Johannes Rudolph Lauritzen (February 21, 1845 – September 26, 1923) was a German-American Lutheran clergyman.

Biography

Johannes Lauritzen was born in Bohemia, Germany on February 21, 1845. He emigrated to the United States in 1870, and became a Lutheran pastor, jail chaplain, minister to the poor, and Bible translator. He received his seminary training at the Practical Seminary 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 ...

, located at that time in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He graduated in 1872, and was ordained and called to St. John's Lutheran Church in

New London, Wisconsin New London is a city in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, Outagamie and Waupaca County, Wisconsin, Waupaca counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Founded in 1851, the population was 7,348 at the 2020 census. The city has an annual Saint Patrick's D ...

. He married Louise Sophia Von-Unold in 1874. In 1875, he became pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

. In 1880, however, he was suspended by the LCMS, perhaps due to his involvement in activities outside the parish such as rescue mission, jail ministry, and Bible distribution. He later moved to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

to become pastor of First Lutheran Church, starting in 1887. Because of his great involvement in fighting drunkenness and in establishing a rescue mission for indigents, he had to resign from the church. He then became the pastor at St. Peter's Evangelical Church, also in Knoxville, where he worked until his pastoral retirement. Among other social ministries, he worked with poor children of Knoxville, including tutoring them in school subjects. He also spent much of his time for 35 years working with prisoners in the jail. He was accompanied in this work by his wife Louise, and they organized the Mission Children's Home together in 1889. After her death in 1912, he remarried to Pearl Anna Wallace on March 14, 1915. It appears that his close contact with the uneducated and unchurched led him to begin a translation of the

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 ...

. His translation of the New Testament into English was published in Knoxville in 1917, the 400th anniversary of the start of the

Lutheran Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. The translation did not differ significantly from the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

. A committee of other Lutheran pastors revised his work and published ''The Capitalized and Revised American Lutheran Translation New Testament and Psalms'' in 1920. In two years, the Lutheran Bible Society of Knoxville had distributed 7,500 copies of this New Testament. A further thousand were sent to English prisoners during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and others were sent to US soldiers. Nonetheless, copies of this translation are relatively rare and Lauritzen is barely remembered for his Bible translation work. Johannes Lauritzen died in Knoxville on September 26, 1923.

References

External links

Link to later edition of Lauritzen's translation of the four Gospels
1845 births 1923 deaths Translators of the Bible into English Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States 19th-century American Lutheran clergy 20th-century American Lutheran clergy {{bible-translator-stub