Johann Arndt (or Arnd; 27 December 155511 May 1621) was a German

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

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 ...

who wrote several influential books of devotional

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. Although reflective of the period of

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 Ro ...

, he is seen as a forerunner of

Pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy an ...

, a movement within Lutheranism that gained strength in the late 17th century.

Biography

He was born in Edderitz near

Ballenstedt Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Geography It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipal area comprises the vil ...

, in

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1562 ...

, and studied in several universities. He was at

Helmstedt Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic university and Hanseatic city conserves an important monumental heritage o ...

in 1576 and at

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

in 1577. At Wittenberg the

crypto-Calvinist Crypto-Calvinism is a pejorative term describing a segment of those members of the Lutheran Church in Germany who were accused of secretly subscribing to Calvinist doctrine of the Eucharist in the decades immediately after the death of Martin Luth ...

controversy was then at its height, and he took the side of

Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...

and the crypto-Calvinists. He continued his studies in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

, under the professor of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, Johannes Pappus (1549–1610), a zealous Lutheran, the crown of whose life's work was the forcible suppression of

Calvinistic 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 C ...

preaching and worship in the day, and who had great influence over him. In

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

, again, he studied theology under Simon Sulzer (1508–1585), a broad-minded divine of Lutheran sympathies, whose aim was to reconcile the churches of the Helvetic and Wittenberg confessions. In 1581 he went back to Ballenstedt, but was soon recalled to active life by his appointment to the pastorate at Badeborn in 1583. After some time his Lutheran tendencies aroused the anger of the authorities, who were of the

Reformed Church 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 Cal ...

. Consequently, in 1590 he was deposed for refusing to remove the pictures from his church and discontinue the use of

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

. (Anhalt would become Calvinist in 1596.) He found an asylum in

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

(1590). However, he was very unpopular with the townspeople, and for that reason was transferred to St Martin's church at Brunswick in 1599. He later worked in

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century, ...

, and from 1611 until his death in 1621 he was general superintendent in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

. Among his last words were "Now I have overcome all." Arndt's fame rests on his writings. These were mainly of a mystical and devotional kind, and were inspired by St Bernard,

Johannes Tauler Johannes Tauler OP ( – 16 June 1361) was a German mystic, a Roman Catholic priest and a theologian. A disciple of Meister Eckhart, he belonged to the Dominican order. Tauler was known as one of the most important Rhineland mystics. He pro ...

and

Thomas à Kempis Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 25 July 1471; german: Thomas von Kempen; nl, Thomas van Kempen) was a German-Dutch canon regular of the late medieval period and the author of '' The Imitation of Christ'', published anonymously in Latin in the ...

. His principal work, ''Wahres Christentum'' (book 1: 1605; books 1-4: 1606–1610) i.e. "True Christianity", which has been translated into most European languages, has served as the foundation of many books of devotion, both

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. Arndt here dwells upon the mystical union between the believer and Christ, and endeavours, by drawing attention to Christ's life ''in'' His people, to correct the purely forensic side of the reformation theology, which paid almost exclusive attention to Christ's death ''for'' His people. Like

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (gi ...

, Arndt was very fond of the little anonymous book, '' Theologia Germanica''. He published an edition of it and called attention to its merits in a special preface. After ''Wahres Christentum'', Arndt's best-known work is ''Paradiesgärtlein aller christlichen Tugenden'', which was published in 1612. Both these books have been translated into English: ''Paradiesgärtlein'' with the title ''the Garden of Paradise'', and ''Wahres Christentum'' as ''True Christianity''. Several of his sermons are published in R. Nesselmann's ''Buch der Predigten'' (1858). A collected edition of his works was published in Leipzig and Görlitz in 1734. Arndt was held in very high repute by the German Pietists. The founder of Pietism,

Philipp Jakob Spener Philipp Jakob Spener (23 January 1635 – 5 February 1705), was a German Lutheran theologian who essentially founded what would become to be known as Pietism. He was later dubbed the "Father of Pietism". A prolific writer, his two main works, ' ...

, repeatedly called attention to him and his writings, and even went so far as to compare him with

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

. So important was Arndt's influence on the early Pietists that some scholars have even called him the true founder of the movement. His impact in Sweden includes

Jesper Swedberg Jesper Swedberg (28 August 1653 (O.S)–26 July 1735 (N.S)) was a bishop of Skara, Sweden. He was one of Sweden's most notable churchmen. He published the first edition ever of a Swedish book of hymns in 1694, and was the father of scientist and ...

and Peter Lorenz Sellergren.

Veneration

In 2022, Johann Ardt was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar along with Jacob Boehme with a feast day on 11 May.

References

Attribution: *

External links

* *
True Christianity
trans. Peter C. Erb, 1979
True Christianity
trans. Anton Wilhelm Böhm, 1809
''Das Paradisgärtlein voll Christlicher Tugenden''
- digitised work at Digital Library of University Library Bratislava
''Zahrádka Ragská plná křesťanských ctností''
- Czech translation of Paradiesgärtlein... - digitised work at Digital Library of University Library Bratislava {{DEFAULTSORT:Arndt, Johann 1555 births 1621 deaths People from Ballenstedt People from Anhalt-Köthen 16th-century German Lutheran clergy German Lutheran theologians 17th-century German Lutheran clergy Lutheran sermon writers Clergy from Saxony-Anhalt German male non-fiction writers University of Helmstedt alumni University of Wittenberg alumni University of Strasbourg alumni 17th-century German Protestant theologians 17th-century German writers 17th-century German male writers 16th-century Lutheran theologians 17th-century Lutheran theologians Early modern Christian devotional writers Anglican saints

Biography

Veneration

References

Further reading

External links