Gian Battista Frizzoni

Gian Battista Frizzoni (born August 27, 1727 in Celerina ; † November 29, 1800 ibid) was a Swiss Reformed pastor and hymn poet .

Life

Gian Battista Frizzoni was born in the Upper Engadine village of Celerina in 1727 as the son of pastor Giovanni Battista and Maria Zuan. Frizzoni was baptized on August 27, 1727, and his father died in 1734. Together with his cousin, Frizzoni went to Fideris in 1744 to learn German. From 1746 he studied at the Academy in Geneva theology ; from the next year he studied at the University of Zurich .

In June of the same year he broke off his studies and applied in Valendas for admission to the Evangelical-Rhaetian Synod . He passed the entrance examination so that he was given the right to work as a pastor in Bünden. Next he was tutor of the family around Rudolf von Salis in Soglio GR .

In 1748 Frizzoni became pastor of the parish of Bondo GR . His mother died on December 9, 1757, which plunged Frizzoni into a serious crisis. David Cranz visited him and helped build the church. After a riot on April 2, 1758, Cranz left a few days later. The community did not recognize the edification by Frizzoni and Cranz. Frizzoni traveled to the Engadine , where he picked up his sick sister Anna.

Meanwhile, Bondo's church council decided to depose Frizzoni as pastor, the reason being accused of papism . Some in turn supported him, which led to a dispute in the community. Church authorities and the Evangelical Conference of the Bundestag of the Three Leagues dealt with the case.

On July 5, 1758, he gave a farewell sermon and decided to return to his home town of Celerina, where his uncle was a pastor. When he fell ill, his nephew replaced him. After his uncle's death on December 28th, Frizzoni was called to pastor the parish the very next day.

Nevertheless, there were again arguments with the community of Bondo, but he was also supported by Celerina. After ten quiet years, he married Barbla Danz from Zuoz in 1763 . In the autumn of 1767 Frizzoni had accompanied a man from Herrnhut to Bergell , which is why he was indicted and convicted before the Magistrato di Bregallia .

One of his opponents in the Herrnhut dispute , Jakob Pernisch , wanted to go further, but was prevented from doing so by Celerina. Nevertheless, Pernisch managed to sue the community in the name of the colloquium before the Upper Engadine district court. The fine was paid for by Frizzoni. The confrontations did not end in the next few years of his life either. Gian Battista Frizzoni died on May 29, 1800 at the age of 73 in his home village.

In addition to several songs, he published church hymn books.

Works

• Canzuns spirituaelas davart Cristo Gesu, il bun pastur, e deliziusa paschura per sias nuorsas (Celerina 1765)
• Alchunas domandas davart chiossas fondamentaelas in adoever da chi bramma d'esser instruieu nella salüdaivla dottrina de Gesu Cristo (Celerina 1765)
• Compendio di testimoni tratti dalla Scrittura Santa, e da'santi padri e riformatori del vangelica nostra chiesa intorno all'eccellenze, e valore delle salutari passioni, divino sangue e sante piaghe di Gesu Cristo nostro Signore (Chur 1776)
• Sfogo da dolur sopra l'inaspettata mord da sia indementicabla mugleir Barbla Frizzoni, nata Dantz, ed attestat da congiughael amur vers le medesima: rapresentô da sieu afflit e contristô marit (Chur 1783)
• Cantici spirituali che contengono testimonianza dalla redenzione fatta da Gesu Cristo (Vicosoprano 1789)
• Testimoniaunza (1789)

literature

• Manfred Gross: Frizzoni, Gian Battista. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Erich Wenneker :  Frizzoni, Gian Battista. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 19, Bautz, Nordhausen 2001, ISBN 3-88309-089-1 , Sp. 480-486.
• Christian Ziegerer : Theological concerns about answering the question, Why is it that our so-called Christianity, which should be a pure adorned bride of the intolerable and immaculate Lamb, is so utterly corrupted in Lehr and Leen (Lindau 1768)