Valentin Ernst Löscher

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Valentin Ernst Löscher

Valentin Ernst Löscher (born December 29, 1673 in Sondershausen ; † February 12, 1749 in Dresden ) was a Lutheran superintendent and hymn poet in Dresden.

Life

Valentin Ernst Löscher came from an old Protestant parish family, his father Caspar Löscher was superintendent in Sondershausen, later in Zwickau and professor of theology in Wittenberg and general superintendent of the Saxon spa district. His mother Cleophe Salome (* 1657 in Worms, died on January 15, 1717 in Wittenberg) was the daughter of the monastery superintendent of Merseburg (* December 22, 1630 in Schleusingen; † July 18, 1705 in Merseburg) and his first wife ( Marriage on June 3, 1656) Salome Höhnich. His great-grandfather Jodocus Löscher had already attended lectures with Martin Luther , and many Protestant theologians have emerged from his descendants. Valentin Ernst first attended the school in Zwickau, came to the school in Wittenberg in 1687 and matriculated at the University of Wittenberg on March 13, 1690 .

Here he studied philology, history and theology. Theodor Dassow taught philosophy in philosophy , Konrad Samuel Schurzfleisch in history and Greek , Christian Röhrensee in ethics , Christian Donati in dialectics and Georg Kasper Kirchmaier in rhetoric . His main focus was on theology, for which he attended the theological lectures of his father, those of Philipp Ludwig Hanneken , those of Johann Deutschmann and those of Michael Walther the Younger . Prepared in this way, on April 28, 1692 he was promoted to Master of Philosophy. He then continued his studies, gave private lectures and in 1694 went to the University of Jena for a year .

Under Friedemann Bechmann he devoted himself to an extensive study of sources in Jena and carried out research on church history . Baier and Sagittarius also aroused his interest in church history, especially the time of the Reformation. As was customary at the time, in 1695 he went on an educational trip that took him to Hamburg , Amsterdam , Leiden , Franeker , Altona , Lübeck , Copenhagen , Rostock and Berlin . On his return to Wittenberg on November 28, 1696, he was accepted as an adjunct at the philosophical faculty of the Wittenberg University and gave lectures that were well attended. In 1698 he was proposed by Duke Johann Georg von Sachsen-Weißenfels for the office of Superintendent von Jüterbog. During his time of designation , he advanced to a licentiate in theology in Wittenberg on November 16, 1698 , completed his first trial sermon in Jüterbog on November 30, was ordained in Weissenfels on December 16, and took up the post of pastor at St. .-Nicolai Church and that of the Superintendent von Jüterbog .

In addition to his church duties, Löscher also devoted himself to his scientific studies in Jüterbog. He dealt with the history of mysticism in some polemical work and carried out biblical studies . The success of his studies earned him a doctorate in theology in Wittenberg under Gottlieb Wernsdorf the Elder on April 22, 1700 . Löscher, who in his literary work had devoted himself above all to the idea of Lutheran orthodoxy of keeping Christian doctrine pure, experienced many attacks as a result of the theological disputes. Nevertheless, it was important to him to give all Lutheran preachers the tools to convey the pure teaching of the Gospel in the face of the enthusiastic statements of the Pietists .

Out of this context, his journal "Innocent News of Old and New Theological Matters" was created in 1701. It was the first theological journal. In it, older theological works were discussed in the context of the time, important files were made known, new theological books were published in extracts and reviewed . As the main editor of the paper, he had to fend off some hostility from pietistic representatives. His second work, the "Noble Devotional Fruits or 68 Exquisite Places of Sacred Scripture, deals with devotion in which the theologia mystica orthodoxa is recited", which is to be regarded as an important theological work of his, also had an effect. For Löscher, the orthodox Lutheran faith is a theology of the heart that does not accept any changes, since it contradicts the theological truth of the teaching. Any reluctance is for him rather an expression of enthusiastic thinking. So Löscher had placed himself at the forefront of Lutheran orthodoxy. On November 10, 1701, Löscher received a call from Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxony-Merseburg as Superintendent to Delitzsch , which he accepted.

The Dresden Superintendent Dr. Valentin Ernst Löscher asks the Prussian General Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau (the old Dessau) in the 2nd Silesian War after the Battle of Kesselsdorf in December 1745 to prevent the sacking of Dresden

In Delitzsch he deepened himself more and more in an intensive Bible study with the aim of reviving theological sciences. He paid particular attention to the fact that the new candidates were specially trained in a theological office and took up their pastoral office as morally mature. He also advocated a reintroduction of the visitations. His studies were incorporated into his pia desideria , published in 1703 . Löscher then devoted himself to the attempts at unification in the Protestant church. Thus in 1703 a union college between Lutherans and Reformed people was organized in Berlin . After the negotiations were very negative for the Lutherans, Löscher reported anonymously with the text "Most submissive address to a powerful head in the name of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, concerning the religious association, together with a proposal for blessed church peace".

The anonymous publication didn’t miss its goal and aroused excitement among the Pietist and Reformed parties, whereupon they produced debilitating pamphlets. Therefore, in 1704, Löscher had the "History of the first religious motuum between the Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed, together with a Christian answer to the exception script" follow.

After a short academic activity as a professor in Wittenberg (1707–1709), he was appointed pastor at the Dresden Kreuzkirche . At the same time he was appointed senior consistory assessor and superintendent. In 1713 he joined the ' Society of Christian Love and Science ' as one of the founding members , which was under the presidency of Samuel Steurlin . In Dresden, where he worked until his death, he developed an extensive work.

plant

Löscher is considered the last great representative of Lutheran Orthodoxy , who fought with strong polemics against pietism and the Enlightenment , Catholicism and Reformed as well as against princely absolutism . He played a major role in the construction of the Frauenkirche , the largest new building of a Protestant church in Germany at the time, and preached both at the laying of the foundation stone and at the inauguration in 1734. In 1739 he also consecrated the Dreikönigskirche .

Löscher also emerged as a reformer of the poor and school system in Dresden and as a poet of hymns. Johann Sebastian Bach set Come, Souls, This Day (1713) to music as BWV 479. The passion song Ich greet dich am Kreuzesstamm (1722) is still represented in the Evangelical Hymnbook (EG 90).

Löscher consistently implemented Luther's idea of conveying the word of God in the mother tongue and supported, among other things, the Sorbs living in Saxony and Prussia in their efforts to use their language in the liturgical area. He wrote a foreword to the Sorbian translation of Langhans' children's postil Dźěćaca postilla (Budyšin - Bautzen 1717). Due to his commitment against tendencies towards forced assimilation with regard to the Sorbs, including within his own church, he is also mentioned in the preface to the first complete edition of the Upper Sorbian Bible (1728).

family

Löscher married on January 10, 1702 in Merseburg with Catharina Elisabeth Krausold (born June 1, 1685 in Merseburg), the eldest daughter of the prince. Merseburg Court and Justice Council, as well as heir in Ostra and Keuschberg Friedrich Krausold (* 1647, † 1703) and his first wife Anna Charitas Sittig, who married on October 15, 1678. The marriage had eleven children. From the children we know:

  • Salome Charitas Löscher (born May 21, 1703 in Delitzsch) m. October 24, 1725 with the Princely Weissenfels Court Councilor and assessor of the royal. Regional court of the margravate of Niederlausitz, the heir and liege lord of Untergreißlau and Naunhof Wolf Albrecht Behrisch (Friedrich Wilhelm Behrisch, Ernst Wolfgang Behrisch, Christian Georg Wolfgang Behrisch, Heinrich Wolfgang Behrisch)
  • Friederike Ernestina Löscher (born November 4, 1704 in Delitzsch) m. June 15, 1729 with the superintendent of Chemnitz Theodor Crüger (* 1694; † 1751) (Friderica Ernestina Crüger, Louise Wilhelmine Crüger)
  • August Caspar Löscher (born August 16, 1706 in Delitzsch, † March 1746 in Lübben) Land physicist of the margraviate of Niederlausitz
  • Friedrich Ernst Löscher (born February 21, 1707 in Wittenberg; † June 22, 1708 in Dresden)
  • Johanne Elisabeth Löscher (May 6, 1709 in Wittenberg) married. June 14, 1740 with Superintendent in Jessen and Pirna Christian Karl Stempel (* October 24, 1689 in Meißen; † February 14, 1764 in Pirna)
  • Christine Dorothea (* July 21, 1710 in Dresden; † February 10, 1711 ibid.)
  • Elisabeth Christiane (December 2, 1712 in Dresden; † September 23, 1713 ibid.)
  • Sophie Hedwig (December 16, 1713 in Dresden; † December 28, 1713 ibid.)
  • Anna Amalia Löscher (born April 29, 1714 in Dresden)
  • Sophie Catherine Löscher (* 1716 in Dresden; † January 13, 1756 in Lüneburg) married. June 1746 with the royal. Great Britain. and Kurhannoverischen council, as well as inspector of the knight academy in Lüneburg Johann Friedrich Jugler (born July 17, 1714 in Wettaburg; † January 9, 1791 in Lüneburg) (Friderika Juliana Jugler (1747–1756))
  • Valentin Ernst Löscher (born February 21, 1721 in Dresden, † 1782 in Dresden) Dr. jur. Senior Consistorial Councilor in Dresden

Remembrance day

February 12 in the Evangelical Name Calendar .

literature

Web links

Commons : Valentin Ernst Löscher  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ He was a good schoolboy and later became a deacon of Werdau (cf. New Archive for Saxon History and Antiquity, 1916, pp. 26-30).
  2. ↑ see also category: Theologische Zeitschrift .
  3. ↑ Cf. Köster: VE Löscher.
  4. ↑ Valentin Ernst Löscher in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints .
personal data
SURNAME Löscher, Valentin Ernst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lutheran theologian; Superintendent in Dresden
DATE OF BIRTH December 29, 1673
PLACE OF BIRTH Sondershausen
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1749
Place of death Dresden