Jan van Woerden

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Jan de Bakker (Johannes Pistorius)

Jan van Woerden de Bakker, also Johannes Pistorius Woerdensis and Jan de Bakker , (* 1499 in Woerden near Utrecht , † September 15, 1525 in The Hague ) was a Dutch Protestant martyr .

Life

Jan van Woerden, whose father served as sexton, came into contact with the ideas of humanism and the Reformation at an early age . The Hieronymus School of the Brothers of Living Together in his hometown was open to both directions. The Catholic Church suspected the rector, Johannes Rhodius (Hinne Rhode), to be a heretic because he denied the change of the elements in the celebration of mass. The father finally sent his son to Leuven (which was then also part of the Spanish Netherlands) to study the septem artes liberales and theology. In 1522, after a short stay in Wittenberg , van Woerden returned to his hometown to help relieve the local parish. He also worked as a pastor in Woubrugge. His sermons showed that he was already turned towards the Reformation. As a result, he was arrested and released at the urging of his community. He fled to Germany , returned to Woerden three months later and was arrested again. This time the authorities released him on condition that he go on a penitential pilgrimage to Rome and stay away from home for three years. Van Woerden did not leave the Netherlands, however, but worked as a preacher in the evangelical congregations in the Netherlands. After his return he gave up the priesthood and became a baker , which earned him the nickname "de Bakker".

Another turning point in van Woerden's life was the proclamation of an indulgence by Pope Hadrian VI in the early summer of 1524 . who came from nearby Utrecht. It said indulgence would be granted to those who took part in a procession and received communion twice. Jan van Woerden had resigned from the priesthood , but still considered himself a deacon . As such, he accepted confessions and warned of Hadrian's offer: There is nothing that can earn man God's grace. Before he was arrested again, he escaped to Haarlem , but eventually returned, although he was aware that a new arrest was likely.

When he was first interrogated in July 1525, he remained true to the line of the Reformers, pointing out that he had done nothing or said anything that did not correspond to the biblical testimony; he is loyal to the church and rejects heresy that are directed against God's word. He saw both the resignation of the priesthood and his marriage as biblically legitimate. The attempt to change his mind by talking to his father or by means of stricter prison conditions in order to avoid a death sentence failed, especially since his father reinforced his views.

Finally, after a two-month trial, van Woerden was publicly sentenced to death and executed at the stake on September 15, 1525 in front of the Gevangenpoort in The Hague .

meaning

After the Roman Catholic Christians had acquired citizenship in 1795 as a result of the French occupation, the episcopal hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church was to be restored in the Netherlands in 1853. Protestants protested against this with the slogan:

"Protestants, weest nu wakker,
want to remember Jan de Bakker!"
 
"Evangelicals, be brave now
when you remember Jan de Bakker!"

A street in his hometown was named after Jan van Woerden. There is a memorial plaque at the Grote Kerk (St. Jacobskerk) in The Hague.

In the student song Carmen AntiThomaticon sung at the reformed Free University of Amsterdam , van Woerden is interpreted as a fighter against Roman rule.

The Evangelical Church in Germany honors Jan van Woerden with a memorial day in the Evangelical Name Calendar on September 15th .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Piet FM Fontaine: Post-Lutheran Reformation I ( Memento of the original of September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; The light and the dark. A cultural history of dualism, Vol. 23 ( Memento of the original dated May 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Utrecht: Gopher Publishers, 2006  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.wanadoo.nl @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.wanadoo.nl
  2. ↑ Nanne van der Zijpp: Sacrament ists. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online ; (1959); accessed on August 19, 2007  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.gameo.org  
  3. ^ Jan van Woerden in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
personal data
SURNAME Woerden, Jan van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Woerden de Bakker, Jan van; Jan de Bakker; Pistorius, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch priest and martyr
DATE OF BIRTH 1499
PLACE OF BIRTH Woerden
DATE OF DEATH September 15, 1525
Place of death The hague