Frans Hals - Portrait of Johannes Acronius Aeta Suae 62 - 1627

Johannes Acronius (1565 – 29 September 1627) was a German

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

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 ...

. He is less known by scientific works, than by his part in the quarrel between

Arminians Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally ...

(

Remonstrants The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his or ...

) and Contra-Remonstrants (see

History of Calvinist–Arminian debate History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

Life

He was born in

Grimersum Grimersum is a village in the region of East Frisia, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is part of the municipality of Krummhörn. The village is located between Eilsum and Wirdum, about 12.5 kilometers north of Emden. The village, like the nearby vill ...

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

, the son of a preacher, Bernardus Acronius, in a village north of

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

, now in the municipality of

Krummhörn Krummhörn is a municipality in the Aurich (district), district of Aurich, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Ems (river), Ems estuary, approximately 15 km southwest of Norden, Lower Saxony, Norden, and 10 km northwest of ...

.Johannes Acronius in

A.J. van der Aa Abraham Jacob van der Aa (7 December 1792 – 21 March 1857) was a Dutch writer best known for his dictionaries, one of notable people and the other of notable places in the Netherlands. He was born in Amsterdam in 1792. His father was a lawy ...

He was taught by

Zacharias Ursinus Zacharias Ursinus (born Zacharias Baer; 18 July 1534 – 6 May 1583) was a German Reformed theologian and Protestant reformer. He became the leading theologian of the Reformed Protestant movement of the Palatinate, serving both at the University ...

and Franciscus Junius in Neustadt an der Hardt, today

Neustadt an der Weinstrasse Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Places * Neustadt (urban district) Czech Republic *Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují *Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem *Nové Město na Morav ...

. In 1584 he became a preacher in

Eilsum Eilsum is a village in the region of East Frisia, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is part of the municipality of Krummhörn. The village is located to the north of Jennelt and to the west of Grimersum. Eilsum was first mentioned in documents aroun ...

, East Frisia, later in 1601 he was called 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 ...

where he served for 10 years, during which time he was called several times to Amsterdam, but he refused as he did not want to take part in the arguments between

Franciscus Gomarus Franciscus Gomarus (François Gomaer; 30 January 1563 – 11 January 1641) was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and an opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius (and his followers), whose theological disputes were addressed at the Synod ...

and

Jacobus Arminius Jacobus Arminius (; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Jakob Hermanszoon'' ; 10 October 1560 – 19 October 1609) was a Dutch Reformed Christianity, Reformed minister and Christian theology, theologian during the Protestant Reformation period whose views ...

. In 1611 he was called to

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel i ...

, but when that city was conquered by the Spanish he fled to

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

. He declined calls to

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

and

, because he couldn't preach about the political situation in the church that had so nearly cost him his life. Unable to preach, in 1617 he became professor for

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Franeker The University of Franeker (1585–1811) was a university in Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. It was the second-oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University. History Also known as ''Academia Franekerensis'' ...

. Once installed, he preached there now and then on Sundays and served as substitute in nearby

Kampen, Overijssel Kampen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, Netherlands. A member of the former Hanseatic League, it is ...

. Contra-Remonstrants there sent him to the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was a European transnational Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. ...

, mainly to counter some of his colleagues in this area who were deemed too favourable towards Arminius' teachings. Being the delegate of the church assembly of

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

in 1618–1619, he indeed accused them of Arminianism, resulting in the unseating of several. In 1619, he went to work as a preacher in Haarlem where his portrait was painted by

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...

and where he stayed until his death. The

Calvinists Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

of the time saw in him an educated man of oratory skills, with the fervour to stand for their

truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...

. His opponents described him as an unsettled man with a tendency to polemise. He died in Haarlem in 1627.

Publications

* ''Syntagma Theologiae'', Groningen, 1605 * ''Elenchus orthodoxus pseudo-relig. Romano-Cathol.'', Deventer, 1615 * ''Uytmonsteringe van verscheydene dolingen ... der genoemde Lutherschen'', Arnheim, 1625

References

Sources

* ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie''
online version

in the

Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on Anabaptist-related to ...

External links

* *
Biography on Johannes Acronius
at the Digital Library for Dutch Literature {{DEFAULTSORT:Acronius, Johannes 1565 births 1627 deaths People from Krummhörn 16th-century German Protestant theologians 16th-century German male writers 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Academic staff of the University of Franeker East Frisians German people of Dutch descent 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Frans Hals Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians Participants in the Synod of Dort 17th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers