Peter Heyling

Peter Heyling (* 1607 or 1608 in Lübeck ; † 1652 (?) In Sawakin , Sudan ) was a German lawyer, Lutheran missionary and in 1634 the first German in Ethiopia .

biography

Heyling was born the son of a Lübeck goldsmith, raised a Protestant and became a staunch Lutheran. After visiting the Katharineum in Lübeck from 1628 he studied law, theology and foreign languages ​​together with other Lübeckers such as Hieronymus von Dorne in Paris . There he was also a student of Hugo Grotius , who was in the city as the Swedish envoy. His life was recorded by Job Ludolf and one of his students, Johann Heinrich Michaelis , who both conducted research with contemporaries.

Heyling was the first Lutheran missionary in Ethiopia, which he reached from Egypt in 1634 . He had already left his homeland in 1632, and from 1633 he learned Arabic in Coptic monasteries in Egypt and Jerusalem . Later he was with King Fasilides (1632–1667) minister, teacher, doctor and theologian because he had won his trust. He set up an ambulance in a church in the city of Gonder . The establishment of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus is attributed to his influence . He was probably beheaded by a Turkish pasha while he was fleeing in 1652 because he refused to give up his evangelical faith.

From a letter to his “beloved brothers and venerable fathers” from Cairo in 1634: “ About two years ago (AC 1632) the Jesuits were completely expelled from the Ethiopian Kayser country and the ancient religion was then reintroduced . As far as the Christians in Egypt tell me, it is about thirty years since the Abyssinians fetched the last Ertz bishop through the Alexandrian or Copthian patriarch, according to age-old usage.
If you love the Lord, I will write you a thorough report from the Abyssinian countries (as much of what I have just hinted at as well as of everything else that is useful to learn). Because about two months ago the delegates of the current Abyssinian Kayser arrived at the Alexandrian Patriarch, and, according to their trade and desire, an Ertz bishop from the Egyptian Church has already been chosen: with whom I, beloved the Lord, the following week will move away. "

literature

• Doris Gothe: Peter Heyling, the first German in Ethiopia. In: magazine for cultural exchange . 1973, p. 147.
• Job Ludolf : Historia Aethiopica. 4 volumes. Frankfurt am Main 1681–1694.
• Johann Heinrich Michaelis : Strange life course of Mr. Peter Heylings from Lübeck and his trip to Ethiopia. Hall 1724.
• Richard Pankhurst: Peter Heyling, Abba Gregorius and the Foundation of Studies in Germany. In: magazine for cultural exchange . 1973, pp. 144-146.
• Andreas Ludwig Jacob Michelsen :  Heyling, Peter . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 12, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1880, p. 372 f.
• Otto Meinardus : Peter Heyling. In: Alken Bruns (ed.): Lübeck résumés from nine centuries. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1993, ISBN 978-3-529-02729-1 , pp. 183-185.
• Carl Wilhelm Pauli : Peter Heyling. In: General Mission Journal. May 1886.
• Jacques-Noël Pérès: Peter Heyling, Augustanae Confessioni addictus. Missionnaire ou heros de roman d'aventures? In: Positions luthériennes. Vol. 63 (2015), H. 3, pp. 185-200.
• Werner Raupp :  HEYLING, Peter. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 14, Bautz, Herzberg 1998, ISBN 3-88309-073-5 , Sp. 1090-1091.
• Werner Raupp: Art. Heyling, Peter, in: Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, New York [et al.] 1998, p. 292.

Web links and info

• Publications by and about Peter Heyling in VD 17 .
• Werner Raupp: Heyling, Peter , Classic DACB Collection (English, from: Gerald H. Anderson: Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, WB Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1998)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ype Schaaf: L'histoire et le rôle de la Bible en Afrique , CETA, HAHO et CLE, Aubonne 2000, ISBN 9-966-886-72-9 , p 64
2. ^ Andreas Ludwig Jacob Michelsen :  Heyling, Peter . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 12, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1880, p. 372 f.