Abraham van Heyden or van Heiden ( la, Abraham Heidanus or '; 1597–1678) was a Dutch

Calvinist 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 Ca ...

minister and controversialist, sympathetic to Cartesianism.

Life

He was born in Frankenthal in the Palatinate, son of Gaspar van der Heiden the Younger, a Reformed minister and Counter-Remonstrant who moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

in 1608. Abraham studied theology at the University of Leiden from 1617, travelled to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and Paris, and was influenced by

Ramism Ramism was a collection of theories on rhetoric, logic, and pedagogy based on the teachings of Petrus Ramus, a French academic, philosopher, and Huguenot convert, who was murdered during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in August 1572. Accor ...

and

Jean Daillé Jean Daillé ( Dallaeus) (6 January 1594–15 April 1670) was a French Huguenot minister and Biblical commentator. He is mentioned in James Aitken Wylie's ''History of Protestantism'' as author of an ''Apology for the French Reformed Churches''. L ...

. He returned to an appointment as minister in

Naarden Naarden () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and former List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Gooi region in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been part ...

in 1623, moving to Leiden in 1627. In 1648 Heidanus was appointed professor of theology at the University of Leiden. In 1650 he invited

Johannes Cocceius Johannes Cocceius (also Coccejus; ; 9 August 1603 – 5 November 1669) was a Dutch theologian born in Bremen. Life After studying at Hamburg and the University of Franeker, where Sixtinus Amama was one of his teachers, he became in 1630 profess ...

to join him on the faculty there. Battle lines were being drawn up for an extended series of controversies, in which Gisbertus Voetius of Utrecht took the other side. In 1655 Johannes Hoornbeeck contributed to the debate between Voetians and Cocceians a

sabbatarian Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...

pamphlet. Heidanus wrote ''De Sabbate'' (1658 in Latin, later in Dutch) in reply; Andreas Essenius attacked Heidanus, and Cocceius became drawn in, to what became a long controversy.Israel, pp. 662–3. The position Heidanus held for decades as leader of Leiden Cartesianism eventually led to his dismissal by the university in 1676. This happened after he with

Burchard de Volder Burchard de Volder (26 July 1643 – 21 March 1709) was a Dutch physician. Biography He was born in a Mennonite family in Amsterdam. He earned an M.A. in philosophy at the University of Utrecht under in 1660. He earned his medical doctorate ...

and

Christophorus Wittichius Christoph Wittich or Christophorus Wittichius (1625, in Brieg – 1687, in Leiden) was a Dutch theologian. He is known for attempting to reconcile Descartes' philosophy with the Scriptures. Life He studied theology in Bremen, Groningen and Leid ...

published a rebuttal of the university's condemnation of Cartesian and Cocceian views.

References

Citations

Bibliography

Jonathan I. Israel Jonathan Irvine Israel (born 26 January 1946) is a British writer and academic specialising in Dutch history, the Age of Enlightenment and European Jews. Israel was appointed as Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historical Studies at ...

(1995) ''The Dutch Republic. Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, 1477-1806''.

External links

Old Dictionary article
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heidanus, Abraham 1597 births 1678 deaths 17th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers Leiden University alumni Academic staff of Leiden University People from Frankenthal