Johannes Polyander van den Kerckhoven (28 March 1568, in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

– 4 February 1646, in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

) 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 ...

theologian, a

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

but considered of moderate views. Johannes Polyander

Life

He was born at

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. His father was from

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, but had gone into exile in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

where he was a Protestant pastor. The family then moved 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 ...

. He studied at Heidelberg under Franciscus Junius, graduating M.A. in 1589; and then for a doctorate in

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 ...

in 1590, under

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza ( la, Theodorus Beza; french: Théodore de Bèze or ''de Besze''; June 24, 1519 – October 13, 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformatio ...

. He became French preacher at

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

in 1591, and later succeeded Franz Gomarus as professor of 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 ...

, where he taught from 1611. Polyander was considered a conciliatory figure, in the aftermath of the affairs at Leiden of

Jacobus Arminius Jacobus Arminius (10 October 1560 – 19 October 1609), the Latinized name of Jakob Hermanszoon, was a Dutch theologian during the Protestant Reformation period whose views became the basis of Arminianism and the Dutch Remonstrant movement. He ...

and

Conrad Vorstius Conrad Vorstius (german: Konrad von der Vorst; la, Conradus Vorstius; 19 July 1569 – 29 September 1622) was a German-Dutch heterodox Remonstrant theologian, and successor to Jacobus Arminius in the theology chair at Leiden University.'Vorstius ...

. His epitaph is displayed in the

Pieterskerk, Leiden The Pieterskerk is a late-Gothic Dutch Protestant church in Leiden dedicated to Saint Peter. It is known today as the church of the Pilgrim Fathers, where the pastor John Robinson was buried. It is also the burial place of the scientist Willeb ...

Family

His son was Johan Polyander, lord of Heenvliet. He was a Dutch diplomat. He married Katherine Wotton, Countess of Chesterfield. She was the widow of

Henry Stanhope, Lord Stanhope Henry Stanhope, Lord Stanhope KB (died 29 November 1634), known as Sir Henry Stanhope until 1628, was an English nobleman and politician. He was the second and next surviving son of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield and his first wife Ca ...

Works

He was invited by the

States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia ( nl, Staten van Holland en West-Friesland) were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a c ...

to revise the Dutch translation of the Bible (the ''

Statenvertaling The ''Statenvertaling'' (, ''States Translation'') or ''Statenbijbel'' (''States Bible'') was the first translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages into Dutch, ordered by the Synod of Dordrecht 1618 and financed ...

''), and it was he who edited the canons of the

synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. The fi ...

(1618–1619). His published works include: * ''Responsio ad sophismata A. Cocheletii doctoris surbonnistae'' (1610), against the Carmelite Anastasius Cochelet, an opponent of

Justus Lipsius Justus Lipsius (Joest Lips or Joost Lips; 18 October 1547 – 23 March 1606) was a Flemish Catholic philologist, philosopher, and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible w ...

;Wolfgang Neuber, ''Cognition and the Book: typologies of formal organisation of knowledge in the printed book of the early modern period'' (2005), p. 85
Google Books
* ''Dispute contre l'adoration des reliques des Saints trespasses'' (1611); * ''Explicatio somae prophetae'' (1625).

References

External links

*
Sermon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polyander, Johannes 1568 births 1646 deaths Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Participants in the Synod of Dort Heidelberg University alumni Academic staff of Leiden University Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Clergy from Heidelberg

Life

Family

Works

References

Further reading

External links