Matthias Erb

Matthias Erb (* around 1494 in Ettlingen ; † March 13, 1571 in Rappoltsweiler ) was a Reformed theologian and reformer.

Live and act

He attended the academy in Bern and acquired the views that were valid in Switzerland , which made him enthusiastic about the Reformation in 1520 . As a field preacher, he took part in the campaign with the Bernese troops in the second Kappel War of 1531. After serving as a pastor in Entfelden , he became court chaplain to Margrave Bernhard III on the recommendation of Kaspar Hedio . at the collegiate church in Baden-Baden . When the old margrave died, he was expelled from Baden by the new catholic-minded margrave Philibert . Therefore he went to 1536 as a schoolmasterGengenbach .

In the course of the Württemberg Reformation , he was finally able to introduce the gospel in Reichenweier , Horburg and the county of Mömpelgard . Appointed by Count Georg von Württemberg , brother of Duke Ulrich von Württemberg , Erb enforced this work in conjunction with theologians from Strasbourg and Basel .

He agreed with the Strasbourgers on the controversial views concerning the Lord's Supper . As superintendent he introduced a simple liturgy in the country and founded a Latin school in Reichenweier. An extensive correspondence connected him with the leading theologians. For the von Rappoltstein family he translated some of the writings of the church fathers into German.

The period of the Augsburg interim threatened to destroy the flourishing work. As a staunch opponent of the interim, he protested. When the imperial ban was imposed on Count Georg , Erb was without office from 1549 to 1551. Only when the Catholic priests withdrew from the country in 1551 was he able to restore Protestant worship.

When, after the death of Count Georg in 1558, the land was administered by Duke Christoph von Württemberg , the stricter Lutheran view also took hold here. A visitation was held in 1559 and a new church order was introduced, which he opposed by referring to the Strasbourg tradition. Together with other pastors, he was then released in 1560 with a pension. He spent the last years of his life in Rappoltsweiler . The introduction of the Reformation by Herr zu Rappoltstein was the last work on which the indefatigable man helped.

Works

A directory of his works can be found in: Protestantische Kirchen- u. School sheet for Alsace, 1838, 193.

literature

• Ludwig Adolf Spach :  Erb, Mathias . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 184.
• TW Röhrich: Matthias Erb. In: Messages from the history of the Evangelical Church of Alsace. 3), Strasbourg 1855, 275-297.
• Theodor Pressel: Anecdota Brentiana. Tuebingen 1868.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Matthias Erb. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1533-1534.