Johann Jakob Pfeiffer (6 October 1740 – 26 November 1791) was a German
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
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 ...
, as well as a
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
, and later,
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
* Dean Sw ...
, at the
University of Marburg
The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...
.
Life and career
Pfeiffer was the son of Kassel
master
Master, master's or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
In education:
*Master (college), head of a college
*Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline
*Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
dyer, Hieronymus Pfeiffer (30 December 1714 – 3 July 1774) and his wife Anne Elisabeth (née Schaumberg; 15 March 1718 – 23 March 1779). He was educated in Kassel's preparatory schools, and in 1755 he enrolled at the
Collegium Carolinum.
There, he studied under
Johann Gottlieb Stegmann and Justus Heinrich Wetzel.
In 1757, Pfeiffer began his studies at the
University of Marburg
The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...
. At university, he studied theology, mathematics, logic, and metaphysics. By 1760 he was attending the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
and continuing his education in Theology under
Samuel Christian Hollmann,
Johann David Michaelis
Johann David Michaelis (27 February 1717 – 22 August 1791) was a German biblical scholar and teacher. He was member of a family that was committed to solid discipline in Hebrew and the cognate languages, which distinguished the University of ...
and
Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch.
By the next year, he had returned to his home as a
preaching
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...
candidate, and in 1761 he was ordained and given a position as a preacher in Cassel. When he wasn’t actively preaching, he was known to continue his own theological education, as well as instruct his parishioners and neighbors in both
Old and
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...
.
[
In 1765, Pfeiffer was assigned to a preaching position in ]Langenschwalbach
Bad Schwalbach (; called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Geographic location
Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&n ...
.[ By his own testimony, taken many years later, the years he spent in Langenschwalbach were the happiest of his life.][ He returned to Cassel in 1769 to take up the position of preacher at ]Karlskirche
The Karlskirche (English: Charles Church) is a Baroque architecture, Baroque church in the Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. The church is dedicated to Charles Borromeo, Saint Charles Borromeo, a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation.Brook 201 ...
, the central church of the Oberneustadt community.[
In 1779, Pfeiffer was named director of the newly constructed Lyceum Fridericianum, but by December of that year, he had been appointed associate professor of Theology at the ]University of Marburg
The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...
, replacing Heinrich Otto Duysing. From 1781 to 1790, he was the Dean of the Theology Faculty at the University. Pfeiffer was awarded his doctorate in Theology in 1784, and in 1789 was promoted to full professor. In addition to his duties as Dean and Professor, he also served as a Councilor of the 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 ...
, overseeing all evangelical protestant churches in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel.
On October 2, 1791, Pfeiffer performed the confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
of Prince William II, Elector of Hesse
William II (; 28July 177720November 1847) was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.After 1806, the title of ''Elector'' was meaningless, since no more Holy Roman Emperors could be elected, because the Empire had been dissolved. Nevertheless, the ru ...
, whose religious instructor he had been for most of the prince's adolescence.[ Two months later, despite the ministrations of his colleague Christian Friedrich Michaelis, he died due to complications from a chronic inflammatory illness, from which he had suffered for many years.
]
Family
Johann Jakob Pfeiffer married twice. On March 24, 1772 he married Lucie Rebecke (née Rüppel; 12 October 1752 – 11 January 1784), the daughter of Johannes Rüppel (1708-1770), onetime personal chaplain of Landgravine Charlotte of Hesse-Homburg
Charlotte of Hesse-Homburg (''Charlotte Dorothea Sophia''; 17 June 1672 – 29 August 1738) was a Duchess of Saxe-Weimar by marriage to Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar.
Life
Born in Kassel, she was the eldest of twelve children born from t ...
and archdeacon of St Martin's Church, Kassel
St Martin's Church (German: Martinskirche) is a Protestant parish church in Kassel, Hesse, Germany. It is also the preaching-church of the bishop of the Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck. It is in the Gothic style and was begun in 1 ...
. Together they had the following children:
* Anne Catharine Elisabeth (13 December 1772 – 28 May 1777)
* Johanne Lucie Cornelie (3 May 1774 – 17 May 1796), married in 1792 to Georg Hermann Carl Kulenkamp, son of the jurist Friedrich Wilhelm Kulenkamp.
* Martha Conradine (15 September 1775 – 3 April 1826) After her sister's death in 1796, she married her widower, Georg Kulenkamp.
* Burkhard Wilhelm (7 May 1777 – 4 October 1852)
* Carl Jonas (7 February 1779 – 3 May 1836), married August 7, 1808 to Maria Louis Theodora (née Merrem, 1786- 31 August 1827), daughter of Blasius Merrem
Blasius Merrem (4 February 1761 – 23 February 1824) was a German natural history, naturalist, zoologist, Ornithology, ornithologist, mathematician, and Herpetology, herpetologist. In 1804, he became the professor of political economy and botan ...
.
* Johann Georg Henrich (19 December 1780 – 27 January 1859)
* Franz Georg (11 January 1784 – 15 April 1856)
*Christian Hartmann (11 January 1784 – 23 July 1844)
Lucie Pfeiffer died giving birth to twin sons, Franz Georg and Christian Hartmann. On April 16, 1785, Pfeiffer married again, this time to Sophie Christine (née Waitz, 26 February 1754 – 4 March 1826), daughter of Johann August Waitz of Schwarzenfels.[ They had two daughters:]
* Marianne Charlotte (16 February 1788 – 24 March 1863)
* Caroline Catherine Louise Henriette (18 March 1790 – 5 February 1875)
Through his marriage to his second wife, Pfeiffer became the brother-in-law of , , and , all of whom were married to his wife's sisters.[
]
Works
* ''Dissertatio Philosophica De Adquiescentia Hominum in Voluntate Divina (with Johann Gottlieb Stegmann, Kassel 1756)
* ''Predigten'' (Kassel 1776)
* ''Entwurf zum Unterricht im Christenthum'' (Minden 1778, second edition Kassel 1783, third edition Kassel 1785, fourth edition Kassel 1791)
* ''Magnificentissimi Orationem Aditialem Viri Amplissimi Iohannis Henrici Iung in Auditorio Maiore Habendam Indicit'' (Kassel 1787)
* ''Progr. de praemiis virtutis christianae'' (Two parts, Marburg 1787–1788)
* ''Anweisung für Prediger, und die es werden wollen, zu einer treuen Führung ihres Amtes; nebst eingestreuten historischen und literarischen Bemerkungen'' (Marburg 1789)
External links
*
Johann Jakob.''
Index entry in: Deutsche Biographie 0.02.2022
*
References
{{authority control
1740 births
1791 deaths
18th-century Calvinist and Reformed ministers
18th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
18th-century German Christian theologians
People from Kassel
People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel
University of Marburg alumni
Academic staff of the University of Marburg