Georg von Viebahn (Evangelist)

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Georg von Viebahn

Friedrich Karl Hermann Georg von Viebahn (born November 15, 1840 in Arnsberg , † December 15, 1915 in Groß-Lichterfelde ) was a Prussian lieutenant general and evangelist .

Life

Georg von Viebahn belonged to a Christian and patriotically minded family of officers and civil servants who were ennobled by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I in 1728 and originally came from Drieberhausen near Gummersbach . He was the son of the government councilor and statistician Johann Georg Wilhelm von Viebahn and his wife Johanna Charlotte Luise, née Bitter (1815-1897). His brothers Rudolf and Ferdinand also became high-ranking Prussian officers.

Military career and family

During his confirmation year with the Berlin court and cathedral preacher Karl Wilhelm Moritz Snethlage (1792–1871), Viebahn experienced a conversion that determined his future and led him into the circles of the revival movement . In 1859 he passed his Abitur in the Upper Silesian city ​​of Opole , where his father was the government president at the time . He then began his military career with the Berlin Emperor Alexander Guard Grenadier Regiment No. 1 . After his training and promotion to secondary lieutenant , he participated with distinction in the three wars of German unification in 1864 , 1866 and 1870/71 .

In 1869 Viebahn met his future wife Christine Ankersmit (1847-1884) in Groß-Karben, Hesse , the daughter of a wealthy Dutch businessman. Their wedding took place on May 14, 1872 in Amsterdam . Through his wife, Viebahn found the brothers' movement , to which he belonged until his death.

Until 1878 Viebahn served as captain in Wiesbaden , where his eldest daughter Christa and three other children were born. In 1878 he was transferred to Hanover , where he was promoted to major in 1879 . At the end of 1883 he was appointed commander of the Engers War School. His wife died here on February 3, 1884 shortly after giving birth to their sixth child. Three years later he married Marie Ankersmit (1848–1926), the younger sister of his first wife. From this marriage three more children were born.

In 1888 Viebahn was promoted to lieutenant colonel and transferred to Frankfurt am Main . One year later, on August 13th, he was appointed as a colonel in command of the infantry regiment “von Horn” (3rd Rheinisches) No. 29 in Trier . Promoted to major general on December 17, 1892 , Viebahn was then commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade in Stettin until April 17, 1896 . He then was awarded the character as a lieutenant general with board for disposition made.

Act as an evangelist

When Viebahn was the commander of the war school in Engers, he had biblical sayings painted on the walls such as: "Horses are prepared for the day of battle, but victory comes from the Lord" ( Proverbs 21:31). His first major social work was a Christian soldiers' home, which he had built at his own expense during his time as regimental commander in Trier.

From the last year of his active career, Viebahn published a weekly gospel sheet that was to be given free of charge to the troops under his control. On October 1, 1895, the first issue was published with the title Soldiers Sermons (from the second year onwards, testimonies from an old soldier to his comrades ) in an edition of 5000 copies. In the course of the 21 years of its publication, the sheet grew to 1,100 different numbers and finally reached a print run of 150,000 to 170,000 copies. Viebahn's personal testimonies were also distributed outside of the army as tracts and even translated into various languages.

After retiring from military service, Georg von Viebahn began to give evangelistic lectures to officers, first in Berlin , then in various other garrison towns . From 1899 onwards he published the Christian quarterly Sword and Shield .

Last years of life

On April 11, 1905, Viebahn was one of the founders of the “Allianz Bible School ” in Berlin, today's “ Forum Wiedenest ” in Bergneustadt . He was also one of the initiators of the Berlin declaration against the Pentecostal movement and one of the leading men of the Blankenburg Alliance Conference .

In the first year of World War I , two of his sons died at the front . These losses were very close to Viebahn. Despite decreasing strength, he initially believed that he could continue his evangelistic work. In 1915, however, it turned out that he was very seriously ill. Viebahn died on December 15, 1915 in the homeopathic hospital in Groß-Lichterfelde and was buried next to his wife in Engers.

Viebahnstraße in Treptow-Köpenick is named after him. The street lies on the former site of the non-profit association of Christian settlements, of which Viebahn was one of the sponsors.

Works

  • (with Walter von Prittwitz and Gaffron :) History of the Royal Prussian Emperor Alexander Guard Grenadier Regiment No. 1 and his regular troops. Berlin 1864. ( Google Books )
  • Increase in the military budget! Solution to the sergeant's question! Wiesbaden 1873.
  • The attacks of the Reichstag member Mr. Richter against the army, illuminated by a German soldier. Hanover 1883.
  • The two-year period of service of the infantry, illuminated from the practice of soldier life. Potsdam 1890.
  • Look into a hero's heart. Publishing house of the German Evangelical Book and Tract Society [1901]
  • Can a believing Christian take the path of duel? Diesdorf 1902.
  • What I found in Christians who only gather in the name of Jesus. Diesdorf undated [1902]
  • Die and become! Diesdorf undated [1907]
  • The source of strength - the river of peace - the sea of ​​grace. Diesdorf undated [1908]
  • Is there complete liberation and complete victory in the realm of carnal lust? Diesdorf undated [1908]
  • Advice for the ministry of evangelistic helpers. Sword & Shield [1908]
  • Engagement and marriage of believers in the light of God's word. Diesdorf undated [1909]
  • Does the gospel of the Bible still fit into the 20th century? Diesdorf undated [1909]
  • Earthly War Service and Biblical Christianity. Diesdorf undated [1909]
  • Testimonies from an old soldier to his comrades. German Evangelical Book and Tract Society [1909]
  • Is Christ alive? Diesdorf undated [1910]
  • What Does Scripture Say of the Lord's Images? E. Müller [1910]
  • The marriage of believers in the light of God's word. Diesdorf undated [1910]
  • The first and second birth. E. Müller [1910]
  • The house of the Christian in the light of God's word. Diesdorf undated [1912]
  • Victory of grace. Events from the reality of life. Barmen 1914
  • The truth of eternal damnation. Diesdorf no year
  • Eternal rays in the life of the German officer. Diesdorf no year
  • Advice for the ministry of evangelistic helpers. Diesdorf no year
  • What do scriptures teach about the meaning and celebration of the sacrament? Diesdorf no year

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Brandenburg: Viebahn, Georg von (1840-1915) . In: Helmut Burkhardt, Uwe Swarat (ed.): Evangelical Lexicon for Theology and Congregation . tape 3 . R. Brockhaus Verlag, Wuppertal 1994, ISBN 3-417-24643-1 , p. 2100 .
  2. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm von Viebahn: From the last days of our beloved father, the Royal Prussian Lieutenant General zD Georg von Viebahn, born on November 15, 1840, passed away on December 15, 1915. Printed as a manuscript (o. O. o. V. ), P. 6f. ( online ).
  3. ↑ Viebahnstrasse. In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein (near  Kaupert )
personal data
SURNAME Viebahn, Georg von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Viebahn, Friedrich Karl Hermann Georg von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general and evangelist
DATE OF BIRTH November 15, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Arnsberg ( Westphalia )
DATE OF DEATH December 15, 1915
Place of death Groß-Lichterfelde