Abraham van Heyden or van Heiden ( la, Abraham Heidanus or '; 1597–1678) was a Dutch

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

minister and controversialist, sympathetic to

Cartesianism Cartesianism is the philosophical and scientific system of René Descartes and its subsequent development by other seventeenth century thinkers, most notably François Poullain de la Barre, Nicolas Malebranche and Baruch Spinoza. Descartes is of ...

Life

He was born in

Frankenthal Frankenthal (Pfalz) ( pfl, Frongedahl) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, aft ...

in the Palatinate, son of Gaspar van der Heiden the Younger, a Reformed minister and

Counter-Remonstrant Franciscus Gomarus (François Gomaer; 30 January 1563 – 11 January 1641) was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and an opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius (and his followers), whose theological disputes were addressed at the Synod ...

who moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

in 1608. Abraham studied theology at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

from 1617, travelled to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and Paris, and was influenced by

Ramism Ramism was a collection of theories on rhetoric, logic, and pedagogy based on the teachings of Petrus Ramus, a French academic, philosopher, and Huguenot convert, who was murdered during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in August 1572. Accor ...

and

Jean Daillé Jean Daillé ( Dallaeus) (6 January 1594–15 April 1670) was a French Huguenot minister and Biblical commentator. He is mentioned in James Aitken Wylie's ''History of Protestantism'' as author of an ''Apology for the French Reformed Churches''. L ...

. He returned to an appointment as minister in

Naarden Naarden () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and former List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Gooi region in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been part ...

in 1623, moving to Leiden in 1627. In 1648 Heidanus was appointed professor of theology at the

. In 1650 he invited

Johannes Cocceius Johannes Cocceius (also Coccejus; ; 9 August 1603 – 5 November 1669) was a Dutch theologian born in Bremen. Life After studying at Hamburg and the University of Franeker, where Sixtinus Amama was one of his teachers, he became in 1630 profess ...

to join him on the faculty there. Battle lines were being drawn up for an extended series of controversies, in which

Gisbertus Voetius Gisbertus Voetius ( Latinized version of the Dutch name Gijsbert Voet ; 3 March 1589 – 1 November 1676) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian. Life He was born at Heusden, in the Dutch Republic, studied at Leiden, and in 1611 became Protestant past ...

of Utrecht took the other side. In 1655

Johannes Hoornbeeck Johannes Hoornbeek (4 November 1617, Haarlem – 23 August 1666, Leiden), was a Dutch Reformed theologian. He was a student and a follower of Gisbertus Voetius, writing with him on spiritual desertion. Like his teacher Voetieus, he was also later ...

contributed to the debate between Voetians and Cocceians a

sabbatarian Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...

pamphlet. Heidanus wrote ''De Sabbate'' (1658 in Latin, later in Dutch) in reply;

Andreas Essenius Andreas Essenius (February 1618–18 May 1677) was a Dutch Reformed theologian, controversialist and academic. He became professor of theology at the University of Utrecht. Life He was born Andreas van Essen in Zaltbommel where he studied Latin an ...

attacked Heidanus, and Cocceius became drawn in, to what became a long controversy.Israel, pp. 662–3. The position Heidanus held for decades as leader of Leiden

eventually led to his dismissal by the university in 1676. This happened after he with

Burchard de Volder Burchard de Volder (26 July 1643 – 21 March 1709) was a Dutch physician. Biography He was born in a Mennonite family in Amsterdam. He earned an M.A. in philosophy at the University of Utrecht under in 1660. He earned his medical doctorate ...

and Christophorus Wittichius published a rebuttal of the university's condemnation of Cartesian and Cocceian views.

References

Citations

Bibliography

Jonathan I. Israel Jonathan Irvine Israel (born 26 January 1946) is a British writer and academic specialising in Dutch history, the Age of Enlightenment and European Jews. Israel was appointed as Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historical Studies a ...

(1995) ''The Dutch Republic. Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall, 1477-1806''.

External links

Old Dictionary article
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heidanus, Abraham 1597 births 1678 deaths 17th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers Leiden University alumni Academic staff of Leiden University People from Frankenthal