Johannes Sylvanus
Johannes Sylvanus (also: Johann or Johannes Sylvan ; * 16th century; † December 23, 1572 in Heidelberg ) was a German theologian . He was sentenced to death and executed on charges of Unitarian heresy .
Live and act
Johannes Sylvanus probably came from South Tyrol . From 1555 at the latest he was an episcopal preacher in Würzburg . In 1559 he fled Würzburg and converted to Lutheranism in Tübingen . In 1560 he became a pastor in Calw . In 1563 he entered the service of the reformed Elector Friedrich III. from the Palatinate . In the same year he became pastor and superintendent in Kaiserslautern . In 1566 Sylvanus took part in a trip to the Netherlands . From 1567 Sylvanus was pastor in Ladenburg , where he came into contact with Jacob Suter, among others .
Sylvanus, who was an opponent of strict church discipline , increasingly had doubts about the doctrine of the Trinity and was also in contact with the Heidelberg anti-Trinitarian Adam Neuser . In 1570 he wrote an anti-Trinitarian creed . After the draft of a letter to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was found, Sylvanus - who, unlike Adam Neuser, could not escape - was arrested, and the anti-Trinitarian creed was then used as evidence against Sylvanus. Johannes Sylvanus was executed with the sword on the Heidelberg market square . His children were forced to attend the execution.
The reason for the execution may have been that the Elector Friedrich III. preferred Calvinism itself was suspected of weakening the doctrine of the Trinity. In this way, the elector was able to prove to the emperor that he was on the basis of traditional religion.
literature
- Paul Tschackert : Sylvanus, Johann . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 37, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1894, p. 285 f.
- Christopher J. Burchill: The Heidelberg Antitrinitarians: Johann Sylvan, Adam Neuser, Matthias Vehe, Jacob Suter, Johann Hasler. (PDF; 2.6 MB) ( Bibliotheca dissidentium vol. 11) Baden-Baden 1989. ISBN 978-3-87320-120-0 , pp. 16–86.
- Erich Wenneker : Sylvan, Johannes. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 11, Bautz, Herzberg 1996, ISBN 3-88309-064-6 , Sp. 322-327.
- Tobias Weimer: On the beheading of Johannes Sylvanus in Heidelberg on December 23, 1572. A contribution to the Reformation in the Electoral Palatinate with special consideration of church discipline. In: Yearbook for Church and Religious History in Baden 5 (2011), pp. 11–23.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sylvanus, Johannes |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Protestant theologian and author of an anti-Trinitarian creed |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 16th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 23, 1572 |
| Place of death | Heidelberg |