Johann Georg Appenfeller

Johann Georg Appenfeller , also Appenfelder , (baptized October 1, 1681 in Schleusingen ; † March 28, 1712 in Altona ) was a German doctor and sectarian .

Live and act

Johann Georg Appenfeller was a son of the high school teacher and cantor Johann Appenfäller (buried on May 15, 1688 in Schleusingen) and his wife Sophia Margaretha, née Schade. He attended a school in Eisenach and studied medicine at the University of Jena in 1704 . He completed his studies quickly, but was considered a renownist who was poetically crowned Poeta Laureate . He also attended the University of Wittenberg , although he is not listed in the register. Presumably he did his doctorate to Lic. Med.

During the time at the Wittenberg University he got to know the so-called "Buttlarsche Rotte" founded by Eva von Buttlar . The "Christian or Philadelphian sect" had a peak of 70 members at the end of 1702. In the group, the “New Heavenly Kingdom” of Buttlars, Appenfeller carried the name Leander and was considered to be “Son” and “Christ” within their trinity. Appenfeller and von Buttlar, who had already met during their school days in Eisenach, married in 1705 in Hallenberg .

All members of the sect entered the Catholic Church in Cologne on April 18, 1705 as camouflage. Nevertheless, the group was persecuted, driven out or, as in 1704, imprisoned in Laasphe . On January 2, 1706, when the group still had about 20 members, Appenfeller rose to their "king" in a ceremony. In 1706, the group members had to accept severe torture and punishments in custody at Dringenberg Castle . The remains of the sect went to Altona in 1708. Appenfeller practiced here as Dr. med Brachfeld and quickly became a respected citizen.

Eva von Buttlar wanted to give birth to the “Messiah” in Altona. The child was born on April 8, 1713 in St. Pauli, 13 months after Johann Georg Appenfeller's death. A Lutheran pastor named it Georg Gottfried Appenfeller (1766–1790) after an oath taken by its mother, despite the highly unlikely paternity . He later became mayor of Kiel .

literature

• Karl-Egbert Schultze: Appenfeller, Johann Georg. in: Schleswig-Holstein Biographical Lexicon . Volume 1. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1970, p. 49
• Ulf Lückel: nobility and piety. The Berleburg Counts and Pietism in their territories. Vorländer Verlag, Siegen 2016, p. 62.