Tilemann Heshusius
Encyclopedia
Tilemann HeshusiusTilemann Heshusius (also Hesshus, Heßhusen, Hess Husen, Heshusen (November 3, 1527 in Wesel
-- September 25, 1588 in Helmstedt
) was a Gnesio-Lutheran theologian.
at the University of Wittenberg and was consequently close to him. During the time of the Augsburg Interim
, he lived in Oxford
and Paris
. In 1550 he took his master’s degree and was received by the Senate of the philosophical faculty; he lectured on rhetoric and as well as theology. In 1553 he became Superintendent
in Goslar
and acquired his doctoral degree in Wittenberg on May 19 the same year at the expense of the city. However, he soon came into conflict with Goslar and left in 1556 to take a post at the University of Rostock
.
There too he became involved in a dispute over Sunday weddings and the participation of Protestants in Roman Catholic celebrations. After attempting to excommunicate two leading city officials, he was expelled from the town. Melanchthon was able to arrange his appointment as general superintendent of the church of the Electoral Palatinate in Heidelberg
. In 1559 a controversy broke out in Heidelberg
over the Lord's Supper
between Heshusius and his deacon Wilhelm Klebitz. To restore peace, Elector Frederick
released both clerics from their posts—a decision later approved by Melanchthon. He became involved in another controversy over the Lord’s Supper in Bremen
, which did not redound to his glory, opposing Albert Hardenberg
and Jacob Probst. From Magdeburg
, he composed responses to his opponents and endeavored to establish a strict form of Lutheranism. He likewise came into conflict in Magdeburg and was driven from the town.
Even his hometown Wesel refused him asylum. Count Palatine
Wolfgang of Pfalz-Zweibrücken
took him in. After Wolfgang’s death, Heshusius went to Jena
. There he advocated the theological position that obedience should be a defining mark of the church
in addition to Word and Sacrament (the only two “marks” recognized by most Lutherans). For that reason he challenged Jacob Andreae, Victorinus Strigel
, Matthias Flacius
and all those who pursued the cause of Lutheran unity.
In 1573, when the Elector August of Saxony took over the administration of Saxe-Weimar
after the death of Duke John William
, nearly 100 pastors were forced to leave the territory. Heshusius and Johann Wigand went to Königsberg
in East Prussia
. There Heshusius became the Bishop of Samland
in 1573, but when Wigand turned against him, he was dismissed from his post. Martin Chemnitz
helped him secure a professorship in Helmstedt
. In 1578 his claims against Wigand were vindicated at the Herzberger Konvent.
Though he had earlier opposed the union efforts of Andreae, he was finally persuaded to sign the Formula of Concord
, and every obstacle to its introduction in Brunswick
seemed to be removed; but in comparing the printed copy with the written text, Hesshusius found a considerable number of deviations, and was not satisfied with the explanations of Chemnitz. Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, also opposed the Formula, so that it was not accepted in his country, and thus lost much of its general authority.
An able theologian, but excessive in his self-righteousness, he was exemplar of the spirit of early Protestant Orthodoxy
.
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
-- September 25, 1588 in Helmstedt
Helmstedt
Helmstedt is a city located at the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. Helmstedt has 26,000 inhabitants . In former times the city was also called Helmstädt....
) was a Gnesio-Lutheran theologian.
Life
Heshusius came from an influential family in Wesel. He was a student of Philipp MelanchthonPhilipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...
at the University of Wittenberg and was consequently close to him. During the time of the Augsburg Interim
Augsburg Interim
The Augsburg Interim is the general term given to an imperial decree ordered on May 15, 1548, at the 1548 Diet of Augsburg, after Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, had defeated the forces of the Schmalkaldic League in the Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47...
, he lived in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In 1550 he took his master’s degree and was received by the Senate of the philosophical faculty; he lectured on rhetoric and as well as theology. In 1553 he became Superintendent
Superintendent (ecclesiastical)
Superintendent is the head of an administrative division of a Protestant church, largely historical but still in use in Germany.- Superintendents in Sweden :...
in Goslar
Goslar
Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-Geography:Goslar is situated at the...
and acquired his doctoral degree in Wittenberg on May 19 the same year at the expense of the city. However, he soon came into conflict with Goslar and left in 1556 to take a post at the University of Rostock
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock is the university of the city Rostock, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.Founded in 1419, it is the oldest and largest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Sea area...
.
There too he became involved in a dispute over Sunday weddings and the participation of Protestants in Roman Catholic celebrations. After attempting to excommunicate two leading city officials, he was expelled from the town. Melanchthon was able to arrange his appointment as general superintendent of the church of the Electoral Palatinate in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
. In 1559 a controversy broke out in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
over the Lord's Supper
Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper may refer to:*Eucharist, Mass or Communion, a rite in Christianity*The Last Supper, the last meal Jesus of Nazareth shared with his disciples in the collection of Christian Scriptures called The Holy Bible....
between Heshusius and his deacon Wilhelm Klebitz. To restore peace, Elector Frederick
Frederick III, Elector Palatine
Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Palatinate from the childless Elector Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine in 1559...
released both clerics from their posts—a decision later approved by Melanchthon. He became involved in another controversy over the Lord’s Supper in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, which did not redound to his glory, opposing Albert Hardenberg
Albert Hardenberg
Albert Hardenberg or Albert Rizaeus was a Reformed theologian, who was also active as a reformer in Bremen and Emden.- Bibliography :...
and Jacob Probst. From Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, he composed responses to his opponents and endeavored to establish a strict form of Lutheranism. He likewise came into conflict in Magdeburg and was driven from the town.
Even his hometown Wesel refused him asylum. Count Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
Wolfgang of Pfalz-Zweibrücken
Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken was member of the Wittelsbach family of the Counts Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken 1532–1559.-Biography:...
took him in. After Wolfgang’s death, Heshusius went to Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
. There he advocated the theological position that obedience should be a defining mark of the church
Marks of the Church
In Protestant theology, the Marks of the Church are those things by which the true church may be recognized. Three marks are usually enumerated: the preaching of the Word the administration of the sacraments and church discipline...
in addition to Word and Sacrament (the only two “marks” recognized by most Lutherans). For that reason he challenged Jacob Andreae, Victorinus Strigel
Victorinus Strigel
Viktorin/Victorinus Strigel was a Philippist Lutheran Theologian.-Life:...
, Matthias Flacius
Matthias Flacius
Matthias Flacius Illyricus was a Lutheran reformer.He was born in Carpano, a part of Albona in Istria, son of Andrea Vlacich alias Francovich and Jacobea Luciani, daughter of a wealthy and powerful Albonian family...
and all those who pursued the cause of Lutheran unity.
In 1573, when the Elector August of Saxony took over the administration of Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar.-Division of Leipzig:...
after the death of Duke John William
John William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
John William , was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. He was also the last Duke of Saxony and Landgrave of Thuringia.He was the second son of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and Sybille of Cleves....
, nearly 100 pastors were forced to leave the territory. Heshusius and Johann Wigand went to Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. There Heshusius became the Bishop of Samland
Bishopric of Samland
The Bishopric of Samland was a bishopric in Samland in medieval Prussia. It was founded as a Roman Catholic diocese in 1243 by papal legate William of Modena. Its seat was Königsberg, until 1523 the episcopal residence was in Fischhausen. The bishopric became Lutheran in the 16th century during...
in 1573, but when Wigand turned against him, he was dismissed from his post. Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz was an eminent second-generation Lutheran theologian, reformer, churchman, and confessor...
helped him secure a professorship in Helmstedt
University of Helmstedt
The University of Helmstedt, official Latin name: Academia Julia , was a university in Helmstedt in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that existed from 1576 until 1810....
. In 1578 his claims against Wigand were vindicated at the Herzberger Konvent.
Though he had earlier opposed the union efforts of Andreae, he was finally persuaded to sign 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 every obstacle to its introduction in Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
seemed to be removed; but in comparing the printed copy with the written text, Hesshusius found a considerable number of deviations, and was not satisfied with the explanations of Chemnitz. Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, also opposed the Formula, so that it was not accepted in his country, and thus lost much of its general authority.
An able theologian, but excessive in his self-righteousness, he was exemplar of the spirit of early Protestant Orthodoxy
Lutheran Orthodoxy
Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the Book of Concord and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Roman Catholicism after the...
.
Further reading
- Peter F. Barton. Um Luthers Erbe: Studien und Texte zur Spätreformation Tilemann Heshusius (1527-1559). Witten 1972.
- K. v. Helmolt. Tilemann Hesshus und seine sieben exilia Leipzig 1859.
- Wolfgang Klose. Das Wittenberger Gelehrtenstammbuch: das Stammbuch von Abraham Ulrich (1549-1577) und David Ulrich (1580-1623), Mitteldt. Verl., Halle, 1999, ISBN 3-932776-76-3
- Thilo Krüger. Empfangene Allmacht: die Christologie Tilemann Heshusens (1527-1588) (Forschungen zur Kirchen- und Dogmengeschichte ) (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2010).
- Realenzyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche, vol. 8 p. 8
- Rosin, Robert. "Tilemann Hesshus." Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation. (Oxford, 1996). vol. 2. pp. 237–8.
- Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. 5, pp. 255–6.
- Heinz Scheible. Melanchthons Briefwechsel Personen 12. Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 2005. ISBN 3-7728-2258-4
- David Steinmetz. “Calvin and his Lutheran Critics,” in Calvin in Context. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. pp. 172–86
- Cornelius August Wilkens. Tilemann Hesshusius: Ein Streittheolog der Lutherskirche vornehmlich nach handschriftlichen Quellen. Leipzig 1860.
External links
- http://www.digital-collections.de/index.html?c=autoren_index&l=en&ab=Heshusen%2C+TilemannWorks of Tilemann Heshusius (Tilemann Heshusen) at the Munich Digitization CenterMunich Digitization CenterMunich Digitization Center is an institution dedicated to digitalization, Online publication and the long-term archival preservation of the holdings of the Bavarian State Library and other cultural heritage institutions. It was founded in 1997 under the leadership of Mark Brantl...
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