John Christopher Kunze (August 4, 1744 – July 24, 1807) was an American

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

minister, educator, author and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Life

Kunze was born in

Artern Artern is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, Thuringia, Germany. The former municipalities Heygendorf and Voigtstedt were merged into Artern in January 2019. Geography Artern is situated at the confluence of the rivers Unstrut and Helme, ...

, a town in the

Kyffhäuserkreis The Kyffhäuserkreis is a district in the northern part of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are the districts Mansfeld-Südharz, Saalekreis und Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, and the districts Sömmerda, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis and Eich ...

district of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

, to Jahn Godfried Kunze, a farmer and innkeeper. In 1758, when his parents died, Kunze began studying at the orphanage in

Halle, Germany Halle, Germany may refer to: * Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, also called ''Halle an der Saale'', or Halle (Saale) * Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, also called ''Halle in Westfalen'', or ''Halle (Westfalen)'' * Halle, Bentheim, in the district of Bentheim, ...

. He received his classical training in the gymnasia at Rossleben and

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

, and then attended the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

where he studied history, philosophy and theology. He worked as a teacher and an orphanage inspector before becoming

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

ed as a Lutheran minister. In 1770, Kunze emigrated to

Colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

to serve as second

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at St. Michael's and Zion Lutheran churches in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1771, he married Margaretta Henrietta (1751–1831), daughter of Rev.

Henry Muhlenberg Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (an anglicanization of Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg) (September 6, 1711 – October 7, 1787), was a German Lutheran pastor sent to North America as a missionary, requested by Pennsylvania colonists. Integral to the ...

. Kunze was an active and passionate educator and was a strong advocate for teaching the English language to his fellow German immigrants and Lutheran pastors. As a part of this mission, Kunze began a pre-theological school in Philadelphia in 1773. In 1779, he succeeded Muhlenberg as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, becoming the senior Lutheran minister in Philadelphia and an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' member of the board of trustees of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In 1780, he stepped down from the board to become the professor of German and Hebrew languages. At the university, he and a fellow German Lutheran pastor, Justus Henry Christian Helmuth, tried unsuccessfully to establish a German language college within the university.''John Christopher Kunze (1744-1807)'' ( University of Pennsylvania Archive

While at the university, Kunze set foundations for what later developed into the field of "Semitics", including the study of Hebrew and Arabic. The university conferred the Master of Arts degree on him in 1780, and the Doctor of Divinity degree in 1783. In 1784, Kunze accepted a position at Trinity and Christ Church, a newly formed congregation in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and also became Professor of

Oriental Language A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Turk ...

s at Columbia College. That same year, he was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. In 1785, Kunze served as an official translator for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. Kunze was fluent in five languages and had also studied medicine, astronomy, and numismatics. In 1795, he published ''Hymn and Prayer Book, for the Use of such Lutheran Churches as use the English Language'', the first Lutheran hymn book in the English language. He also translated Luther's Small Catechism into English. With the death of

John Christopher Hartwick John Christopher Hartwick (January 6, 1714 – July 17, 1796) was an American Lutheran minister in Colonial America and founder of Hartwick College. Background Hartwick was a native of the dukedom of Saxe-Gotha in the province of Thuringia in Germ ...

in 1796, Kunze became the founding director of Hartwick Seminary. As a steward of Hartwick's estate, Kunze worked to establish a Lutheran seminary in America. Kunze had been Hartwick's personal choice as director of the seminary. Prominent political and religious leaders

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (August 27, 1738February 19, 1810), from the prominent Van Rensselaer family, was Lieutenant Governor of New York and a member of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York in the 1st United Sta ...

and

Frederick Muhlenberg Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (; January 1, 1750 – June 4, 1801) was an American minister and politician who was the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the first Dean of the United States House of Represent ...

convinced Kunze to direct the seminary and teach theology at his home in New York City. In 1816, the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

incorporated the new school—the first Lutheran seminary in America—as a classical academy and theological seminary, in the town of

Hartwick, New York Hartwick is a town located in Otsego County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 2,110. The Town of Hartwick is located in the middle of the county, southwest of the Village of Cooperstown. History The t ...

.''Hartwick College: A Bicentennial History : 1797-1997'' (by Ronald H Bailey Hartwick College. 1997) In addition to his work as an educator, Kunze had a talent for bringing people together by creating scholarly and cultural organizations. Kunze helped create the Society for Useful Knowledge and he founded the German Society of New York with

Baron Friedrich von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben (), was a Prussian military officer who p ...

. He also helped form the

Ministerium of New York The New York Ministerium, also known as the Ministerium of New York, was an early Lutheran synod founded in 1786 in the U.S. state of New York. Throughout its history there were theological controversies that led to congregations withdrawing f ...

, an organization of local Lutheran ministers, and served as its president until his death on July 24, 1807. He is buried at the

Evergreens Cemetery The Cemetery of the Evergreens, also called Evergreen Cemetery, is a non-denominational rural cemetery along the Cemetery Belt in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. It was incorporated in 1849, not long after the passage of New York's Rural Cemeter ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York.

Bibliography

* ''Einige Gedichte und Lieder'' (1778) * ''Ein Wort für den Verstand und das Herz vom Rechten und Gebanten Lebenswege'' (1781) * ''Von den Absichten und dem bisherigen Fortgang der privilegirten Deutschen Gesellschaft zu Philadelphia in Pennsylvanien'' (1782) * ''Hymn and Prayer Book: For the use of such Lutheran Churches as use the English Language'' (Publisher: Hurtin and Commardinger, 1795) * ''Catechism and Liturgy'' (1795) *''Six Sermons'' (with Lawrence Van Buskirk, Publisher: T. Kirk, 112, Chatham-Street. 1797) *''King Solomon's Great Sacrifice at the Dedication of His Temple''( Publisher: L. Nichols & Co., 1801)

References

Other sources

* Hess, Stephen ''America's Political Dynasties'' (Transaction Publishers. 1997) *Lagerquist, L. DeAne ''The Lutherans'' (Praeger Paperback; 2nd edition. 1999)

External links

Revd. John Christopher Kunze, D.D. (1801-ca. 1886)
NYPL Digital Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunze, John Christopher 1744 births 1807 deaths People from Artern Columbia University faculty German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies American Lutheran theologians 18th-century American Lutheran clergy 18th-century German Lutheran clergy History of Christianity in the United States Clergy from Philadelphia Leipzig University alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society 19th-century American Lutheran clergy