Johann Dietenberger (c. 1475 – September 4, 1537) was a

German 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 **Ger ...

Catholic Scholastic theologian.

Education

Born at

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

, he was educated in his native city, and joined the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

. On 3 June 1511, he registered at

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

as a theological student; three years later, 23 September 1514, he was admitted to the licentiate, and the next year, after some time spent at

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 ...

and

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, received the doctor's degree.

Ordination

Towards the end of 1517 Dietenberger was appointed ''Regens studiorum'' and interpreter of

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, where he opened his lectures on 27 January 1518. In the meantime he had been elected (1516) prior of his convent at Frankfurt, and he retained this office until 1526, when he became prior at

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

. In 1530 Dietenberger attended the

Diet of Augsburg The Diet of Augsburg were the meetings of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in the German city of Augsburg. Both an Imperial City and the residence of the Augsburg prince-bishops, the town had hosted the Estates in many such sess ...

and was chosen a member of the committee of twenty Catholic theologians selected at the meeting of 27 June and presided over by

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 a pioneer of the counter-reformation who was among Martin Luther's most important inter ...

, to draw up a refutation of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

. About the same time he received the appointment of general inquisitor for the

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s of Mainz and Cologne. His last years, from 1532, were devoted to teaching theology and exegesis in the Academy of Mainz. He died at Mainz.

Works

His catechism was: *''Evangelischer Bericht und Christliche Unterweisung der furnehmlichsten Stuck des waren heyligen Christlichen Glaubens'', published first at Mainz in 1537 and often re-edited, lastly by

Christoph Moufang Franz Christoph Ignaz Moufang (17 February 1817 – 27 February 1890) was a German Catholic theologian and diocesan administrator. Life Education Moufang was born at Mainz, where he also received his primary education. In 1834 he entered the ...

(''Die Mainzer Katechismen''). Dietenberger's German

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

translation: *''Biblia beider Allt und Newen Testamenten, new verdeutscht'', published at Mainz in 1534. This work, repeatedly corrected, especially by

Kaspar Ulenberg Kaspar Ulenberg (24 December 1549 – 16 February 1617) was a Catholic convert, theological writer and translator of the Bible. He was born at Lippstadt on the Lippe, Westphalia, the son of Lutheran parents, and was intended for the Lutheran min ...

(Cologne, 1630) and the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

theologians of Mainz (1661), was destined to become for the German people ''Die Katholische Bibel''. Johannes Dietenberger Mainz 1534

He used freely the

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 Christ ...

of Emser (1527), of whom

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

was wont to say that "he had ploughed with his heifers"; he used likewise other translations compiled in pre-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

times, and so did Luther. He was well acquainted with the versions of Luther and of

Leo Jud Leo Jud (; also Leo Juda, Leo Judä, Leo Judas, Leonis Judae, Ionnes Iuda, Leo Keller; 1482 – 19 June 1542), known to his contemporaries as Meister Leu, was a Swiss reformer who worked with Huldrych Zwingli in Zürich. Biography Jud was born ...

, and used them to improve his own. Dietenberger composed fifteen polemical tracts, treating various subjects then much mooted:

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

, confession, vows, faith, etc.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Dietenberger, Johann 1475 births 1537 deaths Clergy from Frankfurt 16th-century German Catholic theologians German Dominicans Translators of the Bible into German German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German male writers