Johann Heinrich Heidegger (July 1, 1633 – July 18, 1698),

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, was born at

Bäretswil Bäretswil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Hinwil (district), Hinwil in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History Bäretswil is first mentioned in 741 as ''Berofov ...

, in the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

. He studied at

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

and at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, where he became the friend of J. L. Fabricius, and was appointed

professor extraordinarius Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and later of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. In 1659, he was called to

Steinfurt Steinfurt (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt. From –1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north-west of Münster, North Rhine-Westp ...

to fill the chair of

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

tics and ecclesiastical history, and in the same year he became doctor of theology of Heidelberg. In 1660 he revisited Switzerland and, after marrying Elisabeth von Duno, he travelled in the following year to Holland, where he made the acquaintance of

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 ...

. He returned in 1665 to Zürich, where he was elected professor of

moral philosophy Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...

at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. Two years later he succeeded

Johann Heinrich Hottinger Johann Heinrich Hottinger (10 March 1620 – 5 June 1667) was a Swiss philologist and theologian. Life and works Hottinger studied at Geneva, Groningen and Leiden. After visiting France and England he was appointed professor of church history ...

, in the chair of theology at the University, which he occupied until his death, having declined an invitation in 1669 to succeed Cocceius at

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, as well as a call to

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

. Heidegger was the principal author of the ''Formula Consensus Helvetica'' in 1675, which was designed to unite the Swiss Reformed churches, but had an opposite effect. Wilhelm Gass describes him as the most notable of the Swiss theologians of the time. His writings are largely controversial, though without being bitter, and are in great part levelled against the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Major works

*''De historia sacra patriarcharum exercitationes selectae'' (1667–1671) *''Dissertatio de Peregrinationibus religiosis'' (1670) *''De ratione studiorum, opuscula aurea, &c.'' (1670) *''Historia papatus'' (1684; under the name Nicander von Hohenegg) *''Manuductio in viam concordiae Protestantium ecclesiasticae'' (1686) *''Tumulus concilii Tridentini'' (1690) *''Exercitationes biblicae'' (1700), with a life of the author prefixed *''Corpus theologiae Christianae'' (1700, edited by J. H. Schweizer) *''Ethicae Christianae elementa'' (1711) *Life of J. H. Hottinger (1667) *Life of J. L. Fabricius (1698) His autobiography appeared in 1698, under the title ''Historia vitae J. H. Heideggeri''. Heidegger's ''Handbook of the Bible'' is currently being translated by From Reformation to Reformation Translations, and is available online.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heidegger, Johann Heinrich 1633 births 1698 deaths People from Hinwil District Swiss Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians