Friedrich Adolf Philippi (October 15, 1809 in Berlin – August 29, 1882 in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

) was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origin. He was the son of a wealthy Jewish banker, a friend of the

Mendelssohn family The Mendelssohn family are the descendants of Mendel of Dessau. The German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn and his brother Saul were the first to adopt the surname Mendelssohn. The family includes his grandchildren, the composers Fanny Mende ...

. Converted to Christianity in 1829, he studied philosophy and theology at Berlin and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

(PhD 1831), and became successively a teacher at a private school in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and at the Joachimsthalsche Gymnasium at Berlin (1833). In 1837 he received his diploma as Lutheran minister, and in 1838 was admitted as ''

privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

'' to the theological faculty of the

Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...

of Berlin. In 1841 he was elected professor of theology at the University of Dorpat; he received the degree of D.D. "''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

''" from the Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nuremberg in 1843.

Bibliography

*
Die Lehre vom Thätigen Gehorsam Christi
', Berlin, 1841 *
Kirchliche Glaubenslehre
', Berlin, 1859 (Volumes 3-4) *
Kirchliche Glaubenslehre
', Berlin, 1879 (Volumes 6) *
Commentar über den Brief Pauli an die Römer
', Frankfurt, 1856 *
De Celsi, Adversarii Christianorum, Philosophandi Genere
', Berlin, 1868 *
Vorlesungen über Symbolik
', Gütersloh, 1883

External links

Biography at Jewish Encyclopedia

Biography at HaGefen Publishing

Contemporary Obituary: ''Friedrich Adolf Philippi—A Jewish Witness to the Gospel''

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Philippi Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism 1809 births 1882 deaths 19th-century German Jews German Lutherans 19th-century Lutherans Writers from Berlin