Heinrich Christian Schwan

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Heinrich Christian Schwan

Heinrich Christian Schwan (born April 5, 1819 in Horneburg , † May 29, 1905 in Cleveland ) was a German-American Lutheran theologian . He was President of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (1878–1899).

Life

Born the son of a preacher , Schwan studied Protestant theology in Göttingen and Jena . During his studies he became a member of the Jena fraternity in 1838 and in the winter semester of 1839/40 a member of the fraternity on the Fürstenkeller . He graduated in 1842, was ordained in 1843 and worked as a missionary in Bahia / Brazil at the end of 1843 before becoming a preacher in blackjack in 1850 . In 1851 he was pastor of the Zion Lutheran Church in Cleveland and, after his resignation in 1881, deputy pastor until his death. On December 24, he was the first to pastor in the United States a Christmas tree in a church and is therefore "Father of the Christmas tree" (Engl .: "Father of Christmas" called).

From 1854 to 1857 he was Vice President, 1860 to 1878 President of the Central District of the Lutheran Church. From 1854 to 1857 and 1860 to 1878 he was a member of the Board of Control of Fort Wayne College, supported by the Synide . 1856/57 and 1859 he was secretary of the Lutheran Free Conference. From 1857 to 1860 he was Vice President, 1878 to 1899 President of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod . In 1875 he was Vice President of the Synodal Conference.

Honors

  • 1893: Honorary doctorate (D. theol. Hc) of the Lutheran Seminary of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in Oslo

Publications (selection)

  • Two speeches against the secret sworn societies or lodges. St. Louis, Mon. 1883.
  • Brief Explanation of the Small Catechism Dr. Martin Luther. St. Louis, Mo. 1869, English edition 1896, Arabic edition 1983, Haitian-French-Creole edition 1997, Nilo-Sahara languages ​​1998, Swahili and Hmong 2003.

literature

  • Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Volume 8: Supplement L – Z. Winter, Heidelberg 2014, ISBN 978-3-8253-6051-1 , pp. 274-275.
  • Everette Meier: The Life and Work of HCS as Pastor and Missionary. In: Concordia Historical Quarterly. 24 (October 1951), pp. 132-139, 24 (January 1952), pp. 145-172, 25 (July 1952) pp. 72-85, 25 (October 1952) pp. 97-121.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dr. Henry Schwan - Father of the Decorated Christmas Tree
personal data
SURNAME Swan, Heinrich Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American Lutheran theologian
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH Horneburg
DATE OF DEATH May 29, 1905
Place of death Cleveland