he learned Hebrew and the teachings of Martin Luther . Prussia During the absence of Albrecht (1522–1525), Polentz was regent of the order state . He complemented himself with Erhard von Queis , the bishop of the diocese of Pomesania .
Polentz converted to Protestantism and gave his first Protestant sermon at Christmas 1523 in the castle church (Königsberg) . Albrecht gave the approval with which he introduced the Reformation in the religious state from 1524 . After Albrecht had converted the religious state into a secular duchy in 1525, Bishop Polentz called many Protestant clergy into the country, including the reformer Ambrosius Feierabend, who was expelled from Elbing in 1539 . He also sent preachers to East Prussian areas outside his diocese to spread the Reformation there, for example to Wormditt in the Principality of Warmia .
Polentz introduced the first Prussian church order and promoted the founding of the Albertus University in Königsberg .
Georg von Polentz married Catharina Truchseß von Wetzhausen in 1525 and, after her death in 1527, married Anna Freiin zu Heydeck , who survived him.
Web links
- Karl Alfred von Hase : Georg von Polentz . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, pp. 382-385.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon . Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-88189-441-1 .
- ^ Franz Buchholz: Pictures from Wormditt's past . Verlag Bruno Kraft, Wormditt, 2nd increased and improved edition 1935, p. 57.
predecessor | Office | successor |
---|---|---|
Günther von Bünau |
Bishop of Samland 1518 - 1550 |
Joachim Moerlin |
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Polentz, Georg von |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German administrative officer in the state, first Protestant bishop of the Samland |
DATE OF BIRTH | 1478 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Gärtitz , Electorate of Saxony |
DATE OF DEATH | 1550 |
Place of death | Balga , Duchy of Prussia |