Jakob Gerhard Engels

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Jakob Gerhard Engels (born October 5, 1826 in Inden ; † February 16, 1897 in Nümbrecht ) was a Protestant pastor and pietist .

Life

Childhood and youth

According to a family tradition that cannot be verified, Jakob Gerhard Engels was the descendant of a Huguenot nobleman by the name of d'Ange, who changed his name to Engels after fleeing France . He was born on October 5, 1826 in Inden, the son of a pastor. The family soon moved to Cologne . After passing his school leaving examination in August 1844, he began studying philosophy in Berlin . After just one semester, his father brought him to Bonn , where Jakob Engels began studying theology . During the German Revolution , he joined the ranks of the Cologne vigilante with a rifle . But soon he noticed the gap between the beautiful idea and its realization. After the first exam in 1849 he was parish vicar in Kaiserswerth for three months . Before this time there must have been a decisive inner turn to Jesus Christ as his Lord, for the presbytery of the congregation praised his charity and his pastoral work. Then he had to do military service in Cologne. During this time he worked there in the newly founded youth club .

Pastor in Nümbrecht

After the second theological exam, he was called to pastor by the Nümbrecht congregation . He took up this office in 1851. At that time the community had about 6000 inhabitants who were spread over a large area. This brought with it a correspondingly high workload. In the years 1852–1860 he usually had more than 180 baptisms, 140 funerals and 40 weddings to perform each year. Although he was later offered other pastoral positions, he remained loyal to this church and worked there for 45 years.

In the years 1877–1878 there was a revival that was triggered especially by the sermons of the American evangelist and sanctification preacher Robert Pearsall Smith in Wuppertal. During this time Engels had to take a stand against extreme beliefs. However, he could not prevent the separation of some of the faithful from the national church and the migration to a free church .

Engels remained unmarried all his life. Since the presbytery did not want to do without him, he did his service until the end of his life. He died on February 16, 1897.

Effect on contemporaries

Jakob Gerhard Engels had a strong impact on the people around him. Sometimes it was enough that Engels only spoke the blessing , and those addressed received inner peace. His colleague and friend Otto Funcke described this effect in the following words:

“This walking with God gave him a holy silence, through which he had an almost magical influence on all kinds of people. The presence of my Jacob always poured oil on the turbulent waves of my soul life and saved me from all sorts of carelessness. "

His former confirmand, theology professor August Lang , wrote about this effect:

"Here is a man who lives for eternity, and from whom eternal powers emanate from every touch, even a fleeting touch."

literature

  • Friedrich Augé: Jakob Gerhard Engels formerly pastor at Nümbrecht. A picture of life. A contribution to the history of Christian life in the Rhenish church . Neukirchen [1902].
  • Wolfgang Becker: The awakening movement . In: Klaus Goebel (Hrsg.): Christian life in the Homburg region from the Reformation to today . Martina Galunder, Nümbrecht 2004; 48-70. ISBN 3-89909-033-0
  • Adolf Brüggemann: Three hundred years of the Engels pastor family, 1642-1942 . In: Monthly Issues for Rhenish Church History 36 (1942), pp. 65–81.
  • Ernst Buddeberg: Jakob Gerhard Engels. An eternal person . Elberfeld 1929.
  • Johannes Conrad: Memories of Pastor Jacob Gerhard Engels . cit. [1953].
  • Wilhelm Haarbeck: "Jesus and Eternity!" Character image and testimony of the god-gifted preacher and pastor Jakob Engels in Nümbrecht . Neukirchen [1903].
  • Hans Horn: Jacob Gerhard Engels (1826-1897) . In: Rheinische Lebensbilder 6, Cologne 1975, 169–187.
  • August Lang : Pastor Jakob Engels in Nümbrecht. On his 100th birthday, October 5, 1926 . In: Reformierte Kirchenzeitung 76 (1926) No. 43.
  • Arno Pagel : Jakob Gerhard Engels - On the power of a true disciple of Jesus. 3rd revised edition, Verlag der Liebenzeller Mission, Bad Liebenzell 1984. ISBN 3-88002-234-8 ; Jakob Gerhard Engels. A blessed pastor in Nümbrecht , 4th revised edition, Ev. Parish of Nümbrecht, Nümbrecht 2002.
  • Search for clues. Reports, essays and lectures on the 100th year of the death of Pastor Jacob Gerhard Engels , ed. v. the Ev. Parish Nümbrecht 1997.
  • Walter Hollweg :  Engels, Jacob Gerhard. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 528 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Engels, Jakob Gerhard. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1514-1515.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arno Pagel: Jakob Gerhard Engels. 3rd revised edition, Verlag der Liebenzeller Mission, Bad Liebenzell 1984, pp. 53 + 59
  2. ^ Arno Pagel: Jakob Gerhard Engels. 3rd revised edition, Verlag der Liebenzeller Mission, Bad Liebenzell 1984, p. 51
  3. ^ Arno Pagel: Jakob Gerhard Engels. 3rd revised edition, Verlag der Liebenzeller Mission, Bad Liebenzell 1984, p. 70
personal data
SURNAME Engels, Jakob Gerhard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Engels, Jacob Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant pastor
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1826
PLACE OF BIRTH Inden , Germany
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1897
Place of death Nümbrecht , Germany