Johann Andreas Quenstedt

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Johann Andreas Quenstedt

Johann Andreas Quenstedt (born August 13, 1617 in Quedlinburg ; † May 22, 1688 in Wittenberg ) was, after Martin Chemnitz and Johann Gerhard, one of the most important representatives of Lutheran Orthodoxy , more precisely one of the last representatives of High Orthodoxy (1600–1680).

Life

Johann Andreas Quenstedt was the son of Ludolf Quenstedt and his wife Dorothea. His father was a Quedlinburg patrician and canon at the St. Mariakirche in Halberstadt , his mother the daughter of the Council Chamberlain in Quedlinburg Bartholomäus Gerhard and his wife Margaretha Berndes. Johann Andreas were named after their mother's two brothers, Johann Gerhard and Andreas Gerhard .

Up to the age of 13 he received lessons from private teachers only. Then the Chancellor of the Quedlinburg Abbey, Friedrich Lentz, took him in and he and his son Johann Friedrich Lentz were instructed by private teachers for two years. From 1633 he attended the public school. Prepared in this way, he moved to the University of Helmstedt on September 27, 1637 , where he was accepted into his home by the professor of theology, Konrad Hornejus . First he completed a degree in philosophy. He also attended lectures with Andreas Kinderling in logic, with Johann von Felden in mathematics , with Christoph Schrader in eloquence and Heinrich Julius Scheurl in morals . Since Quenstedt intended to take the theological path after completing his philosophical studies, he was also drawn to the lectures of Horn and Georg Calixt , where he eagerly kept extensive notes.

On January 3, 1643, he obtained the degree of master's degree , then gave his first private lectures on geography. In the same year he traveled back to his parents and preached several times in Quedlinburg and Halberstadt. However, since he wanted to continue his studies, he went to Wittenberg on July 27, 1644, where he was briefly stopped in Egeln by the bombardment carried out there. Nevertheless, he arrived in Wittenberg on August 18, where he was accepted into the house of Wilhelm Leyser I , who was a great admirer of his uncle and gave him every opportunity to bring his studies to a positive conclusion. To this end, he enrolled in the matriculation on August 22, 1644, after he had obtained his license to teach as a Magister legens on October 28, 1646, disputations and lectures, whereupon the philosophical faculty considered him on July 14, 1648 Adjunct to the Faculty of Philosophy.

In the same year he became professor of logic and metaphysics at the philosophical faculty, and attended the theological lectures by Jakob Martini , Paul Röber , von Leyser and Johann Hülsemann . On April 19, 1648 he held a theological disputation, at which time the theological disputes with the theologians in Helmstedt over Calixt broke out. In 1648, in addition to his professorship in philosophy, he became associate professor in the theological faculty. Knowing the situation in Helmstedt, he was commissioned by the theological faculty to draw up a list of the differences between the parties to the dispute. This transcript was sent to Jakob Weller at the Upper Consistory in Dresden . He then began to hold disputation colleges on opponents of the faith himself, which he ended with the 50th disputation.

In 1649 he had several offers, but since Lyser and Johann Scharf died, he moved to the fourth professorship in the theological faculty, which freed the professorship for logic and metaphysics and the extraordinary theological professorship. To do this, however, he had to acquire the necessary academic degrees. Therefore, he reported on August 13, 1649 as a candidate of theology, acquired on February 21, 1650, licentiate in theology and a doctorate on November 12, 1650 to the doctor of theology. On July 23, 1660, he was accepted into the fourth professorship at the theological faculty, at Easter 1662 he took the place of Andreas Kunad in the third professorship and, after Meisner's death, he became second professor assessor at the Wittenberg consistory and also provost in 1684 at the Wittenberg Castle Church .

Finally, in 1687, he was promoted to the ordinate of the theological faculty. Quenstedt also took an active part in the administrative tasks that had to be carried out by the professors of all faculties. In 1652 he had administered the deanery of the philosophical faculty, was dean of the theological faculty several times and had administered the rectorate of the Wittenberg University four times.

From his youth he was of a weak constitution, which deteriorated with age, so that his life forces gradually ran out and he died at the age of 71 on May 22nd on the evening of eight. He was buried in the Wittenberg Castle Church and an epitaph was dedicated to him in his honor .

Act

The main work of Quenstedt's long theological work is the Theologia didactico-polemica sive Systema theologicum (The didactic and polemical theology or system of theology) from 1685. The work saw five editions (1685, 1691, 1696, 1701, 1715). In the preface, Quenstedt names the clear compilation of the various positions and their defense against criticism of, for example, Catholic and Reformed theology as the goal of a further theological sum, in addition to the numerous works of Lutheran theology of the 17th century that have already appeared . These statements and the extensive literature references have earned Quenstedt the reputation of the archivist of Lutheran orthodoxy .

In building the theological system, Quenstedt uses the analytical method , which, following the Aristotelian Giacomo Zabarella, is considered the method of a science oriented towards practice. The practice to which theology refers is the transmission and acquisition of the Christian faith through the proclamation of the gospel. According to this method, in the first part (Pars Prima) the purpose (Latin finis), in the second part (Pars Secunda) the object (Latin subiectum), in the third part (Pars Tertia) the fundamentals (Latin principium) and in the fourth part (Pars Quarta) deals with the means (lat. media) of appropriation of salvation in faith. The individual sections of the work are each divided into a didactic and a polemical part. In the didactic part of the essential beliefs are represented thetically, in polemical they are at various issues ( questiones oriented), claims against the antitheses of opponents and justified from the biblical writings. The didactic part of the work is based heavily on the Theologia Positiva Acroamatica Johann Friedrich Königs . In his polemics against the other positions, Quenstedt is, with occasional exceptions, unlike Abraham Calov, for example, in tone moderate and objective. In addition to its archival character, this overall dogmatic draft is primarily determined by the fact that it deals thoroughly with the interpretation of the biblical texts.

Quenstedt was particularly interested in the study of religious rites in their history. He wrote an extensive work on the funeral rites of antiquity under the title Sepultura veterum, sive tractatus de antiqvis ritibus sepulchralibus Graecorum, Romanorum, Judaeorum & Christianorum (The burials of the ancients, or treatise on the ancient funeral rites of the Greeks, Romans, Jews and Christians, 1660).

In addition, Quenstedt published an Ethica pastorum et instructio cathedralis (1678), as well as a history of theology since the beginning of the world, oriented towards important people: Dialogus de Patriis illustrium doctrina et scriptis virorum ... Adam is considered the first theologian in this treatise. All important theologians are dealt with, sorted by time and region of occurrence up to the 16th century.

As a professor at the theological faculty in Wittenberg, Quenstedt was also responsible for numerous disputations from a wide variety of theological topics.

Works

  • Theologia didactico-polemica sive systema theologicum in duas sectiones didacticam et polemicam divisum. Wittenberg 1685; Frisch, Leipzig 1715, in German see E. Hirsch: Aid Book for the Study of Dogmatics. Berlin 1964, 4th edition, p. 339
  • Ethica pastorum et instructio cathedralis. 1678
  • Dialogus de Patriis illustrium doctrina et scriptis virorum ... Wittenberg 1654; Wittenberg 1691
  • Antiquitates biblicae & ecclesiasticae.
  • Liber de Sepultura veterum sive tractatus de antiquis ritibus sepulchralibus graecorum, romanorum, judaeorum et christianorum. Wittenberg 1648; Wittenberg 1660
  • Exertationes theologicae.

family

Quenstedt was married three times: His first marriage was on January 21, 1651 in the Wittenberg town church with Dorothea (born April 27, 1633 in Wittenberg; † November 19, 1651 in Wittenberg), the daughter of the Anhalt, Count, Barby Council Tobias Maevius and his wife Anna Friese († 1649), the daughter of the Brunswick and later Magdeburg collegiate administrator Balthasar Friese. But she died after only nine months from a male stillbirth.

His second marriage was on September 18, 1653 in Leipzig with Elisabeth Regina (October 12, 1622 in Leipzig; † May 10, 1655 in Wittenberg), the daughter of the lawyer in Leipzig and town clerk in Weißenfels Martin Hahn and his wife Elisabeth, the daughter of the Leipzig merchant Valentin Schilling. She was the widow of the actuary at the electoral high court in Leipzig Johann Trübe († November 7, 1650 in Leipzig), whom she married on July 26, 1641 and had three daughters and a son in ten years of marriage (Regina Magaretha Trübe and Johannes Siegesmund Trübe survived the mother). She died in childbed after a female stillbirth.

His third marriage was on August 12, 1656 with Anna Sabina (~ July 28, 1637 in Wittenberg; † 1700), the only daughter of Johann Scharf . The children from this marriage are:

  1. Dorothea Sabina Quenstedt (~ September 11, 1657 in Wittenberg; † September 1, 1661 ibid)
  2. Christian Friedrich Quenstedt (~ November 20, 1659 in Wittenberg; † February 7, 1682 there) Gym. Grimma June 16, 1677–1678, UWB immat. November 23, 1668 as director son Gratis, † as a student
  3. Johann Ludolph Quenstedt
  4. Johanna Dorothea Quenstedt (born September 26, 1661 in Wittenberg) ⚭ 1st marriage September 2, 1684 to Abraham Calov ; ⚭ 2nd marriage December 29, 1689 with Engelbert von der Burg, Hofrat in Zeitz
  5. Elenora (~ September 8, 1667 in Wittenberg) ⚭ January 1690 with Johann Christ. Hilliger, Dr. med in Dresden
  6. Sophia Sabine (~ September 8, 1667 in Wittenberg; □ December 30, 1667 in Wittenberg)
  7. Clara Catharina (~ October 19, 1668 in Wittenberg; □ April 23, 1673 in Wittenberg)
  8. Gottfried Leopold (~ January 30, 1671 in Wittenberg; □ May 21, 1675 in Wittenberg)
  9. Regina Christine (~ May 22, 1673 in Wittenberg; □ March 24, 1676 in Wittenberg)
  10. Gottlob Samuel (born April 4, 1676 in Wittenberg; □ May 25, 1676 in Wittenberg)
  11. Abraham (* June 23, 1678, ~ June 25, 1678 in Wittenberg; † September 8, 1684, □ September 11, 1684)
  12. Beata Elisabeth (~ December 30, 1665 in Wittenberg) ⚭ August 24, 1685 with Georg Michael Heber Prof. jur. and Mayor Wittenberg

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Quenstedt, Johann Andreas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Representative of Lutheran Orthodoxy, more precisely the last representative of High Orthodoxy (1600–1680)
DATE OF BIRTH August 13, 1617
PLACE OF BIRTH Quedlinburg
DATE OF DEATH May 22, 1688
Place of death Wittenberg