Johannes Oekolampad

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Hans Asper: Portrait of Johannes Oekolampad, around 1531/1550 (Kunstmuseum Basel)

Johannes Oekolampad (also Ökolampad or Latinized Oekolampadius ; * 1482 in Weinsberg ; † November 24, 1531 in Basel , Switzerland ) was a theologian , humanist and the reformer of Basel.

Life

The epitaph for Jakob Meyer zum Hirzen (1473–1541), Johannes Oekolampad and Simon Grynaeus is adorned with a Latin funerary inscription in classical antiqua in the sense of humanism. In German script there is a Reformation saying below: "So ehr / guot / art, helping in need, who does not kill any of the three". ("If the honor they have earned, the good they have done, and the craftsmanship and skill they have demonstrated could help in an emergency, none of these three would be dead.")
Epitaph in the cloister of the Basel Minster for Jakob Meyer zum Hirzen (1473–1541), Johannes Oekolampad and Simon Grynaeus

Johannes Oekolampad was born in the then Electoral Palatinate (since 1504 Württemberg ) town of Weinsberg. Birth name was (also written Husschyn, Hussgen, Huszgen or house bill) John Heussgen he, as usual at this time among humanists into Greek translated ( οἶκος oîkos , house 'and λαμπάς LAMPAS , lamp'). His father was a respected citizen , his mother came from a Basel councilor family .

From 1499 studied Oekolampad in Bologna rights in Heidelberg , Tübingen and Stuttgart theology , Hebrew and classical languages . From 1506 to 1508 he was the Palatine prince educator in Mainz. In 1510 Oekolampad was ordained a priest and got a pastor's position at the Johanneskirche in Weinsberg. There he caused offense with his reform-oriented sermons and therefore left the city in 1518.

Johannes Oekolampad (1482–1531) theologian humanist, reformer from Basel. Sculpture made of red sandstone, at Basel Minster
Johannes Oekolampad, sculpture made of red sandstone

During his studies in Tübingen, Stuttgart and Heidelberg he became acquainted with the humanists Johannes Reuchlin , Philipp Melanchthon and Wolfgang Capito . In 1515 Oekolampad went to Basel, where he worked for Erasmus von Rotterdam on the edition of the Novum Instrumentum omne , earned his doctorate in theology at the university and published Greek grammar and translations of patristic writings.

In 1518 he was appointed by Capito to the Basel Minster , soon afterwards to the cathedral in Augsburg , where shortly before the disputation "degenerate" interrogation between Martin Luther and Thomas Cajetan had taken place. Until then, committed to the tradition of Erasmus, he studied Luther's writings, therefore clashed with Johannes Eck and withdrew to the Altomünster monastery in 1520 . There he translated other Fathers of the Church and came to the point that he followed the doctrine of justification by faith alone and published his position in two scriptures. He then had to leave the monastery and became chaplain at the Ebernburg with Franz von Sickingen .

In 1522 he finally settled in Basel, where he translated other patristic writings. Jakob Meyer zum Hirzen (1473–1541), who was mayor of Basel from 1530 and the great-grandfather of Wolfgang Meyer , made friends with Oekolampad and became his loyal companion.

From 1523 he gave public lectures on the biblical prophets, was soon afterwards appointed professor against the will of the prince-bishop and finally in 1525 he was a priest in St. Martin's Church.

Hard arguments followed, also with Erasmus, and contacts with Huldrych Zwingli , Martin Bucer and Martin Luther. On the question of the Lord's Supper , Oekolampad followed Zwingli's point of view. In 1526 he was the leader of the Reformed at the Baden disputation and conducted the conversation against Johannes Eck. But the old belief still prevailed here.

Oekolampad enjoyed a high reputation, but never had such an influential position as Zwingli in Zurich, especially since Basel was a bishopric. Pressure from the population led to the secularization of some monasteries in 1525 , to freedom of belief for the Reformed in 1528 and to the abolition of Catholic worship in 1529.

Memorial plaque for Johannes Oekolampad (1482–1531) Oekolampad parish hall, Allschwilerplatz, Basel
Memorial plaque for Johannes Oekolampad, Oekolampad Church

In 1528 Oekolampad and Zwingli contested the Bern disputation . From 1529 he was an antistes of the Reformed Church in Basel, but also retained his Bible professorship. At Zwingli's side, he took part in the Marburg Religious Discussion , but accepted Martin Bucer's pamphlet of concord, which Zwingli had rejected. At five synods (1529 to 1531) he strove for church doctrine ( catechism ) and church discipline , which he wanted to hand over to a presbytery independent of the council . But there were ban authorities who carried out sermons and compulsory communion and carried out a cruel judgment on the Anabaptists .

In 1528 Johannes Oekolampad and Wibrandis Rosenblatt married . The marriage had three children. After a five-month widow's period, he married the widower Wolfgang Capito (1478–1541), who was 26 years his senior. After his death, Wibrandis Rosenblatt and Martin Bucer married in 1542.

In 1531 - a few weeks after Zwingli's death - Oekolampad died. His grave is in the Basel Minster. His successor as professor and pastor was the reformer Oswald Myconius .

Honors

One of the Basel parishes is named after him ( Oekolampad parish ). The Evangelical Church in Germany commemorates him with a memorial day on November 24th in the Evangelical Name Calendar .

Works

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Meyer: Jakob Meyer zum Hirzen (1473-1541). Retrieved May 17, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Johannes Oekolampad in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints

Web links

Commons : Johannes Oekolampad  - collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
no predecessor Antistes of the Basel Church
1529–1531 		Oswald Myconius
personal data
SURNAME Oekolampad, Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Oekolampadius, Johannes; Heussgen, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss theologian and humanist; Reformer of Basel
DATE OF BIRTH 1482
PLACE OF BIRTH Weinberg
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 1531
Place of death Basel