Heinrich Ernst Ferdinand Guericke (25 February 1803, Wettin – 4 February 1878,

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

), was a German

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was born at Wettin in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and studied theology at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

, where he was appointed associate professor in 1829. He disapproved of the union between the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

and the

Reformed churches Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

, which had been accomplished by the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n government in 1817, and in 1833 he joined the

Old Lutherans Old Lutherans were originally German Lutherans in the Kingdom of Prussia, notably in the Province of Silesia, who refused to join the Prussian Union of churches in the 1830s and 1840s. Prussia's king Frederick William III was determined to uni ...

. In 1835 he lost his professorship, but he regained it in 1840.

Published works

Among his works were a biography of August Hermann Francke, "''August Hermann Francke. Eine Denkschrift zur Säcularfeier seines Todes''" (1827) — later translated into English as
"The life of Augustus Herman Franké"
(1837). He was also the author of: * "''Handbuch der Kirchengeschichte''" (1833); translated into English by William G. T. Shedd (2 volumes): ** "A manual of church history : ancient church history, comprising the first six centuries". ** "A manual of church history : mediaeval church history, A.D. 590 - A.D. 1073". * "''Lehrbuch der christlich kirchlichen Archäologie''" (1847); translated into English by A.J.W. Morrison as "Manual of the antiquities of the church" (1851). * "''Allgemeine christliche Symbolik : ein theologisches Handbuch''" (3rd edition, 1861). In 1840, with Andreas Gottlob Rudelbach, he founded the "''Zeitschrift für die gesammte lutherische Theologie und Kirche''".Guericke, Heinrich Ernst Ferdinand
In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 7, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1966, , S. 282.

Translated works available online

Manual of the Antiquities of the ChurchA Manual of Church History, Comprising the First Six CenturiesA Manual of Church History: Mediaeval Church History, A.D. 590 - A.D. 1073

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guericke, Heinrich Ernst Ferdinand 1803 births 1878 deaths People from Saalekreis German Lutheran theologians University of Halle alumni University of Halle faculty 19th-century German Protestant theologians 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers 19th-century Lutherans 19th-century Lutheran theologians