Johannes Aurifaber (Vratislaviensis)

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Johann Aurifaber , actually Johann Goldschmidt (born January 30, 1517 in Breslau , † October 19, 1568 ibid) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer. To distinguish it from the Weimar contemporary of the same name, it was also called Vratislaviensis (from Breslau).

Life

Johann Aurifaber was born in Breslau as the son of the Wroclaw citizen Valentin Goldschmidt and his wife Ursela Kirstein. After attending the St. Elisabeth School in Breslau, he followed his older brother Andreas Aurifaber to Wittenberg . 1534 he was at the local university enrolled. It is obvious that he had previously studied at another university, because he obtained his master's degree in January 1538 , which contradicts the usual course. He then entered the arts faculty in October 1540, where he lectured on languages, philosophy, mathematics and theology. In December 1543 the university proposed him to lead the education of the artistic faculty; but he was not confirmed as dean of the arts faculty until the summer of 1545 . In the same year he took over the professorship for lower mathematics. The Schmalkaldic War prevented him from exercising his teaching post, and Aurifaber first had to flee to Magdeburg .

On the recommendation of Philipp Melanchthon , in 1547 he initially took over the position of his late father-in-law, the Breslau reformer Johann Hess . When teaching at the Wittenberg University was resumed after the war, Aurifaber was called back to his old chair in 1549, where he worked until 1550, when he was appointed professor of theology and pastor at the St. Nicolaikirche in Rostock . Now he acquired the theological doctorate for the new office and was ordained by Johannes Bugenhagen . In Rostock, Aurifaber was very effective. At the instigation of Duke Johann Albrecht I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , he worked out the Mecklenburg church constitution in 1551/52 and carried out church visits. For Philipp Melanchthon he worked out the teaching part of the “Examen ordinandorum”.

On the advice of his brother Andreas Aurifaber , Albrecht I of Brandenburg-Ansbach called Johann to Koenigsberg to settle the Osiandrian dispute . Although Melanchthon warned him against moving to Königsberg as professor of theology and inspector of the Samland diocese, he went there in May 1554. On September 1, 1554, he opened the General Synod in Königsberg, which was supposed to conclude the peace work for Prussia. The ducal denomination was accepted, but the dispute with the Osiandrists continued.

However, all of his efforts, such as the new Prussian church order of 1558, could not unite the opposing parties. Rather, the attempts at unification met with resistance, so that Aurifaber was attacked as a Philippist. Tired of the quarrels, he withdrew from the quarrels in 1559 after the death of his brother, who was his strongest support. Shortly before the bloody clashes of the Osiandrian dispute , he turned to his native city of Breslau in 1565 . Here he took over the pastor's office at the St. Elisabeth Church as well as that of the superintendent and died here on October 19, 1568 after a short period of work.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See also the entry by Johannes Aurifaber in the Rostock matriculation portal

literature

personal data
SURNAME Aurifaber, Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Goldschmidt, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Lutheran theologian and reformer
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1517
PLACE OF BIRTH Wroclaw
DATE OF DEATH October 19, 1568
Place of death Wroclaw