Rev. Henry Gerhard Appenzeller (February 6, 1858 – June 11, 1902) was a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
. He and four other missionaries, including
Horace N. Allen,
Horace G. Underwood,
William B. Scranton, and
Mary F. Scranton introduced
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
Christianity to
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
from 1885 to 1902. He was known for his three major contributions to Korea: the Paichai College Hall, the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Seoul, and the translated
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
.
Background and early life
Henry Gerhard Appenzeller was born in
Souderton, Pennsylvania
Souderton is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,191 at the 2020 census.
Souderton formerly hosted the end of the annual Bucks County Classic, a professional bicycle race.
History
The town was orig ...
, in 1858. His mother was Swiss Mennonite, while his father was from Pennsylvania. His parents went to the
German Reformed Church
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
* ...
. His mother played an important role in his life. She influenced the faith of Henry and his two brothers by reading the German Bible on Sunday afternoons with them. His mother spoke German but little English, therefore, German was Henry's first language. He grew up speaking Pennsylvania German in his home. His fluency in both written and spoken German later allowed him to communicate easily with Germans in America, Europe, and Korea. Henry was transformed due to a personal spiritual experience on October 6, 1876. He celebrated this day as his spiritual birthday every year. He studied at
Franklin and Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Frankli ...
, a private residential liberal arts college based on the Reformed Church, where he studied ancient languages and held a particular interest in Greek language and literature.
Henry also studied and became fluent in biblical languages and French.
He joined the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
in
Lancaster at the age of twenty- one, three years after his conversion. Then he served in the church as a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
preacher
A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...
. After that, he attended
Drew Theological Seminary
Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...
, a
theological school. During his studies at
Drew Theological Seminary
Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...
, he joined the overseas
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
service. Before Appenzeller sailed to Korea, he married Ella Dodge. They had three children together. Their daughter
Alice Rebecca Appenzeller was the first American born in Korea.
Work in Korea
![Henry Appenzeller and His Students](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Henry_Appenzeller_and_His_Students.png)
Appenzeller arrived in Korea on April 5, 1885, an Easter Sunday morning, with his wife Ella Appenzeller. During that period,
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
was in political struggle. Missionaries could not set up a church, nor preach in public. Evangelism had to be done secretly. Appenzeller focused on preparing a missionary residence in the first two years. In 1887, worship in public became possible, therefore, a chapel was established for services. His goal was to transform Pagan Korea into Christian Korea.
Appenzeller was the founder of a boys' school, Paichai Hakdang—Hall for the Rearing of Useful Men in Korea in 1887. It is the predecessor of
Pai Chai University
Pai Chai University is one of South Korea's oldest modern universities. Its campus is located in Seo-gu, in Daejeon metropolitan city, on the lower slopes of Yeonja Mountain. It has a present-day student body of about 14,000. Undergraduate p ...
and Paichai Middle & High school.
He spread the Gospel, introduced Western culture, and trained the students in the Methodist faith. He was one of the founder of the first
Korean Methodist Church The Korean Methodist Church is a large Methodist denomination in South Korea, with approximately 1.5 million members. Methodist missionaries came from the United States in the late 19th century. It became independent in 1930, and celebrated its cent ...
in Seoul, Chong Dong, and he also established many Protestant institutions. He served at Chong Dong as a pastor in 1887 until his death in 1902. In 1886, Appenzeller was on the Board of Bible Translators with the other Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries and other Korean translators. He helped to translate the Bible into Korean.
Death
In 1902, at the age of 44, Appenzeller was traveling to a southern port city,
Mokpo
Mokpo (; ''Mokpo-si'') is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, located at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, close to Yudal mountain. Mokpo has frequent high-speed train services to Seoul, and is the terminus for a number of f ...
, to attend a meeting for the Bible translation. While at sea he drowned trying to save a Korean girl. A
cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
in his honor was erected at the
Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery, the gravesite of over 300 foreigners including over 80 missionaries from many denominations including those sent by the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
, and its predecessor denominations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Legacy
Since its founding in the 19th century, the
Korean Methodist Church The Korean Methodist Church is a large Methodist denomination in South Korea, with approximately 1.5 million members. Methodist missionaries came from the United States in the late 19th century. It became independent in 1930, and celebrated its cent ...
has dramatically developed as one of major Protestant denominations in Korea. In 2001, the denomination comprised 5,262 churches, 1,394,514 members, and 7,298 ministers. There were six universities established under the Methodist model, including
Pai Chai. In addition, the denomination had its own theological seminary, the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul. It also had six theological institutes and 54 junior high and high schools.
![Appenzellerbronze](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Appenzellerbronze.jpg)
On October 21, 2016, a bronze bust of Appenzeller was dedicated on the campus of Drew Theological School as a gift from the Chungdong First Methodist Church in Seoul, South Korea. Rev. Dr. Sehyoung Lee, the English Ministry Pastor of Chungdong, said: "For the people of Chungdong and Methodists in Korea, it’s as if Appenzeller came to Korea, gave himself up, and now 130 years later, we’re expressing our deep gratitude by bringing him back."
See also
*
Christianity in Korea
*
19th-century Protestant missions in China
In the early 19th century, Western colonial expansion occurred at the same time as an evangelical revival – the Second Great Awakening – throughout the English-speaking world, leading to more overseas missionary activity. The nineteenth centu ...
*
List of Protestant missionaries in China
This is a list of notable Protestant missionaries in China by agency. Beginning with the arrival of Robert Morrison in 1807 and ending in 1953 with the departure of Arthur Matthews and Dr. Rupert Clark of the China Inland Mission, thousands of f ...
References
* ''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appenzeller, Henry
1858 births
1902 deaths
People from Souderton, Pennsylvania
American Methodist clergy
American Methodist missionaries
Methodist missionaries in Korea
Drew University alumni
Franklin & Marshall College alumni
Translators of the Bible into Korean
University and college founders
19th-century translators
American expatriates in Korea
American evangelicals
Missionary linguists
19th-century American clergy