Johann Hinrich Wichern was a founder of the Home Mission (also translated as Inner Mission

Inner mission

The Inner Mission was a movement of German evangelists, set up by Johann Hinrich Wichern in Wittenberg in 1848 based on a model of Theodor Fliedner...

; German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

: Innere Mission) movement in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Biography

Wichern studied theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 at Göttingen and Berlin

Humboldt University of Berlin

The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...

, and, settling in Hamburg, devoted himself to missionary work among the poor. He started a Sunday school

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

 which proved very successful, and in 1833 opened his Rauhes Haus

Rauhes Haus

Rauhes Haus is a social service institution, founded in 1833 and located in Hamburg, Germany. It shelters and trains children, the mentally handicapped and disturbed, and cares for the aged...

. Wichern traveled through Germany, preaching and establishing hospitals, schools, homes, and rescue stations. He is credited with inventing the (now traditional) Advent wreath in 1839. Through his exertions, the Protestant synod at Wittenberg

Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....

 in 1848 appointed a central committee for home missions. In 1851 the Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n government made him inspector of prisons and houses of correction, and in 1858 general superintendent. In 1872 disease forced him to retire from office.

Writings

• Die innere Mission der deutschen evangelischen Kirche (The inner mission of the German Evangelical Church, 1849)
• Die Behandlung der Verbrecher und entlassenen Sträflinge (The handling of criminals and the discharge of prisoners, 1853)
• Der Dienst der Frauen in der Kirche (Women's service in the church, 1858)

Reference