Johannes Zeller (missionary)

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Christ Church in Nazareth. The tower wasn't actually completed until 2004.

Johannes Zeller , also John Zeller (born October 15, 1830 in Besigheim , † February 19, 1902 in Wernigerode ) was a German Protestant missionary and Palestine researcher.

Life

Johannes Zeller initially trained as a clerk and in 1847 worked as an assistant at the Neckarsulm District Office . A year later he began an apprenticeship as a gunsmith in Leonberg . In 1850 he joined the Basel Mission House. He continued his preparation for the mission in England, learned English and Arabic, and was ordained an Anglican pastor in 1856.

Then John Zeller traveled to Palestine in the service of the Church Mission Society . After two years in Nablus and Ramleh , he came to Nazareth in 1858 and then stayed roughly in equal parts, first in Nazareth and then in Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem from 1879 Zeller directed the Zion School founded by Bishop Samuel Gobat . He saw the inauguration of the Protestant Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm II on Reformation Day in 1898. After his retirement in 1901, he moved to Wernigerode.

mission

Under Bishop Gobat, the Protestant mission in Palestine (in fact, it was a joint effort of the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church in Prussia) moved from mission to Jews to mission among members of the traditional Christian churches on site, especially the Greek Orthodox Christians. Many residents of Nazareth sent their children to Protestant schools and were therefore sanctioned by the Orthodox clergy. In this way Zeller won new families for the Protestant church. The church grew; In 1871 the Christ Church in Nazareth could be consecrated after several years of construction.

Palestine exploration

From Nazareth, Zeller undertook journeys in northern Palestine and on both sides of the Jordan . In doing so, he acquired a wide range of knowledge from which other Palestinian travelers benefited. He developed friendly relationships with many local dignitaries, especially with the Bedouin sheik Aquil Aga he was a close friend. This was an advantage because Aquil Aga practically ruled northern Palestine.

Zeller was happy to share his findings with others. This benefited Titus Tobler , who wanted to write a book about Nazareth, but was prevented by cholera from exploring the subject of his book himself. So he conducted extensive interviews with Zeller, evaluated them and wrote his monograph on Nazareth, which was a great success. Zeller was friends with the Württemberg geologist Eberhard Fraas . He accompanied him on his excursions to Lebanon and collected fossils, which he sent on to Stuttgart.

Colony establishment

In Württemberg numerous Pietists decided to emigrate to Palestine for religious as well as economic reasons. At Easter 1860 four young Templars , who had been trained at the Kirschenhardthof , arrived in Jerusalem. Zeller helped them to gain a foothold as teachers and craftsmen in Nazareth. “From here they tried to explore agriculturally suitable land for the planned Templar settlement. Their attempt, on Zeller's advice, to settle in Sinchar on the Jezreel plain , however, was not a long-term success. ”Christian Eppinger and Carl Heuschele found work in the Schneller institutes; Hieronymus Sonderecker ran a locksmith's workshop in Jerusalem. Philipp Hochstätter, the only Templar remaining with Zeller, died of malaria in Nazareth in 1860.

Private

On June 23, 1859, Johannes Zeller and Hannah Marie Sophie Gobat, the daughter of Samuel Gobat, married. The couple had eight children. Hannah Zeller was artistically gifted and illustrated the book Field Flowers from the Holy Land , which saw several editions.

literature

  • Haim Goren: “Go there and research the country.” German Palestine Studies in the 19th Century. (Translated from Hebrew). Göttingen 2003 ISBN 3-89244-673-3
  • Liesel Reichle-Zeller: Johannes Zeller 1830–1902. Missionary in Palestine. Stuttgart 1987 (not evaluated)
  • Duane Alexander Miller: Christ Church (Anglican) in Nazareth. A Brief History with Photographs. ( PDF )
  • Titus Tobler: Nazareth in Palestine, Berlin 1868 ( full text in the Google book search)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Zeller Johannes. In: Landeskunde online Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved February 9, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Johannes (John) Zeller. In: Martinszeller Association - Family Zeller. Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  3. ^ Haim Goren: The German research on Palestine . S. 304 .
  4. ^ Haim Goren: The German research on Palestine . S. 235 .
  5. ^ Haim Goren: The German research on Palestine . S. 305 .
  6. ↑ Jakob Eisler: The Württemberg Templars. Retrieved February 8, 2018 .
  7. ^ The first post from Jerusalem after the end of the war. In: Temple Society. Retrieved February 9, 2018 .
  8. ^ Duane Alexander Miller: Christ Church . S. 699 .
personal data
SURNAME Zeller, Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zeller, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant missionary and Palestine researcher
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1830
PLACE OF BIRTH Besigheim
DATE OF DEATH February 19, 1902
Place of death Wernigerode