August Hermann Francke
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August Hermann Francke (; 22 March 1663 – 8 June 1727) was a German
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 ...
clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
,
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 ...
,
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
, and
Biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
.


Biography

Born in
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 ...
, Francke was educated at the Illustrious Gymnasium in
Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
before he studied at the universities of
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
and
Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
— where he came under the influence of the
Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...
Christian Kortholt — and finally
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
. During his student career he made a special study of
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
and
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; and in order to learn Hebrew more thoroughly, he for some time put himself under the instructions of
Ezra Edzardi Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρα ...
at
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
. He graduated at Leipzig, where in 1685 he became a ''
Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
''. A year later, by the help of his friend P. Anton, and with the approval and encouragement of
Philipp Jakob Spener Philipp Jakob Spener (23 January 1635 – 5 February 1705), was a German Lutheran theologian who essentially founded what would become to be known as Pietism. He was later dubbed the "Father of Pietism". A prolific writer, his two main works, '' ...
, he founded the Collegium Philobiblicum, at which a number of graduates met regularly for the systematic study of the Bible, philologically and practically. He next spent some months at
Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...
as assistant or curate to the learned superintendent, K. H. Sandhagen, and there his religious beliefs deepened. On leaving Lüneburg he spent some time in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, where he became a teacher in a private school, and made the acquaintance of Nikolaus Lange. After a long visit to Spener, at that time a court preacher in
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
, Francke returned to Leipzig in the spring of 1689, and began to give Bible lectures of an exegetical and practical kind, at the same time resuming the Collegium Philobiblicum of earlier days. He soon became popular as a lecturer; but the peculiarities of his teaching almost immediately aroused a violent opposition on the part of the university authorities; and before the end of the year he was interdicted from lecturing on the ground of his alleged Pietism. That was how Francke's name first came to be publicly associated with that of Spener, and with Pietism. Prohibited from lecturing in Leipzig, Francke in 1690 found work at
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
as "deacon" of one of the city churches. Here his evangelistic fervour attracted multitudes to his preaching, including
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
s, but at the same time excited the anger of his opponents; and the result of their opposition was that after a ministry of fifteen months he was commanded by the civil authorities (27 September 1691) to leave Erfurt within forty-eight hours. That same year Spener was expelled from Dresden. In December, through Spener's influence, Francke accepted an invitation to fill the chair of Greek and oriental languages in the new
University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
, which was at that time being organized by the elector
Frederick III of Brandenburg Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union ( Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function h ...
; and at the same time, the chair having no salary attached to it, he was appointed pastor of Glaucha in the immediate neighbourhood of the town. He afterwards became professor of
theology 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 ...
. Here, for the remaining thirty-six years of his life, he discharged the twofold office of pastor and professor with energy and success. At the very outset of his labours, he had been profoundly impressed with a sense of his responsibility towards the numerous outcast children who were growing up around him in ignorance and crime. After a number of tentative plans, he resolved in 1695 to institute what is often called a "ragged school," supported by public charity. A single room was at first sufficient, but within a year it was found necessary to purchase a house, to which another was added in 1697. In 1698, there were 100 orphans under his charge to be clothed and fed, besides 500 children who were taught as day scholars. The schools grew in importance and were later known as the '' Franckesche Stiftungen''. The education given was strictly religious. Hebrew was included, while the Greek and Latin classics were neglected; the ''Homilies of Macarius'' took the place of
Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
. A chemist, whom Francke had visited on his deathbed, bequeathed to him the recipe for compounding certain medicines, which afterwards yielded an annual income of more than $20,000, and made the institution independent. Shortly after its founding, the institution comprised an orphan asylum, a Latin school, a German (or burgher) school, and a seminary for training teachers for these establishments. Although Francke's principal aim was religious instruction, he also taught
natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
and physical exercises and manual trades. He ran an apothecary's shop and, having assisted his friend Carl Hildebrand von Canstein in founding the first modern
Bible society A Bible society is a non-profit organization, usually nondenominational in makeup, devoted to translating, publishing, and distributing the Bible at affordable prices. In recent years they also are increasingly involved in advocating its credibi ...
, a
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
for publishing cheap copies of the Bible for mass distribution. At the time of Francke's death, the schools were frequented by more than 2,300 pupils. Francke's schools provided a prototype which greatly influenced later German education. In his university teaching as well, he gave great emphasis to religion. Even as professor of Greek, he had given great prominence in his lectures to the study of the Scriptures; but he found a much more congenial sphere when, in 1698, he was appointed to the chair of theology. Yet his first courses of lectures in that department were readings and expositions of the Old and New Testament; and to this, as also to
hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...
, he always attached special importance, believing that for theology a sound exegesis was the one indispensable requisite. "Theologus nascitur in scripturis," he used to say; but during his occupancy of the theological chair he lectured at various times upon other branches of theology also. Amongst his colleagues were Paul Anton, Joachim J. Breithaupt, Joachim Lange and
Johann Juncker Johann Juncker (23 December 1679 in Londorf, Hesse – 25 October 1759 in Halle) was a German physician and chemist. Juncker was a leader in the Pietist reform movement as it applied to medicine. He directed the Francke Foundations and initiated ...
—men who shared his beliefs. Through their influence upon the students, Halle became a centre from which Pietism became very widely diffused over Germany. Under Francke's influence, Christian missionary efforts were greatly enhanced, zeal was aroused and recruits for Christian missions were gained, and Halle also became the centre for the
Danish-Halle Mission The Tranquebar Mission ( da, Trankebarmissionen; ta, தரங்கம்பாடி பணி) was established in 1706 by two German missionaries from Halle namely, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau. Ziegenbalg and Plütschau ...
to India.


Works

Francke's principal contributions to theological literature were: ' (1693); ' (1717); ' (1724); and ' (1726-1736). The ''Manuductio'' was translated into English in 1813, under the title ''A Guide to the Reading and Study of the Holy Scriptures''. An account of his orphanage, entitled ', (1709), which subsequently passed through several editions, has also been partially translated, under the title ''The Footsteps of Divine Providence, or, The Bountiful Hand of Heaven Defraying the Expenses of Faith''. *Francke, August Hermann (1704): ''August Hermann Franckes Schrift über eine Reform des Erziehungs- und Bildungswesens als Ausgangspunkt einer geistlichen und sozialen Neuordnung der Evangelischen Kirche des 18. Jahrhunderts: der Grosse Aufsatz. Mit einer quellenkundlichen Einführung.'' Hrsg. v. Otto Podczeck. Berlin. Akademie 1962.


Notes


References

* * * . * * * *Brigitte Klosterberg:
The “Mission Archives” in the Archives of the Francke Foundations in Halle
" in:
MIDA Archival Reflexicon
' (2020), ISSN 2628-5029, 9 pp. Attribution *


Further reading

*Sattler, Gary R. (1982). ''God's Glory, Neighbor's Good: A brief introduction to the life and writings of August Hermann Francke.'' Chicago: Covenant Press. . *Yoder, Peter James (2021)

University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. .


External links

* Augustus Hermann Franck
Christ the sum and substance of all the Holy Scriptures, in the Old and New Testament
Published 1732 * Augustus Hermann Franck
Nicodemus, or, A treatise against the fear of man
Published 1831 *Augustus Hermann Franck
A guide to the reading and study of the Holy Scriptures
Published 1823 * Heinrich Ernst Ferdinand Guericke, 1803-187
Life of Augustus Herman Franke
Published 1847
Memoirs of Augustus Hermann Francke
by American Sunday-School Union 1831 {{DEFAULTSORT:Francke, August Hermann 1663 births 1727 deaths Clergy from Lübeck German Lutheran theologians 17th-century Latin-language writers 18th-century Latin-language writers 18th-century German male writers 17th-century Lutherans 18th-century Lutherans Christian Hebraists People from the Duchy of Magdeburg 18th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers Georgia Salzburgers Pietists 17th-century Lutheran theologians 18th-century Lutheran theologians