Polykarp Leyser the Elder
Encyclopedia
Polykarp Leyser the Elder or Polykarp Leyser I (18 March 1552, Winnenden
- 22 February 1610, Dresden
) was a Lutheran theologian, superintendent of Braunschweig
, superintendent-general of the Saxon church-circle, professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg and chief court-preacher and consistorial
-councillor of Saxony
. He married Elisabeth, the daughter of Lucas Cranach the Younger
, and their children included Polykarp Leyser II
(1586–1633), another theologian. This made him the founder of a dynasty of theologians, as great-grandfather of Polykarp Leyser III
(1656–1725) and great-great-grandfather of Polykarp Leyser IV
(1690–1728).
Supported by his father, his uncle Andreae and later his stepfather Osiander, and also with input from his teacher Martin Chemnitz
, Leyser came to have an ingrained support for Lutheran orthodoxy - indeed, at a difficult time for Lutheranism, he was one of those who founded that orthodoxy. In the creative force of his Loci theologici (1591/92), Harmonia evangelica (1593), Postilla (1593) and De controversiis iudicium (1594), his theological position was forged by the dispute sparked by (Crypto-)Calvinism in Saxony, by the 'Exorzismusstreit', by the difficulties over Lutheran Christology
and by Huber's debate. Leyser is thus to be accounted one of the key figures of the Lutheran concord in northern and central Germany and was constantly attacked in pamphlets as the 'pope of Dresden'. As one of the key movers behind the Formula of Concord
, he used his books to defend Lutheran orthodoxy and attack Catholicism and Calvinism, was commissioned by the elector to join several of the meetings which led to the Book of Concord
and advocated that the number of sponsors be limited to three people.
He wrote more than sixty theological works and an extensive corpus of sermons. He also dealt with the literary controversies of his time, cultivating an extensive correspondence of 200 written by him and 5000 written to him - an extensive selection from it was first published by his great-grandson Polycarp Leyser III as Sylloge epistolarum in 1706.
) was a pastor in Winnenden then in Nürtingen, giving Polykarp an insight into theology at an early age. Kaspar agreed with Jacob Andreae that government of the laypeople should remain entirely in the pastors' hands, amounting to the establishment of a denomination-wide consistory
. He also corresponded with John Calvin
, who reserved judgement on the project. They incurred the disapproval of Christoph, Duke of Württemberg
. At the instigation of Johannes Brenz
this suggestion failed, since Brenz feared it would lead to the church in Württemberg losing control to a centralised consistory.
Polykarp's mother Margarethe was a daughter of Johannes Entringer (a merchant from Tübingen), making her a sister of Jakob Andreaes. On Kaspar's death in 1554, she remarried to Lucas Osiander the Elder
. In 1556 the family moved to Blaubeuren
, where Polykarp attended the Klosterschule and grew up alongside three of Lucas's sons. In 1562 he continued his education in the Pädagogium in Stuttgart
. On his mother's death in 1566 his stepfather sent him to the University of Tübingen, where he studied Protestant theology on a ducal stipend.
In Tübingen he met Ägidius Hunnius the Elder, soon becoming close friends with him. In 1570 he became a Master of Arts and soon became a 'Stiftsrepetent'. His main theological influences at this time were Jacob Heerbrand
, Andreae and Erhard Schnepf
. Leyser distinguished himself with outstanding exam results and so in 1572 Andreae let him take over leadership of disputation
s on the doctrine of justification by faith. In 1573 he was ordained and was granted a parish in Göllersdorf
in lower Austria, where he joined the imperial councillor and erbtruchsess
Michael Ludwig von Puchheim (1512–1580), who introduced him to court life under Maximilian II
. He soon made his mark in Graz and wanted to look for a job there, but Osiander and Puchheim discouraged him. Instead he returned to Tübingen, where he rose to become a doctor of theology on 16 July 1576 alongside his friend Hunnius. Initially he had limited job prospects, but this was soon to change.
, along with student discontent against the lecturers. After the death of Kaspar Eberhard
, head of the theology department, in October 1575, the students asked David Chytraeus
to take over the Generalsuperintendentur in Wittenberg - he refused the offer. Next, in November 1575, they chose Leyser, who accepted. With the post came that of parish priest of the Stadtkirche Wittenberg
.
At first Leyser was merely on a two-year loan from Louis III, Duke of Württemberg to Augustus, Elector of Saxony
. On 20 January 1577 he preached a trial sermon in Dresden. On 3 February he was formally inducted into his role at Wittenberg. Leyser then made quick trip from Dresden to Austria to "pick up his bags". On 12 May he was back in Wittenberg and took up his official duties, aged only 25. Such a young man holding the highest church office in Wittenberg, before even being noticed in theological circles in Saxony, attracted much attention and some imputed his appointment to nepotism - until 8 June he was not even a professor of the theology department and until 20 November 1577 not a member of the consistory.
However, Leyser's calming of the situation after the expulsion of the Crypto-Calvinists
and the reorganisation of the university was so successful that his critics were soon silenced. He was best served by his rhetorical skills and by an undemanding and reliable character, increasing his popularity among his students, including Philipp Nicolai
and Johann Arndt
. Leyser's skills were also seen in the drafting of the Formula of Concord
and the publication of the Book of Concord
in 1580. He developed close links with Martin Chemnitz
and Nikolaus Selnecker
. Leyser and Selnecker were asked to sign up to a Commission in Saxony on the Formula, that Leyser himself had signed on 25 June 1577 as first minister.
He immediately took part in the important theological meetings in Saxony, acting as their recording secretary. The inhabitants of Wittenberg always saw him as an outsider, however, and acted as a thorn in his side. To neutralise this he married a local girl in March 1580, namely Elisabeth, daughter of the painter Lucas Cranach the Younger
. The marriage took place in the Wittenberger Rathaus and was overshadowed by student rioting and heavy drinking, which the town authorities had to deal with later.
In 1581 Leyser was again a 'visitator' to the Saxon Kurkreis, where he was mainly concerned with primary education and the Fürstenschules in Meissen, Schulpforta and Grimma. His publications at this time were limited to funeral sermons and disputations, above all attacking opponents of the Formula of Concord. Tilemann Hesshus was his bitterest opponent at this time in the enforcement of 'Ubiquitätslehre
'. The disputes were fought at symposia, including one at 1583 in Quedlinburg
, where Leyser witnessed the last speech by his mentor Chemnitz. On 9 September 1584 the superintendent of Brunswick resigned and its inhabitants wanted Leyser to take over the post, but he refused it on Selnecker's advice due to his obligations to Augustus of Saxony.
Leyser gave Augustus's funeral oration after the latter's death in August 1586. His successor, Christian I
, tended towards Calvinism and so this began to prevail. Christian freed pastors and teaching staff from their obligation to sign the Formula of Concord at their ordination. Considered to be the main representative of the Lutheran concord under Augustus, Leyser was increasingly exposed to the hostility of Nikolaus Krell
s and Johann Major
, whose influence in the university and Konsistorialangelegenheiten was rising. Leyser was so incensed by this hostility that he warned his students off studying for a master's degree under Major. When the Calvinist Matthias Wesenbeck was buried in the Schlosskirche at the feet of Martin Luther
, Leyser preached the funeral sermon, in which he claimed that Wesenbeck had renounced Calvinism on his deathbed and died a good Lutheran. This provoked such an uproar that Leyser had to move to Brunswick.
Winnenden
Winnenden is a small town in the Rems-Murr district of the Stuttgart Region in Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany. It lies in a wine-growing area approx. northeast of Stuttgart and has a population of less than 28,000...
- 22 February 1610, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
) was a Lutheran theologian, superintendent of Braunschweig
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, superintendent-general of the Saxon church-circle, professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg and chief court-preacher and consistorial
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
-councillor of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
. He married Elisabeth, the daughter of Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger was a German Renaissance artist, known for his woodcuts and paintings.He was the youngest son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Barbara Brengebier, and began his career as an apprentice in his father's workshop alongside his brother Hans. Henceforth, his own reputation and...
, and their children included Polykarp Leyser II
Polykarp Leyser II
Polykarp Leyser II was a German Lutheran theologian and superintendent in Leipzig. His father Polykarp Leyser the Elder, his grandson Polykarp Leyser III and his great-grandson Polykarp Leyser IV were all also theologians...
(1586–1633), another theologian. This made him the founder of a dynasty of theologians, as great-grandfather of Polykarp Leyser III
Polykarp Leyser III
Polykarp Leyser III. was a German Lutheran theologian, superintendent, chaplain and orientalist.-Family:...
(1656–1725) and great-great-grandfather of Polykarp Leyser IV
Polykarp Leyser IV
Polykarp Leyser IV was a German Lutheran theologian, philosopher, physician, lawyer and historian. He was the son of Polykarp Leyser III, the great-grandson of Polykarp Leyser II and the great-great grandson of Polykarp Leyser the Elder, all also theologians.-External links:**ADB entry...
(1690–1728).
Supported by his father, his uncle Andreae and later his stepfather Osiander, and also with input from his teacher Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz was an eminent second-generation Lutheran theologian, reformer, churchman, and confessor...
, Leyser came to have an ingrained support for Lutheran orthodoxy - indeed, at a difficult time for Lutheranism, he was one of those who founded that orthodoxy. In the creative force of his Loci theologici (1591/92), Harmonia evangelica (1593), Postilla (1593) and De controversiis iudicium (1594), his theological position was forged by the dispute sparked by (Crypto-)Calvinism in Saxony, by the 'Exorzismusstreit', by the difficulties over Lutheran Christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
and by Huber's debate. Leyser is thus to be accounted one of the key figures of the Lutheran concord in northern and central Germany and was constantly attacked in pamphlets as the 'pope of Dresden'. As one of the key movers behind the Formula of Concord
Formula of Concord
Formula of Concord is an authoritative Lutheran statement of faith that, in its two parts , makes up the final section of the Lutheran Corpus Doctrinae or Body of Doctrine, known as...
, he used his books to defend Lutheran orthodoxy and attack Catholicism and Calvinism, was commissioned by the elector to join several of the meetings which led to the Book of Concord
Book of Concord
The Book of Concord or Concordia is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century...
and advocated that the number of sponsors be limited to three people.
He wrote more than sixty theological works and an extensive corpus of sermons. He also dealt with the literary controversies of his time, cultivating an extensive correspondence of 200 written by him and 5000 written to him - an extensive selection from it was first published by his great-grandson Polycarp Leyser III as Sylloge epistolarum in 1706.
Education
Polykarp's father Kaspar Leyser (20 July 1526 - end of 1554, NürtingenNürtingen
Nürtingen is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located on the river Neckar.-History:The following events occurred, by year:*1046 : First mention of Niuritingin in the document of Speyer...
) was a pastor in Winnenden then in Nürtingen, giving Polykarp an insight into theology at an early age. Kaspar agreed with Jacob Andreae that government of the laypeople should remain entirely in the pastors' hands, amounting to the establishment of a denomination-wide consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
. He also corresponded with John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
, who reserved judgement on the project. They incurred the disapproval of Christoph, Duke of Württemberg
Christoph, Duke of Württemberg
Christoph of Württemberg, Duke of Württemberg ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1550 until his death in 1568....
. At the instigation of Johannes Brenz
Johannes Brenz
Johann Brenz was a German theologian and the Protestant Reformer of the Duchy of Württemberg.-Early Advocacy of the Reformation:...
this suggestion failed, since Brenz feared it would lead to the church in Württemberg losing control to a centralised consistory.
Polykarp's mother Margarethe was a daughter of Johannes Entringer (a merchant from Tübingen), making her a sister of Jakob Andreaes. On Kaspar's death in 1554, she remarried to Lucas Osiander the Elder
Lucas Osiander the Elder
Lucas Osiander the Elder was a German pastor of the Evangelischen Landeskirche in Württemberg. He was a son of the reformer Andreas Osiander and father to Lucas Osiander the Younger....
. In 1556 the family moved to Blaubeuren
Blaubeuren
Blaubeuren is a town in the district of Alb-Donau near Ulm in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.It has 11.963 inhabitants as of December 2007.-Coat of arms:...
, where Polykarp attended the Klosterschule and grew up alongside three of Lucas's sons. In 1562 he continued his education in the Pädagogium in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. On his mother's death in 1566 his stepfather sent him to the University of Tübingen, where he studied Protestant theology on a ducal stipend.
In Tübingen he met Ägidius Hunnius the Elder, soon becoming close friends with him. In 1570 he became a Master of Arts and soon became a 'Stiftsrepetent'. His main theological influences at this time were Jacob Heerbrand
Jacob Heerbrand
Jacob Heerbrand was a German Protestant theologian and controversialist.-Life:He was born at Giengen in Swabia on August 12, 1521. He was educated at the school at...
, Andreae and Erhard Schnepf
Erhard Schnepf
Erhard Schnepf was a German Lutheran Theologian, Pastor, and Reformer.- Life :...
. Leyser distinguished himself with outstanding exam results and so in 1572 Andreae let him take over leadership of disputation
Disputation
In the scholastic system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences...
s on the doctrine of justification by faith. In 1573 he was ordained and was granted a parish in Göllersdorf
Göllersdorf
Göllersdorf is a town in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria.-References:...
in lower Austria, where he joined the imperial councillor and erbtruchsess
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
Michael Ludwig von Puchheim (1512–1580), who introduced him to court life under Maximilian II
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...
. He soon made his mark in Graz and wanted to look for a job there, but Osiander and Puchheim discouraged him. Instead he returned to Tübingen, where he rose to become a doctor of theology on 16 July 1576 alongside his friend Hunnius. Initially he had limited job prospects, but this was soon to change.
Wittenberg
Wittenberg University had seen drastic changes in personnel since 1574 due to the overthrow of the PhilippistsPhilippists
The Philippists formed a party in early Lutheranism. Their opponents were called Gnesio-Lutherans.-Before Luther's Death:Philippists was the designation usually applied in the latter half of the sixteenth century to the followers of Philipp Melanchthon...
, along with student discontent against the lecturers. After the death of Kaspar Eberhard
Kaspar Eberhard
Kaspar Eberhard was a German Lutheran theologian and teacher.- Bibliography :* Walter Friedensburg: Geschichte der Universität Wittenberg...
, head of the theology department, in October 1575, the students asked David Chytraeus
David Chytraeus
David Chytraeus or Chyträus was a German Lutheran theologian and historian.His real surname was Kochhafe, which in Classical Greek is χυτρα, from where he derived the Latinized pseudonym "Chyträus".Chytraeus was professor of the University of Rostock and one of the co-authors of the Formula of...
to take over the Generalsuperintendentur in Wittenberg - he refused the offer. Next, in November 1575, they chose Leyser, who accepted. With the post came that of parish priest of the Stadtkirche Wittenberg
Stadtkirche Wittenberg
The Stadt- und Pfarrkirche St. Marien zu Wittenberg is the civic church of the German town of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. The reformers Martin Luther and Johannes Bugenhagen preached there and the building also saw the first celebration of the mass in German rather than Latin and the first ever...
.
At first Leyser was merely on a two-year loan from Louis III, Duke of Württemberg to Augustus, Elector of Saxony
Augustus, Elector of Saxony
Augustus was Elector of Saxony from 1553 to 1586.-First years:Augustus was born in Freiberg, the youngest child and third son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, and Catherine of Mecklenburg. He consequently belonged to the Albertine branch of the Wettin family...
. On 20 January 1577 he preached a trial sermon in Dresden. On 3 February he was formally inducted into his role at Wittenberg. Leyser then made quick trip from Dresden to Austria to "pick up his bags". On 12 May he was back in Wittenberg and took up his official duties, aged only 25. Such a young man holding the highest church office in Wittenberg, before even being noticed in theological circles in Saxony, attracted much attention and some imputed his appointment to nepotism - until 8 June he was not even a professor of the theology department and until 20 November 1577 not a member of the consistory.
However, Leyser's calming of the situation after the expulsion of the Crypto-Calvinists
Crypto-Calvinism
Crypto-Calvinism is a term for Calvinist influence in the Lutheran Church during the decades just after the death of Martin Luther . It denotes what was seen as a hidden...
and the reorganisation of the university was so successful that his critics were soon silenced. He was best served by his rhetorical skills and by an undemanding and reliable character, increasing his popularity among his students, including Philipp Nicolai
Philipp Nicolai
Philipp Nicolai was a German Lutheran pastor, poet, and composer, author of two famous hymns: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern...
and Johann Arndt
Johann Arndt
Johann Arndt was a German Lutheran theologian who wrote several influential books of devotional Christianity...
. Leyser's skills were also seen in the drafting of the Formula of Concord
Formula of Concord
Formula of Concord is an authoritative Lutheran statement of faith that, in its two parts , makes up the final section of the Lutheran Corpus Doctrinae or Body of Doctrine, known as...
and the publication of the Book of Concord
Book of Concord
The Book of Concord or Concordia is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century...
in 1580. He developed close links with Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz was an eminent second-generation Lutheran theologian, reformer, churchman, and confessor...
and Nikolaus Selnecker
Nikolaus Selnecker
Nikolaus Selnecker was a German musician and theologian. He is now known mainly as a hymn writer. He is also known as one of the principal authors of the Formula of Concord along with Jakob Andreä and Martin Chemnitz.At a young age he was an organist in Nuremberg...
. Leyser and Selnecker were asked to sign up to a Commission in Saxony on the Formula, that Leyser himself had signed on 25 June 1577 as first minister.
He immediately took part in the important theological meetings in Saxony, acting as their recording secretary. The inhabitants of Wittenberg always saw him as an outsider, however, and acted as a thorn in his side. To neutralise this he married a local girl in March 1580, namely Elisabeth, daughter of the painter Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger was a German Renaissance artist, known for his woodcuts and paintings.He was the youngest son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Barbara Brengebier, and began his career as an apprentice in his father's workshop alongside his brother Hans. Henceforth, his own reputation and...
. The marriage took place in the Wittenberger Rathaus and was overshadowed by student rioting and heavy drinking, which the town authorities had to deal with later.
In 1581 Leyser was again a 'visitator' to the Saxon Kurkreis, where he was mainly concerned with primary education and the Fürstenschules in Meissen, Schulpforta and Grimma. His publications at this time were limited to funeral sermons and disputations, above all attacking opponents of the Formula of Concord. Tilemann Hesshus was his bitterest opponent at this time in the enforcement of 'Ubiquitätslehre
Extra calvinisticum
Extra calvinisticum is a theological terminus technicus given by Lutheran theologians around 1620 to a Calvinistic Christology, which claimed that the Logos was also outside or beyond the physical body of Christ...
'. The disputes were fought at symposia, including one at 1583 in Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....
, where Leyser witnessed the last speech by his mentor Chemnitz. On 9 September 1584 the superintendent of Brunswick resigned and its inhabitants wanted Leyser to take over the post, but he refused it on Selnecker's advice due to his obligations to Augustus of Saxony.
Leyser gave Augustus's funeral oration after the latter's death in August 1586. His successor, Christian I
Christian I, Elector of Saxony
Christian I of Saxony was Elector of Saxony from 1586 to 1591.He was the sixth but second surviving son of Elector Augustus of Saxony and Anna of Denmark...
, tended towards Calvinism and so this began to prevail. Christian freed pastors and teaching staff from their obligation to sign the Formula of Concord at their ordination. Considered to be the main representative of the Lutheran concord under Augustus, Leyser was increasingly exposed to the hostility of Nikolaus Krell
Nikolaus Krell
Nikolaus Krell , chancellor of the elector of Saxony, was born at Leipzig, and educated at the university of his native town....
s and Johann Major
Johann Major
Johann Major was a German Protestant theologian, humanist and poet.- Bibliography :* Christian Gottlieb Jöcher: Allgemeines Gelehrtenlexikon. Band 3, 1751, Sp. 56...
, whose influence in the university and Konsistorialangelegenheiten was rising. Leyser was so incensed by this hostility that he warned his students off studying for a master's degree under Major. When the Calvinist Matthias Wesenbeck was buried in the Schlosskirche at the feet of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, Leyser preached the funeral sermon, in which he claimed that Wesenbeck had renounced Calvinism on his deathbed and died a good Lutheran. This provoked such an uproar that Leyser had to move to Brunswick.
External links
- Books on and by Polykarp Leyser the Elder in the catalogue of the Deutschen Nationalbibliothek