Johannes Bissendorf

Johannes Bissendorf (* around 1585; † March 26, 1629 in Steuerwald ) was a Protestant clergyman and author of theological writings. He is considered the (only) martyr of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hanover .

Life

Bissendorf came from Heyersum , where his father was probably an official clerk. He attended the Andreas School in Hildesheim and matriculated on March 29, 1604 as a theology student at the University of Helmstedt .

In 1613/14 he published several writings, including a biography of Martin Luther as well as polemics and satires against the Catholic Church and especially against the Jesuit order . With his texts written in German, he reached a larger readership in and around Hildesheim. In 1619 his pamphlets were reissued under the overall title Colloquium Between an Evangelical Christian and Erroneous Papists .

In 1621 Bissendorf was presented to the parish in Gödringen by the provost of St. Bartholomaei zur Sülte before Hildesheim as patron saint . He was ordained on August 23, 1621 and took office as the third Protestant pastor of the parish on September 1.

After the victory of the Catholics in the Battle of Lutter (1626), the re-Catholicization of the Hildesheim monastery area began, combined with personal attacks against Bissendorf himself. With the payment of a ransom of 50 thalers, he was able to avert the attacks, but nevertheless tries to protect himself by his sovereign in Braunschweig. However, he was not supported by the local authorities. In 1627 he was lured to Steuerwald under a pretext and taken prisoner. According to other reports, he was already on the run when he was arrested near the Steuerwald Castle, which was occupied by imperial troops. The Jesuits entrusted with his supervision tried in vain to persuade him to convert. On the orders of Prince-Bishop Ferdinand of Bavaria , a trial was opened for breach of the peace, blasphemy and disregard of imperial laws. The death sentence pronounced by the electoral court in Cologne on March 7, 1629 after an opinion of the theological faculty of the University of Cologne was carried out on March 26, 1629. Bissendorf's body was only transferred to Gödringen in 1635 and buried in the local church. His tomb was found and restored during the renovation of the church in 1929. The 300th anniversary of his death was celebrated as a day of remembrance in the then church district of Sarstedt.

literature

• Nikolai Church in Gödringen . o. O. [1999]