Gustav Pfeiffer

Johann Gustav Pfeiffer (born January 7, 1768 in Bülitz , † May 14, 1831 in Eutin ) was a German Evangelical Lutheran clergyman.

Life

Gustav Pfeiffer was a son of pastor Johann Christian Pfeiffer (born November 25, 1733 in Quickborn ; † July 12, 1771 in Bülitz) and his wife Anna Christina Dorothea, née Dithmer (born July 4, 1746 in Kronshagen ; † April 12, 1825 in Eutin ). The mother was a daughter of pastor Johann Heinrich Dithmer. After the early death of her father, she married a man named Wezelius in Lüneburg .

Since Pfeiffer lost his father at an early age, the Lüchower Superintendent Danckwert probably took over his guardianship and upbringing. From the summer semester of 1787 he attended the University of Göttingen to study Protestant theology . The theological faculty there was shaped by rationalism and Gottlieb Jakob Planck as its most radical representative. After completing his studies, he worked for a long time as a private tutor, initially in southern Hanover and from around 1795 to the end of 1801 as a tutor to Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin . The position with Carl Ludwig von Baudissin had probably been arranged for him by the Hanover consistorial councilor Johann Christoph Salfeld , whom von Baudissin again asked for advice in succeeding Pfeiffer after he had left Rantzau Castle .

At Rantzau, Pfeiffer met the governess Christiane Mariane Heins (baptized May 1, 1771 in Hamburg ; † October 9, 1839 in Eutin), who, as an orphan, belonged to the inner circle of the family. Both married on May 28, 1802 as part of a house wedding on the estate; In 1810 the son Wilhelm Pfeiffer was born.

On September 10, 1799, Pfeiffer passed the consistorial examination in Hanover, but continued to work for Count Baudissin. In 1801 he successfully submitted an application for the diaconate (2nd pastor) of the town church of Eutin. Prince-Bishop Peter Friedrich Ludwig did not demand indigenous people because of his good credentials . On January 10, 1802 he was introduced to the office. In 1809 the position of court preacher was abolished and replaced by a compastorate that Pfeiffer received. He himself did not consider the position to be satisfactory due to the small sphere of activity. In 1810 he received a call to the St. Fabian Church in Rensefeld , which he did not obey due to the uncertain circumstances. From October 13, 1815 until the end of his life he worked as Eutin chief pastor.

Act

Pfeiffer did not appear scientifically. In connection with the vacant superintendent's position after the departure of Johann Rudolph Christiani , he wrote the memorandum “Pro Memoria” addressed to the Duke. With his text, dated March 5, 1815, he triggered a major reform of the church system in Eutin. In addition, during negotiations he wrote several reports that led to a “High Princely Ordinance” issued on January 6, 1817. With this ordinance, the fees described as "objectionable" were abolished, the salaries of the priests and the care of the widows were determined and the duties of the office were properly organized.

Pfeiffer's writing shows that he had a rational understanding of the church. He described preachers as "real public servants" who should devote themselves entirely to the "expansion of the kingdom of truth and virtue". He submitted proposals on how the rural youth could be better educated and stood up for annual synods, which should serve the "improvement of the education of the rural clergy". Maximilian Heinrich Rüder described Pfeiffer as a rational preacher who followed the doctrine represented in Göttingen.

Outside of his work as a theologian, Pfeiffer sought clarification. In 1804 he co-founded the “Literary Society ”, in 1816 the Eutin Bible Society and around 1811 probably also the Musical Association . Together with his wife, who was in close contact with Caroline Rudolphi , he had a private girls' school. The literary society met in his house and discussed Christian Heinrich Wolke and Hermann Daniel Hermes in June 1805 .

Pfeiffer was committed to church music and ensured that the Musical Association, led by Pastor H. Jungclaussen from Altenkrempe , performed The Death of Jesus in 1816 and 1817 and The Creation in 1819 . As a skilled draftsman, he maintained contacts with the painter Wilhelm Tischbein , who was the godfather of his son Wilhelm. At Christmas 1814, Tischbein presented a large painting for his godchild. The painter gave painting lessons to Pfeiffer's daughter Dorothea (* 1806), who created realistic portraits of her parents.

literature

• Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , pages 210-212.
• Walter Körber (Ed.): Churches in Vicelins Land. A Eutinian Church Studies. Struve's Buchdruckerei und Verlag, Eutin 1977, page 75ff.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 210.
2. ^ Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , pages 210-211.
3. ^ Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 210.
4. ^ Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 211.
5. ^ Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 211.
6. ^ Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 211.
7. ^ Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 211.
8. ^ Wolfgang Merckens: Pfeiffer, Gustav . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , pages 211-212.