Johannes Bugenhagen (24 June 1485 – 20 April 1558), also called ''Doctor Pomeranus'' by Martin Luther, was a German theologian and Lutheran priest who introduced the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the 16th century. Contributions of Karlstadt and Luther to the translation of theology into social legislation were most fully realized by Bugenhagen. Among his major accomplishments was organization of

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 ...

churches in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. He has also been called the "Second Apostle of the North". Johannes Bugenhagen was pastor to Martin Luther at St. Mary's church in

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

. He is also commemorated in the

Calendar of Saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

of the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod 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 ...

as a pastor on 20 April.

Biography

Early life

Bugenhagen was born in Wollin (now Wolin), Duchy of Pomerania, on 24 June 1485 as one of three children of local Ratsherr Gerhard Bugenhagen. From 1502 to 1504, he studied artes at the University of Greifswald. In 1504, he moved to Treptow an der Rega (now Trzebiatów) and became the rector of the local school. Though he had not studied theology, he was ordained as a priest at St. Mary's Church in Treptow in 1509, and served as a vicar at the Kanonikerkolleg of that church thereafter. In 1517, abbot Johann Boldewan called Bugenhagen to serve as a Biblical lecturer at his nearby Belbuck Abbey, where the two became the core of a

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

circle. Duke Bogislav X of Pomerania ordered Bugenhagen to write down the history of Pomerania in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. The year 1518 is the beginning of historical writing of the combined territory Pomerania. Bugenhagen first encountered the theology of Luther in the reformer's '' Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church'' in 1520. At first he did not like Luther's thoughts at all. However, once he had studied it more, Bugenhagen became a supporter of the Reformation and moved to

in 1521.

Wittenberg

In Wittenberg, Bugenhagen was elected parish pastor on 25 October 1523,Nieden (2006), pp. 46, 51 making him Martin Luther's pastor and confessor.Kaufmann (1998), p. 58 He was a member of Luther's team translating the

Holy Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

from Greek and Hebrew to German, and opened the debate on

Ulrich Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...

's reforms. By 1523, his private lectures had become well known, so he was called to lecture the following years at the ''Leucorea'', the university in WittenbergNieden (2006), pp. 46–47 (today Martin Luther University). In March 1524 the printer Adam Petri of Basel printed his "Interpretations of the Psalms''"'' ( Lat.''Librum Psalmorum interpretatio'') in the Latin language.Hieronymus, Frank (1997), p.356 The cover was cut after a drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger depicting biographical events of David’s life in relation to the New Testament. The book saw four further editions in the Latin language within half a year. A second edition by Adam Petri in August, one by Johannes Petreius in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

and also by Johannes Knobloch in Strassburg. Another one is assumed to have been printed by Johann Schöffer in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. Two years later, a German translation was printed by Adam Petri in which for the Psalms text, the German translation by Martin Luther were used. Bugenhagen was regarded as one of the most important teachers and practitioners of biblical interpretation in the Wittenberg-centered Protestant Reformation, ordaining a generation of Lutheran pastors who were educated at this university. Bugenhagen-Predigt

On 17 March 1533,Nieden (2006), p. 62 he was promoted doctor of theology at the university of Wittenberg, together with Johannes Aepinus and Kaspar Cruciger.Selderhuis & Wriedt (2006), p. 58 The promotion was supervised by Martin Luther, based on Philipp Melanchthon's theses, financed and attended by Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, and formally granted by deacon Justus Jonas. With the ceremony in

's castle church (''Schloßkirche''), Aepinus, Bugenhagen and Cruciger became the first three

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

doctors of theology. While theological doctoral promotions had been suspended in Wittenberg for the preceding eight years,Nieden (2006), p. 61 the promotion of Aepinus had become necessary as the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

burghers demanded their new superintendent to bear the title of a doctor.In a letter to Bugenhagen, the Hamburg burghers demanded that their new superintendent Aepinus must "''eyne Qualificerde parsonne nemptlick doctor theology syn''" ("be a qualified person, that is a doctor of theology"). Selderhuis & Wriedt (2006), p. 58 Melanchthon had written the speech for Jonas which laid the foundation of a Protestant doctorate, and Frederick III "the Wise" sponsored a subsequent celebration to introduce the new Protestant doctorate to the theological world. In September 1535, Bugenhagen was appointed Professor in the Theology faculty at Wittenberg.

Reformatory work

After he had outlined his reform ideas in a letter to the

community, Bugenhagen was the most important figure in the Protestant Reformation in

and

. He took an active lead in creating new ''church orders'' ( Kirchenordnungen) for

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

(1544),

(1528/29),Selderhuis & Wriedt (2006), p. 55 Lübeck (1530–1532), the Duchy of Pomerania (1534/5), East Frisia (1534/5),

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

(1542),Lorentzen (2008), p. 39 Braunschweig (1528), Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1543), and Denmark-Norway (1537), where he also crowned Christian III. This earned him later the epithet "Second Apostle of the North".Zietz (1834); Schneider (2008), p. 4. Not only did he create the new rules, he also established them and persuaded people to follow them. Bugenhagen produced rules and regulations for religious service, for schooling, and for social issues of the church. In 1539, he became superintendent of the Lutheran Church in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. Also in 1539, Bugenhagen reformed the Pomeranian University of Greifswald, which he "re-founded" as a Protestant university, modelled after the university of Wittenberg.Selderhuis & Wriedt (2006), p. 60 Bugenhagen sought to inform the public that indulgences, not only done without God's word but against it.

Late life

After the death of Luther in 1546, Bugenhagen took care of Luther's widow and children. Bugenhagen died in Wittenberg in 1558 and was buried at St. Mary's Church ( Stadtkirche Wittenberg). The church also contains a memorial painting to Bugenhagen by

Lucas Cranach the Younger Lucas Cranach the Younger (, ; 4 October 1515 – 25 January 1586) was a German Renaissance painter and portraitist, the son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and brother of Hans Cranach. Life and career Lucas Cranach the Younger was born in Wittenber ...

depicting the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan by

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

(with the whole Bugenhagen family watching). Other than for his theological opinions, Bugenhagen was also well known because of his organising ability. Bugenhagen was also appreciated for his work in making a Middle Low German translation of Luther's Bible in 1534. Johannes Bugenhagen was always a pastor at heart, and because of his love for music, his family coat of arms shows a harp.

Family

His daughter Sara (died 1563) married Georg Cracow.

Notes

Sources

References

Bibliography

* * * * Hans-Günter Leder, ''Johannes Bugenhagen Pomeranus – vom Reformer zum Reformator. Studien zur Biographie'' (Frankfurt-am-Main: Peter Lang, 2002) (Greifswalder theologische Forschungen, 4). * Hans-Günter Leder, ''Johannes Bugenhagen Pomeranus - Nachgelassene Studien zur Biographie mit einer Bibliographie zur Johannes Bugenhagen-Forschung'', herausgegeben von Irmfried Garbe und Volker Gummelt (Frankfurt-am-Main, Peter Lang, 2008) (Greifswalder theologische Forschungen, 15). * * *Hans-Otto Schneider, "Der späte Bugenhagen – Wittenberger Bürger, Kirchenpolitiker, Theologe und Stadtpfarrer", VIII. Frühjahrstagung zur Wittenberger Reformation veranstaltet vom Institut für Europäische Geschichte (IEG) Mainz und der Stiftung Luthergedenkstätten in Sachsen-Anhalt in Verbindung mit dem Institut für Kirchengeschichte der Universität Leipzig und der Evangelischen Stadtkirchengemeinde Wittenberg, Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Bugenhagenhaus, 19. bis 21. April 2008, in: ''AHF-Information'' (Arbeitsgemeinschaft historischer Forschungseinrichtungen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e.V.); Nr. 105 (6 June 2008) * * *Cf. Johann Heinrich Zietz, ''Johannes Bugenhagen – zweiter Apostel des Nordens, nach seinen Lebensschicksalen und seiner Wirksamkeit für die Gestaltung der evangelischen Kirche: Ein biographischer Versuch'' (¹1829), Leipzig: Sühring, ²1834, passim

External links

* Danish-Norwegian Kirchenordnung (1537), Latin edition
scan of originalReykjavik 1914 reprint (pp. 257–328)HTML
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bugenhagen, Johannes 1485 births 1558 deaths 16th-century German Protestant theologians 16th-century German male writers 16th-century German Lutheran clergy German Lutheran theologians German male non-fiction writers German Protestant Reformers People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar People from the Duchy of Pomerania People from Wolin (town) Translators of the Bible into German University of Greifswald alumni Academic staff of the University of Wittenberg 16th-century German translators Lutheran saints