Heinrich Philipp Konrad Henke

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heinrich Philipp Konrad Henke

Heinrich Philipp Konrad Henke (born July 3, 1752 in Hehlen , † May 2, 1809 in Helmstedt ) was a German Lutheran theologian and scholar.

Life

Heinrich Henke was the son of a pastor at the garrison church of St. Aegidien in Braunschweig , who died in 1756. Since his mother, as a destitute widow, was overwhelmed by caring for her six children, Heinrich Henke was handed over to the Braunschweig orphanage at the age of six on the advice of Ernst Ludwig Pabst, the first preacher at the Garrison Church. There the bright boy was sustainably promoted. Pabst also looked after him intensively on the weekends and made sure that he attended Martini-Gymnasium at the age of 14 and with the help of various scholarships from 1772 at the University of Helmstedt a . a. studied philosophy and evangelical theology with Johann Benedikt Carpzov IV . Henke received his doctorate in 1776 .

In 1777 he became professor of philosophy, in 1780 full professor of theology, especially for the history of the church and dogma. In 1786 Henke was appointed abbot of the newly founded seminary in the Michaelstein monastery near Blankenburg (Harz) . In 1800 the office of general superintendent followed in Schöningen near Helmstedt . In 1803 Henke became abbot of the former Benedictine monastery in Königslutter am Elm , also a Reformed seminary. In 1804 he was appointed Vice-President of the Consistory and Ephorus ("Head of a Preacher's Seminary") of the " Collegium Carolinum " in Braunschweig. He was offered a number of preaching positions and professorships at other universities; u. a. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe tried to bring him to the 'Musenhof' in Weimar . But Henke felt an obligation to loyalty to the Brunswick court and therefore stayed in Helmstedt.

When the Rheinbund was founded in 1806 and the Duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel was integrated into the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia , the small University of Helmstedt proved to be redundant, as there were five other Westphalian universities. Therefore, under the French King Jérôme Bonaparte appointed by Napoleon , the Helmstedt educational institution was closed. Heinrich Henke made saving 'his' university his life's work. As a deputy of the Kingdom of Westphalia, he was presented to Napoleon in August 1807 and left a petition in which he pleaded for its preservation. As a member of the first parliament on German soil, the Imperial Estates of the Kingdom of Westphalia from 1808, he campaigned for the Helmstedt location. He did not realize that the many small universities were actually historically outdated, and the realization that he could not prevail against the French rulers darkened his final years. He died in 1809 shortly before the university was abolished in 1810.

In 1780 Henke married the daughter of his teacher Johann Benedikt Carpzov. From the marriage u. a. the well-known church historian Ernst Ludwig Theodor Henke (1804–1872). The art historian and museum specialist Wilhelm von Bode (1845–1929) was Heinrich Henke's great-grandson.

Heinrich Philipp Konrad Henke was a representative of rationalistic and critical theology. He tried to present church history without embellishments and to modernize the dogmatic teachings. He was involved in the same direction as Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , who had lived in neighboring Wolfenbüttel since 1770 , and Wilhelm Abraham Teller, who taught at the University of Helmstedt until 1767 . Henke's most important students were Wilhelm Gesenius and Julius August Ludwig Wegscheider .

He published various, mostly short-lived magazines: Eusebia (Helmstedt 1797ff); Archive for the latest church history (Weimar 1794–1799); Religions-Annalen (Braunschweig 1800–1802), which were all organs of the Enlightenment theology.

His best-known sermon, still in print, was given in 1806 by order of the Westphalian government: "Sermon for the coronation of Napoleon the Great". In it he challenged the country children u. a. citing the fate of the biblical Job for loyalty to the new French masters.

Fonts (selection)

  • General history of the Christian church according to the chronological order . Three parts. Braunschweig: Verl. Der Schulbuchhandlung, 1788–1791.
(Continuation of Johann Severin Vater as: Church history of the eighteenth century . Braunschweig: Verl. Der Schulbuchhandlung, 1802-1818)
  • Assessment of all writings that are caused by the Royal Prussian Religious Edict and other related religious decrees , reprint of the 1793 edition, Facs., Scriptor Verlag Koenigstein / Ts. 1978, ISBN 3-589-15207-9 .
  • Sermons mostly given on days of repentance and feast days, as well as on solemn occasions . Two volumes. Braunschweig, 1801–1802.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Henke, Heinrich Philipp Konrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Lutheran theologian and scholar
DATE OF BIRTH July 3, 1752
PLACE OF BIRTH Hehlen near Braunschweig
DATE OF DEATH May 2, 1809
Place of death Helmstedt