Peter Heyling (1607/1608 – c. 1652) 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 ...

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 ...

missionary to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

.Werner Raupp
"Heyling, Peter"
in Gerald H. Anderson, ed., ''Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions'' (W. B. Eerdmans, 1998). He was the first Protestant missionary to Ethiopia.Otto F. A. Meinardus, ''Christians in Egypt : Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Communities Past and Present'' (American University of Cairo Press, 2005), pp. 100ff. The son of a goldsmith, Heyling was a native of the

Hanseatic city The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German t ...

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

. His early education was under Johann Kirchmann in Lübeck. Between 1628 and 1632 he studied theology and law at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

with four other Lübeckers. There he came under the influence of the Dutch Protestant

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...

, at that time living in Paris.. Heyling set out on his mission in 1632.Ernst Hammerschmidt, "A Brief History of German Contributions to the Study of Ethiopia", ''Journal of Ethiopian Studies'' 1, 2 (1963): 30–48. His goal and that of six other student missionaries was to "reawaken the derelict churches of the Orient", that is, the

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

and

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

churches, "to genuine evangelical life". In the event, only Heyling and Hieronymus von Dorne ever set out. At the beginning of 1633 he arrived in Egypt, where he studied

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

in Coptic monasteries and also in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In 1634, he accompanied the new

Abuna Abuna (or Abune, which is the Construct state, status constructus form used when a name follows: Ge'ez alphabet, Ge'ez አቡነ ''abuna''/''abune'', 'our father'; Amharic language, Amharic and Tigrinya language, Tigrinya) is the honorific titl ...

, Marqos, as the latter travelled to Ethiopia to assume his new posting. He became an influential preacher and physician at the court of the Emperor

Fasilides Fasilides ( Ge'ez: ፋሲልደስ; ''Fāsīladas''; 20 November 1603 – 18 October 1667), also known as Fasil, Basilide, or Basilides (as in the works of Edward Gibbon), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1632 to his death on 18 October 1667, and a m ...

(1632–1667), but his efforts to reform the church resulted in major disputes over

Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

. He translated 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 ...

into

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

. There are various accounts of the manner in which Heyling met his death. One account is that he was expelled from Ethiopia around 1650, and died during his travel. Another version is that of the priest

Abba Gorgoryos Abba Gorgoryos ( Ge'ez: አባ ጎርጎርዮስ; 1595 – 1658) was an Ethiopian priest and lexicographer of noble origin. He is famous for co-authoring encyclopedias with his friend and companion Hiob Ludolf in two Ethiopian languages, Amhari ...

stating that the emperor allowed Heyling to travel to Cairo in 1652, where he died a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

after refusing to renounce his faith to the Turkish pasha in

Suakin Suakin or Sawakin ( ar, سواكن, Sawákin, Beja: ''Oosook'') is a port city in northeastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea. It was formerly the region's chief port, but is now secondary to Port Sudan, about north. Suakin used to b ...

. Gorgoryos adds to this account, dating from 1656, with the following words: "I have also heard this from the monks in Cairo, and I know of no other version. It is now four years since he died."

James Bruce James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia and in 1770 became the first Europ ...

on his travels through Ethiopia in 1770 claimed to see lingering signs of Heyling's influence.

Samuel Gobat Samuel Gobat (26 January 1799 – 11 May 1879) was a Swiss Calvinist who became an Anglican missionary in Africa and was the Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem from 1846 until his death. Biography Samuel Gobat was born at Crémines, Canton of Bern, ...

likewise, in 1830, found Heyling's translation of the New Testament still in circulation. In some respects, the

Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY; also called Mekane Yesus Church) is a Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia. It is the largest individual member church of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a Lutheran denomination with some ...

carries on his legacy.

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Further reading