Johann Jakob Pfeiffer (6 October 1740 – 26 November 1791) was a German

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

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 ...

who taught at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

Life and career

Pfeiffer was the son of Cassel

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

dyer, Hieronymus Pfeiffer (30 December 1714 – 3 July 1774) and his wife Anne Elisabeth (née Schaumberg; 15 March 1718 – 23 March 1779). He was educated in his Cassel's preparatory schools, and in 1755 he enrolled at the Collegium Carolinum. There, he studied under Johann Gottlieb Stegmann and Justus Heinrich Wetzel. In 1757, Pfeiffer began his studies at the

. At university, he studied theology, mathematics, logic, and metaphysics. By 1760 he was attending the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

and continuing his education in Theology under Samuel Christian Hollmann,

Johann David Michaelis Johann David Michaelis (27 February 1717 – 22 August 1791) was a Prussian biblical scholar and teacher. He was member of a family that was committed to solid discipline in Hebrew and the cognate languages, which distinguished the University ...

and Christian Wilhelm Franz Walch. By the next year, he had returned to his home as a preaching candidate, and in 1761 he was ordained and given a position as a preacher in Cassel. When he wasn’t actively preaching, he was known to continue his own theological education, as well as instruct his parishioners and neighbors in both Old and

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 ...

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

. In 1765, Pfeiffer was assigned to a preaching position in

Langenschwalbach Bad Schwalbach (called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&nbs ...

. By his own testimony, taken many years later, the years he spent in Langenschwalbach were the happiest of his life. He returned to Cassel in 1769 to take up the position of preacher at

Karlskirche The ''Rektoratskirche St. Karl Borromäus'', commonly called the ''Karlskirche'' (), is a Baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. Widely considered the most outstanding baroque church in Vienna, as well as one ...

, the central church of the Oberneustadt community. In 1779, Pfeiffer was named director of the newly constructed Lyceum Fridericianum, but by December of that year, he had been appointed associate professor of Theology at the

, replacing Heinrich Otto Duysing. From 1781 to 1790, he was the Dean of the Theology Faculty at the University. Pfeiffer was awarded his doctorate in Theology in 1784, and in 1789 was promoted to full professor. In addition to his duties as Dean and Professor, he also served as a Councilor of the

Consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

, overseeing all evangelical protestant churches in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel. On October 2, 1791, Pfeiffer performed the confirmation of Prince

William II, Elector of Hesse William II (german: Wilhelm II; 28 July 1777 – 20 November 1847) was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.After 1806, the title of ''Elector'' was meaningless, since no more Holy Roman Emperors could be elected, because the Empire had been dissolve ...

, whose religious instructor he had been for most of the prince's adolescence. Two months later, he died due to complications from a chronic inflammatory illness, from which he had suffered for many years.

Family

Johann Jakob Pfeiffer married twice. On March 24, 1772 he married Lucie Rebecke (née Rüppel; 12 October 1752 – 11 January 1784), the daughter of Johannes Rüppel (1708-1770), onetime personal chaplain of Landgravine Charlotte of Hesse-Homburg and archdeacon of

St Martin's Church, Kassel St Martin's Church (German: Martinskirche) is a Protestant parish church in Kassel, Hesse, Germany. It is also the preaching-church of the bishop of the Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck. It is in the Gothic style and was begun in 13 ...

. Together they had the following children: * Anne Catharine Elisabeth (13 December 1772 – 28 May 1777) * Johanne Lucie Cornelie (3 May 1774 – 17 May 1796), married in 1792 to Georg Hermann Carl Kulenkamp, son of the jurist Friedrich Wilhelm Kulenkamp. * Martha Conradine (15 September 1775 – 3 April 1826) After her sister's death in 1796, she married her widower, Georg Kulenkamp. * Burkhard Wilhelm (7 May 1777 – 4 October 1852) * Carl Jonas (7 February 1779 – 3 May 1836), married August 7, 1808 to Maria Louis Theodora (née Merrem, 1786- 31 August 1827), daughter of Blasius Merrem. * Johann Georg Henrich (19 December 1780 – 27 January 1859) * Franz Georg (11 January 1784 – 15 April 1856) *Christian Hartman (11 January 1784 – 23 July 1844) Lucie Pfeiffer died giving birth to twin sons, Franz Georg and Christian Hartmann. On April 16, 1785, Pfeiffer married again, this time to Sophie Christine (née Waitz, 26 February 1754 – 4 March 1826), daughter of Johann August Waitz of Schwarzenfels. They had two daughters: Marburg Kugelhaus von NO

* Marianne Charlotte (16 February 1788 – 24 March 1863) * Caroline Catherine Louise Henriette (18 March 1790 – 5 February 1875)

Works

* ''Dissertatio Philosophica De Adquiescentia Hominum in Voluntate Divina (with Johann Gottlieb Stegmann, Kassel 1756) * ''Predigten'' (Kassel 1776) * ''Entwurf zum Unterricht im Christenthum'' (Minden 1778, second edition Kassel 1783, third edition Kassel 1785, fourth edition Kassel 1791) * ''Magnificentissimi Orationem Aditialem Viri Amplissimi Iohannis Henrici Iung in Auditorio Maiore Habendam Indicit'' (Kassel 1787) * ''Progr. de praemiis virtutis christianae'' (Two parts, Marburg 1787–1788) * ''Anweisung für Prediger, und die es werden wollen, zu einer treuen Führung ihres Amtes; nebst eingestreuten historischen und literarischen Bemerkungen'' (Marburg 1789)

References

External links

*
Johann Jakob.''
Index entry in: Deutsche Biographie 0.02.2022 * {{authority control 1740 births 1791 deaths 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed ministers 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 18th-century German Christian theologians People from Kassel People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel University of Marburg alumni University of Marburg faculty