Michael Ignatius

Michael Ignatius (* 25 September ^July / 6 October  1713 ^greg. In Tartu , Livonia ; † 19 April ^July / 30 April  1777 ^greg. Ibid) was an Estonian writer and translator. He promoted the activities of the Moravians in Livonia.

Life

Michael (also Michel) Ignatius was of Estonian descent. He was born in the Livonian town of Tartu (German Dorpat ) as the son of the sexton Ignatzi Peeter. In 1728 Michael Ignatius became a school teacher in the Estonian parish of Tartu. From 1731 he was employed as a sexton at the Tartu Marienkirche. He held this office until his death.

Around 1740 Ignatius joined the movement of the Moravian Brethren from Saxony . In Tartu he spread their ideas. After the Moravians were banned by the tsarist authorities in 1742, Ignatius was imprisoned for a short time. In the 1750s he continued the spread of the Moravian faith. He found inspiration above all in the ideas of Johann Christian Quandt (the elder) (1704–1750) and by his brother-in-law Mango Hans (1713–1780).

Works

Ignatius translated the collection of sermons Testimony of Grace and Truth (1741) by the German Pietist Johann Heinrich Schubert (1692–1757) into the Tartu dialect from the German . The work contains 108 sermons on over 1000 pages. The translation was financed by the Baltic German nobleman Otto von Rosen. In addition, Ignatius translated numerous other speeches that spread in manuscripts among the Estonians.

Ignatius also helped with the translation of the Moravian Hymn and Liturgy by Christoph Michael Königseer (1723–1786).

Private life

Michael Ignatius was the father of the pastor David Friedrich Ignatius and the grandfather of the painter Otto Friedrich Ignatius .

literature

• Eesti elulood. Tallinn: Eesti entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (= Eesti entsüklopeedia 14) ISBN 9985-70-064-3 , p. 98

Web links

• Bio-bibliographical information (EEVA)