Johann Pfeffinger (27 December 1493, in

Wasserburg am Inn Wasserburg am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Wassabuag am Inn'') is a town in Rosenheim district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The historic centre is a peninsula formed by the meandering river Inn. Many Medieval structures remain intact, giving the city ...

– 1 January 1573, in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

) was a significant

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 ...

and

Protestant Reformer Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...

His life and work

Devoting himself to the religious life, Pfeffinger became an

acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

in 1515, and soon afterward was made subdeacon and deacon. Receiving a dispensation from the regulations concerning

canonical age In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a person is a subject of certain legal rights and obligations. Persons may be distinguished between physical and juridic persons. Juridic persons may be distinguished as collegial or non-collegial, and pub ...

, he was ordained priest and stationed at Reichenhall,

Saalfelden Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer is a town in the district of Zell am See in the Austrian state of Salzburg. With approximately 16,000 inhabitants, Saalfelden is the district's largest town and the third of the federal state after Salzburg and Hallein ...

, and Passau, where his clerical activity soon found great approbation. Suspected of

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 ...

heresy, he went to

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 o ...

in 1523, where he was cordially welcomed by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

Philip 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

Bugenhagen Johannes Bugenhagen (24 June 1485 – 20 April 1558), also called ''Doctor Pomeranus'' by Martin Luther, was a German theologian and Lutheran priest who introduced the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania and Denmark in the 16th ce ...

. In 1527 he went as parish priest to Sonnenwalde, and in 1530, when expelled by the

bishop of Meissen The Bishop of Dresden-Meissen is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen in the Archdiocese of Berlin. The diocese covers an area of and was erected as the Diocese of Meissen on 24 June 1921. The name was changed to Dre ...

, he removed to the monastery of

Eicha The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillo ...

, near Leipzig, where his services were attended by many outside the parish. In 1532 he went to

Belgern Belgern (), is a town in the district Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the left bank of the Elbe, 12 km southeast of Torgau and 55 km east of Leipzig. Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Belgern-Schildau Bel ...

, whence he was delegated, in 1539, to complete the Reformation in Leipzig. In 1540, he was permanently vested with the office of superintendent. He declined calls to Halle and Breslau, though he took part in completing the work of the Reformation at

Glauchau Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...

in 1542. In his capacity of censor he prevented further printing of

Schenk Schenk is a Ashkenazi Jews, Jewish (Ashkenazic) and Germans, German occupational surname derived from ''schenken'' (to pour out or serve) referring to the medieval profession of cup-bearer or wine server (later also to tavern keeper). At one time, ...

's postilla. In 1543 he was graduated as the first Protestant doctor of theology, and became a professor of theology in the following year. In 1548 he was made a canon of Meissen. Duke

Maurice of Saxony Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity. ...

drew him into the negotiations regarding the introduction of a Protestant church constitution and liturgy. Having been appointed assessor in the Leipzig

Consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

in 1543, he participated, in 1545, in the consecration of a

bishop of Merseburg The Bishopric of Merseburg was an episcopal see on the eastern border of the medieval Duchy of Saxony with its centre in Merseburg, where Merseburg Cathedral was constructed. The see was founded in 967 by Emperor Otto I at the same time in the same ...

as one of the ordaining clergy. In the following year he negotiated at Dresden with Anton Musa and Daniel Greser, and took part in the deliberations concerning the Interim at the Diet of Meissen (July, 1548), at

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

(October 18), at

Altzella Altzella Abbey, also Altzelle Abbey (german: Kloster Altzella or ''Altzelle'', previously ''Cella'' or ''Cella Sanctae Mariae''), is a former Cistercian monastery near Nossen in Saxony, Germany. The former abbey contains the tombs of the Wetti ...

(November), and at the Leipzig Saxon Diet (December 22). The Elector

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

likewise sought formal expressions of opinion from Pfeffinger; and in this connection, in 1555, he proposed, with a view to securing religious uniformity, that the Interim liturgy of 1549 should again be used. Melanchthon, however, opposed this suggestion, holding that, were it adopted, additional religious disunion would follow. Pfeffinger also took part in the deliberative proceedings of the delegates of the three consistories in 1556, as well as in the Dresden convention of 1571. Pfeffinger's writings were ethical, ascetic, and polemic. His ''Propositiones de libero arbitrio'' (1555) occasioned the outbreak of the synergistic strife. Against Nicolaus von Amsdorf he wrote his ''Antwort'' (Wittenberg, 1558), ''Demonstratio mendacii'' (1558), and ''Nochmals grundlicher Bericht''; while he opposed

Matthias Flacius Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; hr, Matija Vlačić Ilirik) or Francovich ( hr, Franković) (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting strong ...

in his ''Verantwortung.'' He embodied his tenets in five articles of the ''Formula der Bekendnus'' of June 3, 1556, which he also submitted, in amplified form, to the Wittenberg theologians.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeffinger, Johann 1493 births 1573 deaths People from Wasserburg am Inn German Protestant Reformers German Lutheran theologians Philippists People from the Duchy of Bavaria 16th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German male writers