Veit Erbermann (or Ebermann) (born on 25 May 1597 – died on 8 April 1675) was a German theologian and controversialist.

Biography

He was born at Rendweisdorff, in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, to

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 ...

parents, but at an early age he became a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and on 30 May 1620, entered the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. After completing his ecclesiastical studies he taught

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and Scholastic theology, first at Mainz and afterwards at Würzburg. Subsequently he was appointed rector of the pontifical seminary at

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

, which position he held for seven years. His theological attainments and zeal for Catholicism brought him into conflict with many of the leading Reformers of his time. He watched with a keen interest what in

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 ...

theological circles is known as "

Syncretistic Controversy The syncretistic controversy was the theological debate focusing on efforts to unite Protestant churches in 17th century Germany. It was started mainly by the efforts of Georg Calixtus and his supporters to secure a basis on which Lutherans could ...

", and in his frequent encounters with its chief representatives proved himself an able champion of

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Works

His principal works are: * (Mainz, 1644) * (2 vols., Mainz, 1645–46), in which he examines critically the religious tenets of

George Calixtus Georg Calixtus, Kallisøn/Kallisön, or Callisen (14 December 1586 – 19 March 1656) was a German Lutheran theologian who looked to reconcile all Christendom by removing all differences that he deemed "unimportant". Biography Calixtus was born i ...

* (Würzburg, 1651) * (Würzburg, 1644), an exposition of the infallibility of the Catholic Church against Hermann Conring * (Würzburg, 1659) * (Würzburg, 1661) * (Würzburg, 1665).

References

* Lachenschmid, R. (2001), «Erbermann (Ebermann), Vitus», in Ch. E. O’Neill, sj & J. M. Domínguez, sj (dirs.), ''Diccionario Histórico de la Compañía de Jesús. Biográfico-Temático''. Roma-Madrid: Institutum Historicum S.I.–Universidad Pontificia Comillas, vol. II, p. 1.250. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erbermann, Veit 1597 births 1675 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism 17th-century German Jesuits 17th-century German Catholic theologians German male non-fiction writers 17th-century German male writers