Heinrich Eduard Schmieder

Heinrich Eduard Schmieder

Heinrich Eduard Schmieder (born February 17, 1794 in Pforta ; † August 11, 1893 in Wittenberg ) was a German Lutheran theologian. He is an honorary citizen in Wittenberg .

Life

Heinrich Eduard Schmieder was born on February 17, 1794 in Schulpforta as the son of the preacher and spiritual inspector Johann Christoph Cölestin Schmieder. After the early death of his father on December 22, 1799, he moved to Naumburg (Saale) with his mother Christiane Caroline Ernestine, daughter of the Accisinspector at Oppurg Christian Heinrich Langenberg, and his two smaller sisters . In 1801 Schmieder moved back to Schulpforta, which was headed by Karl David Ilgen at that time . In 1811 Schmieder enrolled at the theological faculty of the University of Leipzig . After completing his studies, he took his theological examination in Dresden in 1814 and initially worked as a private teacher. When the first royal Prussian seminary was founded in Wittenberg in 1817 , he was one of the first high school graduates to be drawn to the new facility. Influenced by his teachers Karl Ludwig Nitzsch and Heinrich Leonhard Heubner , he consolidated his religious armament. Like the latter, he took the stand of denominational Lutheranism and accordingly rejected the union in Prussia imposed by the king .

Act

At the suggestion of Heubner, Schmieder was appointed legation preacher in Rome on April 13, 1819 . On the same day he married his first wife Auguste Meurer, with whom he stayed in Rome until November 17, 1823. In Rome he gained recognition through his work, so that he was offered the former professorship of his father in Schulpforta. As a representative of the old faith, he encountered resistance in Schulpforta. So the work there became increasingly unsatisfactory for him. When his wife died and left him with eight children, he looked for a new sphere of activity. He found this in 1839 in Wittenberg as Ephorus and second director of the seminary. When Heubner died in 1853, Schmieder took over his position as 1st director. Schmieder had found a mother for his children in his cousin Sophie Schmieder. However, the salary as Ephorus was no longer sufficient. Therefore Schmieder took over the position of the 3rd deacon of the city church. However, the double office exceeded his strength, so that he resigned a few years later.

Schmieder followed everything that the theology of his time produced in terms of importance. However, he was not a scientific theologian. He was a simple Christian who believed in the Scriptures. He has never published any major scientific work. Only small lectures on church history or biblical questions as well as a few sermons and addresses by him were printed. However, he was characterized by his personal warmth and his faith-based devotion in shaping the tasks assigned to him, for which he was recognized and respected as a personality. In 1848 he turned to the Inner Mission out of his own conviction and sat on its central committee. He also took over the management of the boy rescue center (today's Glöcknerstift) in Wittenberg. Since he enjoyed a clear mind into old age, he still worked at the seminary at the age of 90 (until 1884), although attempts were made to retire him by ministerial resolution. A man for whom the promise had become a wonderful fulfillment, he died on August 11, 1893 in Wittenberg.

Honors

The theological faculty of the University of Königsberg appointed Schmieder a doctor of theology in 1844. On March 28, 1869, the city of Wittenberg made him an honorary citizen, after he had worked for 50 years in his office, and on the same day he received the Order of the Red Eagle of the 2nd Class with Oak Leaves. The title of Konsistorialrat , which he received in 1862, was increased to Oberkonsistorialrat in 1879.

family

Schmieder was married twice. His first marriage was on April 13, 1819 in Oelsnitz with Augusta (* 1794; † 1833 Wittenberg), daughter of the judicial officer in Hubertusburg Gottlob Friedrich Meurer (1766-1836) and his wife Johanna Dorothea Sophia (née Küchler). His second marriage was with his cousin Sophie Schmieder, the daughter of a countess lynary inspector. From his first marriage there were eight children:

• Reinhold (* October 2, 1820 in Rome; † July 23, 1885 in Halle / S.), Grammar school teacher in Dortmund and from 1851 in New York, founded a German secondary school there.
• Coelestin (* February 28, 1822 in Rome; † March 12, 1904 in Wittenberg), general practitioner in Leipzig.
• Rudolf (born April 9, 1824 in Schulpforta, † July 22, 1917 in Wittenberg), pastor in Bad Schmiedeberg.
• Karl (born July 19, 1825 in Schulpforta; † August 12, 1907 in Wittenberg), President of the regional court in Torgau.
• Sophie married May 25, 1847 in Wittenberg with Carl Robert Wichmann, pastor in Mansfeld a. Rahnsdorf.
• Friedrich (born Aug. 28, 1828 in Schulpforta; † Oct. 1, 1834 in Schulpforta).
• Maria (born Nov. 2, 1830 in Schulpforta; † Nov. 2, 1912 in Wittenberg) married. May 22, 1850 in Wittenberg with the pastor in Berlin and later Professor and Consistorial Councilor Eduard Gustav Meuß (born January 19, 1817 in Rathenow; † July 1, 1893 in Breslau).
• Paul (born March 28, 1832 in Schulpforta; † Jan. 25, 1910 in Schleusingen), grammar school director in Schleusingen.

Fonts (selection)

• Introduction to ecclesiastical symbolism for schools of learning: in addition to the German and Latin texts of the Augsburg Confession as the basis for oral lessons. Leipzig 1835, 1845 ( online )
• Evangelical textbook for upper-class pupils in scholarly schools. Leipzig 1838 ( online )
• Karl Friedrich Göschel Dr. jur. now President of the Consistory of the Province of Saxony. Berlin 1863 ( online )
• Petrus Waldus and Francis of Assisi. Berlin 1854
• The high priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ: twenty meditations. 1848
• The Christian doctrine of religion: for stimulation and instruction for students of the first class in scholarly schools. 1833, 1838, 1863
• The spirit of the Unirten Evangelical Church. 1846
• Gate a dwelling place of the divine blessing: A few words at the church Morgeufeier of the foundation festival of the royal state school gate. 1827
• Testimony of Christ: in sermons delivered in Rome and at the gate. 1829
• The Holy Scriptures. 1853, 1854, 1863, 1893
• The soul mate. 1841
• Luther, the Apostle of the German People: Sermon to Dr. Martin Luther's memorial service was held on February 18, 1846 in the castle church in Wittenberg. 1846
• Thoughts about the clarity and completeness of the Bible: Words of the invitation to the forty-sixth foundation ceremony of the Prussian main Bible Society which will be celebrated on October 10, 1860 at 6 o'clock in the afternoon in the Trinity Church. 1846
• About the origin of the episcopal office. 1856
• Evening devotions at the Evangelical Preacher Seminar in Wittenberg: Ten spiritual speeches. 1860
• On the shame of conversion. 1829
• Commentarii de vitis pastorum et inspectorum Portensium. 1838
• Memories from my life (1794 - 1823) , ed. by Paul Schmieder, Schleusingen, 1892

editor

• My morning in life: Degraded writing. On the history of the years 1787–1822. Berlin 1865

literature

• Stefan Laube: The Luther House Wittenberg - A Museum History , Protestant Publishing House, Leipzig, 2003 ISBN 3-374-02052-6
• Otto Dibelius : The royal seminary 1817-1918. Berlin, 1917
• Rudi Lipinski : Honorary Citizen of Wittenberg In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung of August 7, 1993
• Niebour: The honorary citizens of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. In: Blätter für Heimatgeschichte , April 1933, supplement of the Wittenberger Zeitung
• Veronika Albrecht-Birkner : Pastors book of the church province of Saxony. Evangelical Publishing House, Leipzig, 2008
• August Gottlieb Wächtler:  Schmieder, Heinrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 54, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1908, pp. 115-124.