Johan Kõpp

Johan Kõpp. Photo from the 1920s.

Johan Kopp (* October 28 ^{. Jul} / 9. November  1874 ^greg. In Holdre today Landsgemeinde helmets , Estonia , †  21st October 1970 in Stockholm , Sweden ; burial in Skogskyrkogården, Stockholm) was a Lutheran theologian and Estonian historians .

life and work

Johan Kõpp was born in Holdre (German Hollershof ) in Livonia . He studied theology at the University of Tartu . In 1906 he passed his candidate exam there . He then worked as a high school teacher in Pärnu until 1909 .

From 1909 to 1922 Kõpp was pastor in Laiuse . With the proclamation of Estonia's state independence in 1918, he was also politically active. 1919/20 Kõpp was a member of the Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Estonia ( Asutav Kogu ). From 1932 to 1937 he had a seat in the Home Guard Association of the Estonian Armed Forces ( Kaitseliit ). From 1940 he was a member of the State Council ( Riiginõukogu ).

Kõpp was one of the leading theologians and historians of the interwar period in Estonia. From 1916 to 1939 and from 1941 to 1944 he was professor of theology at the University of Tartu. From 1923 to 1928 he was vice-rector and from 1928 to 1937 rector of the university. From 1914 to 1921 Kõpp was chairman of the Estonian Literary Society ( Eesti Kirjanduse Selts ) and from 1929 to 1934 deputy chairman of the Estonian Scholarly Society ( Õpetatud Eesti Selts ). In addition, he held numerous other honorary positions and was active as a historian.

In 1939 Johan Kõpp was elected bishop and head of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church ( Eesti Evangeeliumi Luteriusu Kirik , EELK). Before the Soviet occupation of Estonia, he fled into exile in Sweden in 1944 . From there he directed the church work of the Lutheran most exiles. In 1957 he was appointed archbishop of the Estonian Lutheran Church in Exile (later the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad ). He was thus in a difficult position vis-à-vis the EELK, which established itself from 1949 within the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic . Nevertheless, Kõpp emphasized that the two churches are actually one that is temporarily separated by political circumstances.

For reasons of age, Kõpp resigned from office in 1964. He died very old in exile in Sweden.

Works (selection)

Directory in: "Elencus bibliographichus Johannis Kõpp." : Charasteria Johanni Kõpp octogenario oblata. (Papers of the Estonian theologcal society in exil 7.) Holmiæ & Uppsala 1954, pp. 297-304.

• Eesti Üliõpilaste Seltsi ajalugu. I. 1870-1905. Tartu 1925
• Laiuse kihelkonna ajalugu. Tartu 1937 (2nd edition 2009)
• Väike palveraamat. Igapäevaseid palvusi ja palveid. Stockholm 1949
• Mälestuste radadel. (Memories, 4 volumes) Lund 1953, 1954, 1969 and 1987

literature

• Jakob Aunver: Johan Kõpp. Uppsala 1969
• Priit Rohtmets: Rector Johan Kõpp. Tartu 2007

Web links

• Short biography (Estonian)

Remarks

1. ↑ Entry in the baptismal register of the Helmet parish (Estonian: Helme kogudus)
2. ↑ Eesti elulood. Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (= Eesti entsüklopeedia 14) ISBN 9985-70-064-3 , p. 205
3. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.