Joshua Wegelin

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Dr. Theol. Josua Wegelin (1604-1640)

Josua Wegelin (born January 11, 1604 in the imperial city of Augsburg , HRR , † September 14, 1640 in Preßburg , Kingdom of Hungary ) was an Evangelical Lutheran theologian and songwriter.

origin

Josua Wegelin came from an established Augsburg bourgeois family. The grandfather Michel Wegelin (~ 1540–1619) was a 'citizen and weaver' in Augsburg.

The father, Johannes Wegelin (1568–1627), also born in Augsburg, studied ancient languages ​​and philosophy (1588–1590, 'Magister Phisosophiae') at the universities of Tübingen and Protestant theology in Wittenberg (1590–1593). From 1595 he worked as a preacher a. Inspector zd “Barfüßerrn” and “Ephorus Colegii” in Augsburg.

On January 28, 1598, Johannes Wegelin married Eva Christina Sauter (1578 -?) In Augsburg. The marriage resulted in four sons and three daughters.

Life

Josua Wegelin received his basic training in his native Augsburg. He continued his studies at the universities of Jena (1621), Tübingen (1622) and Strasbourg (1623). He obtained his master's degree on February 15, 1626 (Tübingen). His ordination as pastor took place on May 10, 1627 Buchsweiler , where he also took up his first pastorate. From there he was appointed to the fourth diaconate of the Barfüßerkirche in Augsburg and was introduced to his office on July 25, 1627.

As early as 1629 Wegelin was forced to leave Augsburg together with thirteen other brothers in office because of the strict application of the Edict of Restitution from Emperor Ferdinand II . He spent three years in exile. Wegelin was only able to return to Augsburg when King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden made his victorious entry into Augsburg on April 24, 1632. He was appointed archdeacon of the Barefoot Church. In 1633 he became pastor at the Hospital Church of the Holy Spirit in Augsburg. But this activity was also short-lived, as the Edict of Restitution was applied again in Augsburg after the battle of Nördlingen . Wegelin had to leave Augsburg for good in 1635.

As a displaced person and “homeless”, his paths led him to the Kingdom of Hungary. He came to Pressburg, an important coronation city of the Hungarian rulers at the time, located in the far west of the Hungarian Kingdom, but ethnically and because of its proximity to the border, he belonged to the German-speaking area. After some wandering around, Wegelin found a suitable position for him in Pressburg as the first preacher of the German Evangelical Church Community AB and senior of the Kontubernium. Its installation in this office took place on September 17, 1635.

Wegelin was intensely involved and involved in the construction of the first German Protestant church in Pressburg. On December 18, 1638, as a senior member of the congregation, he was able to give the thanksgiving sermon for the happy completion of the church building. He was a man of deep erudition, which is also proven by his church consecration sermon - with numerous quotations from Martin Luther , as well as many passages from the Bible that were quoted in the original languages. The actual parish fair was celebrated on December 20 and 21, 1638. Wegelin consecrated the church in the name of the 'Holy Trinity'. Some time later a printed commemorative publication appeared with his sermon and a detailed description of the entire act of consecration. In 1640 it was printed in Pressburg and appeared under the name: “Sermo dedicationis, dress sermon and entry sermon in the renewed house of God, the Protestant churches in Pressburg”.

The first German Evangelical Church in Pressburg (today the Jesuit Church in Bratislava)

Wegelin was first married to Anna Elisabeth Zunisch, from this marriage a son Siegmund emerged (baptized on August 14, 1637). In his second marriage, he married the widow Elisabeth von Reinberg, born on January 23, 1640. Pause. This marriage was short-lived, as Wegelin died suddenly and unexpectedly in September 1640.

Fonts

Wegelin wrote a number of theological devotional books and songs, most of which appeared in southern Germany and were popular with reading:

  • Devout reconciliation with God, which helps us out of all need , Augsburg 1635; this work later appeared under the title Augsburger Betbuch , Nuremberg 1648
  • Hand, land and stand books , Nuremberg 1637

After his death, all of his spiritual works appeared collectively under the title:

Prayers and songs , Nuremberg 1660

Songs

Wegelin was also the author of some spiritual songs that are important for the entire German-speaking Evangelical Church. In 1636 he composed the Ascension song on Ascension Day alone, which was already included in Dilherr's song book in Nuremberg in 1654 . Johann Sebastian Bach used the first verse of this song for the opening chorale in his cantata " Auf Christi Himmelfahrt alone " (BWV 128). This song can also be found in the Evangelical Hymnbook (EG No. 122) in an arrangement by Ernst Sonnemann .

In the hymn book of the former German Evangelical Congregation in Preßburg from 1896, Josua Wegelin printed the following three songs:

  • No. 120: On Ascension Day alone
  • No. 464: Now thank God, you Christians, all
  • No. 533: Oh God, let yourself be commanded

reception

Along with Matthias Bel and Carl Eugen Schmidt, Josua Wegelin is one of the most important pastors of the German Evangelical Church Community in Pressburg. One of the most important theologians of his time, whose reputation continues today.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In the early modern period, the office of 'Ephorus' was the name given to the head of a higher educational institution. Johannes Wegelin was the 'Ephorus of the Evangelical College' in Augsburg.
  2. ↑ Sons: Michael (1599–1634), Matthäus (1601–1663), Johann Georg (1602–1669) and Josua (1604–1640) All four sons studied theology and became Protestant pastors; Daughters: Katharina (1608-?), Anna-Maria (1609- after 1671) and Judith (1610-?) (Source: WIKITREE / online - English)
  3. ↑ fr. Bouxwiller  These are two communities of the same name in Alsace. One municipality is in the French department 'Bas-Rhin' (Lower Rhine) and the other in the department 'Haut-Rhin' (Upper Rhine). In which community Wegelin worked could not be clearly established.
  4. ↑ What is meant here is the number of Lutheran congregations not only in Pressburg, but also in the surrounding area outside the city.
  5. ↑ a b History of the Protestant Church Community AB zu Preßburg , vol. 2, p. 86ff
  6. ↑ a b History of ... Vol. 1, pp. 152–155
  7. ↑ Choir:
    On the Ascension of Christ alone
    I base my follow-up
    And
    hereby always overcome all doubt, fear and pain ;
    For because the head is in heaven,
    Jesus Christ will make up for his members
    at the right time.
personal data
SURNAME Wegelin, Joshua
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Evangelical Lutheran theologian and song poet
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1604
PLACE OF BIRTH Augsburg , HRR
DATE OF DEATH September 14, 1640
Place of death Pressburg , Kingdom of Hungary