Heinrich von Zütphen

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Heinrich von Zütphen (painting in the Ansgarii Church Bremen)

Heinrich von Zütphen (actually Heinrich / Hendrik Gelrie, wrongly in the older literature also Heinrich Moller or Müller; * around 1488 in Zutphen ; † December 10, 1524 in Heide (Holstein) ) was prior and reformer . He is considered an evangelical martyr .

Life

Youth, Education and Prior

Nothing has been handed down from his origins and youth. Heinrich von Zütphen - presumably younger than Martin Luther - did not join the Brothers of Common Life or the Franciscans working in his hometown , but the Saxon congregation of the Reformed Augustinian hermits . His monastery name was Johannes. In this capacity, Zütphen was enrolled in Wittenberg in 1508 . Johann Lange remembered spending three or four years there with him. Then he went to Cologne , where there was also an Augustinian monastery of the Reformed branch. Here he became subprior in 1514. In the following year he was mentioned as prior in Dordrecht .

Reformation years

In Dordrecht

The Reformation movement, which was triggered by Luther's 95 theses , also went through the Augustinian order and also made waves in Dordrecht, which Luther reported to Johann von Staupitz . Heinrich tried to enforce the Reformation in Dordrecht with all severity, but met with such strong opposition that he had to resign from his office in Dordrecht.

In Wittenberg

In 1520 he came to Wittenberg. Here he experienced the exciting events of the papal bull threatening excommunication and their burning by Luther in front of the Elstertor . On January 12, 1521 he received his doctorate to Baccalaureus biblicus . This happened under Luther's deanery under the direction of Prof. Petrus Lupinus from Ratheim.

Heinrich von Zütphen developed theses and thoughts on the doctrine of justification in clear lines. He must also have been close to Luther, because he sent his regards from the Wartburg . On October 11, 1521 he became a Baccalaureus and soon a licentiate . Theses that Heinrich defended under the chairmanship of Johann Dölsch have also survived from this period . It is possible that they were only brought up on this occasion. One series of theses in 73 sentences is directed “contra missam privatam ” (against the private mass ), the other contains “conclusions” about priesthood and sacrifice.

Heinrich stayed in Wittenberg until 1522 and also took part in the Augustinian Chapter in Grimma , where he disputed the theses of October 11, 1521.

In Antwerp

When Heinrich received news of new persecution of the Evangelicals in the Netherlands , he hurried to Antwerp to take part in the evangelical movement there. He must not only have appeared in the monastery, but also in public and have met with a lot of popular approval. When he was taken prisoner, the people rose and set him free. In this way he escaped the death by fire that his two friars Johannes van Esschen and Hendrik Vos suffered in Brussels the next year .

In Bremen

The St. Ansgarii Church in Bremen

Heinrich left Antwerp after his liberation and wanted to travel to Wittenberg via Westphalia. He came to Bremen on the way and was asked to give a sermon there and then stay longer. He asked Luther to obtain permission for him, which Luther gave on behalf of Wenzeslaus Linck . Heinrich stayed in Bremen and preached every day with the approval of the council and mayor Daniel von Büren the Elder in the St. Ansgarii Church . The archbishop did not succeed in driving him out. When he was summoned to the archbishop's court in Buxtehude , he only sent his theses of October 11, 1521. "I will not be silent about the gospel," he wrote, "until I have completed the course of this life."

It will not have happened without his influence that the Augustinian prior of Antwerp, Jakob Probst , who had since left the order and married in Wittenberg in 1523, was called to the Church of Our Lady in Bremen. A short time later he was followed by Johann Timann .

In Meldorf

Zütphen memorial in the Heider cemetery

Since Heinrich von Zütphen was now dispensable in Bremen, he accepted the call of the church gentleman Boie from Meldorf , who probably knew him from Wittenberg, to preach the Gospel in Dithmarschen . After he had taken off his religious dress in October 1524, Heinrich left Bremen at the end of November without attracting any attention. He preached in Meldorf amid great crowds, although the Dominican prior Tomborch there, and Torneborch of the St. Maria monastery, wanted to prevent his sermon at all costs.

Martyrdom in Heath

Since Augustinus Torneborch could not do anything with the authorities, he decided with other monks to murder Heinrich von Zütphen together at night . The resolution was carried out on Friday, December 9th, 1524. The parish was attacked and looted with hired people who were made drunk. Boie was badly mistreated and Heinrich was driven away to Heide after his hands were tied to the tail of a horse. There he was mistreated, beaten to death and then thrown into the fire. Since the corpse was not burned, the next day the head, hands and feet were cut off and burned, but the torso was buried under mocking songs. Jacob Probst told Luther about the end of his friend and asked for a letter of comfort for Bremen. Luther's writing History of Brother Heinrich von Zütphens Märtyrtode was widely used in several reprints, including a Low German translation. Lange also wrote a report on the martyrdom of his former convent, which was printed twice. The Reformation only took hold in Dithmarschen eight years later.

Remembrance day

December 10 in the Evangelical Name Calendar .

literature

Web links

Commons : Heinrich von Zütphen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Meldorf St. Maria, monasteries, monasteries and convents in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, www.klosterprojekt.uni-kiel.de [1]
  2. ^ Constitutio Criminalis Carolina
personal data
SURNAME Zütphen, Heinrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brother hinricus gelrie de zuphania; Henrich von Sudphen; Hendrik van Zutphen; Heinrich Moller (wrongly); Heinrich Müller (wrongly)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lutheran theologian and reformer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1488
PLACE OF BIRTH Zutphen
DATE OF DEATH December 10, 1524
Place of death pagan