John Mensing
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Johannes Mensing (Mensingk) (1477–1547) was a German Dominican theologian and controversialist, an opponent of
Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
. He was considered formidable for his theological knowledge and command of the German language.


Life

Mensing was born at
Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 11th centur ...
or
Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...
, Netherlands. In 1495, he entered the Dominican Order and made part of his theological studies in the studium of his province. Matriculating at the
University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...
in 1515, he received there in 1517 the licentiate in theology, and the following year received in Frankfort-on-the-Oder the doctorate in theology from the hands of the general of his order. According to Quétif, he taught theology in 1514 in the monastery at
Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...
;, but it is however improbable that Mensing, belonging to the province of Saxony, should act as professor in another province which had no studium generale of its own. To prevent Lutheran doctrinal innovations from gaining a foothold in his province, Mensing entered into all the controversies. From 1522 to 1524, he occupied the pulpit in the
cathedral of Magdeburg Magdeburg Cathedral (), officially called the Cathedral of Saints Maurice and Catherine (), is a Lutheran cathedral in Germany and the oldest Gothic cathedral in the country. It is the proto-cathedral of the former Prince-Archbishopric of Magd ...
, where he also composed his first apologetic works on the
Sacrifice of the Mass The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by Je ...
. He was forced to leave, and took up the invitation of the Princess Margaretha von Anhalt, who ruled during the minority of her sons; he went to
Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...
to support her in her efforts against Protestants in her territory. In 1529, he was professor in the University of Frankfort-on-the-Oder and preacher in the cathedral. The following year he attended, as theologian to the Elector Joachim von Anhalt, the
Diet of Augsburg The diets of Augsburg were the meetings of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in the German city of Augsburg. Both an Imperial City and the residence of the Augsburg prince-bishops, the town had hosted the Estates in many such se ...
, and secured from
Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...
a renewal of the letter of protection for the Dominican Order in Germany which
Emperor Charles IV Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...
had granted them in 1355 and 1359. In 1534, he was elected provincial of his own province, but before the termination of his office
Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...
made him suffragan Bishop of
Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...
. In 1540 and 1541, he attended the theological conferences of Worms and
Ratisbon Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state. With m ...
, where with
Johann Eck Johann Maier von Eck (13 November 1486 – 13 February 1543), often anglicized as John Eck, was a German Catholic theologian, scholastic, prelate, and opponent of Martin Luther. Life Johann Eck was born Johann Maier at Eck (later Egg, near M ...
, the vice-chancellor of the
University of Ingolstadt The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of four faculties: theology, law, artes liberales and medicine, all of w ...
, and Pelargus, he took a leading part in the deliberations.


Works

A complete list of his works, all of which bear a polemical tinge, is given by
Streber The streber (''Zingel streber''), also known as the Danube streber, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Percidae. It is found in strongly flowing waters in the Danube and Dniester drainages of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...
in the ''
Kirchenlexikon ''Wetzer and Welte's Kirchenlexikon'' is an encyclopedic work of Catholic biography, history, and theology, first compiled by Heinrich Joseph Wetzer and Benedict Welte. The first edition in 12 volumes was published from 1847 to 1860, by Verlag H ...
''.


References

;Attribution * The entry cites: ** Quétif and
Jacques Échard Jacques Échard (22 September 1644, in Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of Fr ...
, , II, 84; **Paulus, ''Die deutschen Dominikaner im Kampfe gegen Luther'' (Freiburg, 1903), 16-45; **Paulus, ''Katholik'' (1893), II, 21-36, 120-139.


External links


''Catholic Hierarchy'' page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mensing, Johannes 1477 births 1547 deaths 16th-century Dutch people 16th-century German Catholic theologians 16th-century German male writers German Dominicans German male non-fiction writers German religious writers German Roman Catholic writers People from Zutphen People from Zwolle