Justus Jonas, the Elder (5 June 1493 – 9 October 1555), or simply Justus Jonas, was a German

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 ...

theologian and reformer. He was a

Jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

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

Hymn writer A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who is traditionally ...

. He is best known for his translations of the writings 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 ...

and

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

. He accompanied Martin Luther in his final moments.

Life and church

Jonas was born at Nordhausen in present-day

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

where he was the son of the burgermeister. His birth name was Jodokus (Jobst) Koch, which he changed according to the common custom of German scholars in the sixteenth century, when at the

University of Erfurt The University of Erfurt () is a public university located in Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after German reunification. Therefore ...

. He entered that university in 1506, studied law and the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, and became Master of Arts in 1510. In 1511, he went to

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 ...

, where he took his bachelor's degree in law. He returned to

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

during 1514 or 1515 was ordained priest. In 1518, he was appointed

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of St. Severus Church (''Severikirche'') in Erfurt which was a collegiate church. In 1519, he became Rector of the

. In 1521, he was appointed Probst of All Saints' Church (''Schlosskirche'') at Wittenberg and Professor of Church Law in the

. From 1541 to 1546, he served as superintendent and chief pastor at Halle. His great admiration for

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

first led him to Greek, Hebrew and

Biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

, and his election in May 1519 as rector of the university was regarded as a triumph for the partisans of the New Learning. It was not, however, until after the Leipzig Disputation 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 ...

that

won his allegiance. He accompanied Luther to the

Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 ( ) was an Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City o ...

in 1521, and there was appointed professor of canon law at Wittenberg. During Luther's stay in the Wartburg, Jonas was one of the most active of the Wittenberg reformers. Giving himself up to preaching and polemics, he aided the

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

by his gift as a translator, turning Luther's and

Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the L ...

's works into German or Latin as the case might be, thus becoming a sort of double of both. Jonas also assisted Luther with his translation of the

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 ...

into the German language. One of the eight hymns in the first Lutheran hymnal is attributed to him, ''In Jesu Namen wir heben an'' (In the name of Jesus we begin), which appeared in 1524 with four hymns by

and three by Paul Speratus. His hymn '' Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält'', a paraphrase of Psalm 124, was published in the Erfurt ''Enchiridion'' in 1524. It was used by several composers as a base for organ and choral music, including Bach's

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the Germany, German Baroque music, Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chor ...

BWV 178.

Jonas was busy in conferences (including a prominent role in the Reformation conferences at Marburg (1529) and Augsburg (1530)) and visitations during the next twenty years, and in diplomatic work with the princes. In the autumn of 1531, Jonas published a German translation of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, and in 1541, he began a successful preaching crusade in Halle, becoming superintendent of its churches in 1542 or 1544 and priest in the Market Church of Our Dear Lady (''Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen'') the city of

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as t ...

. Martin Luther became severely ill and visited his friend during Christmas in 1545. Jonas was present at Luther's deathbed at

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century ...

, and preached the funeral sermon; in a procession Luther's body was taken to Halle and buried in Wittenberg. In the same year Jonas was banished from the duchy by

Maurice, Duke of Saxony Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke of Saxony, Duke (1541–47) and later Prince-elector, Elector (1547–53) of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wett ...

. From that time until his death, Jonas was unable to secure a satisfactory living. He wandered from place to place preaching, and finally went to Eisfeld, Thuringia (1553), where he died, aged 62.

References

Other sources

*''Briefwechsel des Justus Jonas'', gesammelt und bearbeitet von G. Kawerau (2 vols., Halle, 1884–1885). * Retrieved on 13 January 2007. *G. Kawerau's article, ''Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopadie'', ed. 3, with bibliography.

External links

Note

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonas, Justus 1493 births 1555 deaths People from Nordhausen, Thuringia 16th-century German Lutheran clergy German Christian hymnwriters Christian apologists Jurists from Thuringia German Lutheran theologians German Protestant Reformers Translators of the Bible into German University of Erfurt alumni Academic staff of the University of Erfurt University of Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the University of Wittenberg 16th-century German translators

Life and church

See also

References

Other sources

External links

Note