Justus Henry Christian Helmuth

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Portrait by John Eckstein, ca.1795

Justus Henry Christian Helmuth (originally Justus Heinrich Christian Helmuth ; born  May 16, 1745 in Helmstedt ; †  February 5, 1825 in Philadelphia ) was a German - American Lutheran theologian and, as the second successor to Henry Melchior Mühlenberg, the leading Lutheran clergyman in the Ministry of Pennsylvania .

life and work

As a half- orphan , Helmuth came early to the orphanage founded by August Hermann Francke in Halle (Saale) . He studied Protestant theology at the University of Halle . In 1769 he was ordained pastor in Wernigerode and sent out to serve in North America by the Mission Society in Halle. First he served for ten years in a parish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania as a pastor. In 1779 he was called to succeed John Christopher Kunze at St. Michael and Zion Church in Philadelphia, then the largest Lutheran congregation in the United States . He remained her pastor until 1820. In addition to his pastoral office, he was from 1780–1785 trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and taught German and Oriental languages ​​here from 1785–1791. The university, whose collection includes a portrait of Helmuth painted by Rembrandt Peale (another portrait made by Johannes (John) Eckstein around 1795 (fig.) Hangs in the National Portrait Gallery (Washington) ), awarded him a master's degree in 1780 (AM) and in 1785 an honorary theological doctorate (DD). In the same year he founded a Latin school and a seminar together with his official brother Johann Friedrich Schmidt, which, according to his plans, was to become a theological faculty, but this could not be realized. In 1784 he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society .

Helmuth, who theologically represented a mild pietism and also emerged as a hymn poet, followed Mühlenberg and Kunze in a quasi-episcopal leadership function as a senior in the Ministry of Pennsylvania and neighboring states. From its founding 1808 to 1822 he was a member of the board ( manager ) of the Pennsylvania Bible Society .

He earned the special trust of the people of Philadelphia when he stayed in the city during the yellow fever epidemic in August 1793, which killed up to 5,000 people (10% of the population at the time).

In the erupting discussions about the introduction of English as the language of worship, Helmuth advocated a conservative course of keeping the German language. From 1803 a group under General Peter Muhlenberg unsuccessfully demanded the introduction of English-language services, eventually split off and founded the St. John's Congregation in 1806.

In 2008 a letter from George Washington to Helmuth and the Philadelphia Congregation dated April 1789 was auctioned at Christie's . The letter, in which the newly elected president thanked the congregation for congratulations shortly before his inauguration , raised $ 194,500.

Works

  • Short devotions, a God-seeking Sele: arranged for every day of the week and other circumstances. [Germantown]: Germantaun printed by Leibert and Billmeyer, 1786. (6 editions until 1814)
  • A monument of love and respect to Mr. D. Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg, the most deserving senior of the Evangelical Lutheran Ministry in North America and the most loyal first teacher at the St. Michaelis and Zion Congregation in Philadelphia, has been erected: along with the same Resumes. Philadelphia: Printed by Melchior Steiner ..., 1788.
  • Contemplation of the Gospel doctrine of Holy Scripture and Baptism: including some thoughts from the present times. Germantaun: Printed by Michael Billmeyer, 1793.
  • Short message from the so-called yellow fiber in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, printed by Steiner and Kämmerer, 1793.
(Engl.): A short account of the yellow fever in Philadelphia: for the reflecting Christian. Philadelphia: Printed by Jones, Hoff & Derrick ..., 1794.

literature

  • Edward C. Wolf: Justus Henry Christian Helmuth - hymnologist. In: German-American Studies . Volume 5, 1972, pp. 117-147
  • Edward C. Wolf: Two Divergent Traditions of German-American Hymnody in Maryland circa 1800. In: American Music . Volume 3, 1985, pp. 299-312
  • Daniel Jay Grimminger: Sacred Song and the Pennsylvania Dutch , Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-58046-383-6 , pp. 39-44. On-line

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ Penn in the 18th century ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.archives.upenn.edu
  3. ^ Member History: JHC Helmuth. American Philosophical Society, accessed September 27, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Meet the original managers
  5. ↑ Grimminger 2012, p. 42
  6. ↑ [2]
personal data
SURNAME Helmuth, Justus Henry Christian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Helmuth, Justus Heinrich Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lutheran Church President in the USA
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1745
PLACE OF BIRTH Helmstedt
DATE OF DEATH February 5, 1825
Place of death Philadelphia