Jasper Köneken

Jasper Köneken , also Kønechen, Kiim , (Jesper Baltzersen) , (born August 9, 1629 in Copenhagen , † September 26, 1715 in Lübeck ) was a Danish theologian and book auctioneer.

Live and act

Jasper Köneken was a son of Baltzer Kønechen, who died in 1645. At the time of death, he had a family of seven who lived in great poverty. The bishop Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand took care of Jasper Köneke and made it possible for him to attend a school and from 1647 to study theology. Köneken acquired extensive knowledge of the Bible and studied the works of church fathers thoroughly. He himself wrote poetry in Danish and Latin.

Köneken passed the theological exam and then worked as a tutor for renowned Copenhagen families. The separatist Niels Svendsen Chronich (1608–1662) influenced him as well as German mystical - theosophical works that were in the tradition of Valentin Weigel . Thereupon he turned from the Lutheran orthodoxy and took action against any military service and the assumption of worldly power by Christians in word and writing. When the Swedes besieged Copenhagen in 1658/59, he called on the Danes not to defend the city with arms.

Köneken was banned from preaching in Copenhagen. Thereupon he attended church services of other pastors, disrupted their sermons and spoke instead. In 1663 he was arrested. King Friedrich III. gave orders to present him to the consistory of the university, which discussed for a long time. Köneke stubbornly stuck to his opinion and was therefore excluded from the university for life. The king ordered his release, combined with an obligation to leave Denmark.

From December 1663, Köneken lived in Skåne and moved to Amsterdam in 1664 . Here he also worked as a teacher and proofreader. He published his religious theses in several small papers and pleaded for a common confession of all Christians. With his publications he wanted to create peace between peoples and emphasize the importance of the New Testament . In 1677 Köneken went to Copenhagen again. A short time later he got into new arguments with Danish pastors, because of which he had to leave again. From then on he signed in his writings with the addition that he stood up for Christ and peace and was banished from Denmark for this reason. Köneke then moved to Lübeck, the northern German stronghold of Lutheran Orthodoxy, and worked there as a book auctioneer.

In January 1679, Köneken married Elsabe Brunsten, presumably their first marriage in Lübeck. In a presumably second marriage, he married Lucia Pasche (baptized on January 9, 1657 in Lübeck; † after October 8, 1715), whose father Jost Pasche was a merchant. Köneken had two children who died at a young age.

At his new place of residence, Köneke did not take part in the Lord's Supper and before the council refused to accept it as an authority appointed by God. This quickly led to conflicts with the guild of booksellers and bookbinders, the ministry of the clergy and the city council. In 1682 the ministry of clergy obtained a ban on his book auctions because he is said to have used them to promote unorthodox theories. The theologian then apparently considered emigrating to Germantown in Pennsylvania , where German Mennonites had lived since 1683 , and he was very interested in them. In 1699 he said to New York pastor Justus Falckner that he would like to move to Pennsylvania, but that this would be problematic due to his age.

Through his wife Lucia Pasche, who adored the pietist nobility Sibylla Schwartz , Köneke took over her mystical and chiliastic thoughts, but in contrast to her circles, was infinitely enthusiastic about world peace. He considered it a sin to repel military attacks. He regarded the threat from the Turks as a divine punishment that could only be averted by the people themselves by improving themselves.

In a pathetic letter, Köneke asked Louis XIV not to implement war plans. Until 1691 his conflicts can be found in the documents of the Ministry of Spirituality and the Lübeck Council. After that, the clashes apparently ended. If necessary, however, he was also more reserved himself.

personality

Köneke was widely educated. He spoke several old and new languages ​​and knew the Bible and the writings of the Church Fathers well. Because of his religious views, he was considered an enthusiastic dreamer. He presented his theses in poems and smaller works in Danish, Latin, Dutch and German.

Works

• Meditationes Pacificæ Jasperi Könekenii Haunia-Dani Latino Belgicæ. Vreedewillende Handeling. . aen de Hoogmoogende Heeren Staeten in the Haagh. Typis datæ Amstel. d. April 10-20. 1665
• Vooruytgesonden Voorloper voor het Koninglijcke Basuyn script: Als een would heylsaeme Troost en Raet voor de beminde Hollanders; Niet voor het Oorlogende Babels-wesen in de Werelt, maer voor de bedroefde Oorlogs-geplaegde, en Christgenoemde people. 1666
• Catalogus Librorum paucor. quidem iterum & Miscellaneorum; Sed tamen & non minimam partem non contemnendorum: una cum append. nonn. Auctionando vendendorum; Benedicente Dei Gratia Lubecae, d. October 31. & sq. Anno 1698 In Auditorio Cathariniano per J. Könekenium. Lubecae: Schmalhertzius 1698 ( digitized version )

literature

• Alken Bruns: Köneken, Jasper . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 13. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 2011, pp. 270–272.

Web links

• Publications by and about Jasper Köneken in VD 17 .