Christian Scriver (2 January 1629 – 5 April 1693) 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 Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

minister and devotional writer.

Biography

Christian Scriver was born at Rendsburg in the Duchy of Schleswig, Germany. He entered the University of Rostock in 1647. He was awarded a master's degree in Theology in 1651. During 1653, he was appointed archdeacon at

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...

. He was called in 1667 to Magdeburg in Saxony as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. James's Church (''Sankt-Jakobi-Kirche Magdeburg''). Here he remained twenty-three years, until in 1690 he was made chief court chaplain at

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

, a position which he held until his death. The friend of Philipp Jakob Spener, Scriver was one of those theologians of the latter part of the seventeenth century who opposed the formalism then besetting

Lutheranism 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 ...

, and thus prepared the way for Pietism, even while himself maintaining strict orthodoxy. Scriver died in

. The writings of Scriver were devotional, including ''Gottholds vierhundert zufällige Andachten'' (1667; last ed., Basel, 1893; Eng. transl., (''Gotthold's Emblems: or, Invisible Things understood by Things that are made''), by R. Menzies, Edinburgh, 1857), a collection of 400 parables; ''Gotthold's Siech- und Siegesbette'' (1687; new ed., Stuttgart, 1870); and ''Chrysologia Catechetica, Goldpredigten über die Hauptstücke des lutherischen Katechismus'' (1687; new ed., Stuttgart, 1861). The collected works of Scriver have been edited by J. H. Heinrich and R. Stier (6 vols., Barmen, 1847–52). His most important work was ''Seelen-Schatz'' ("The Soul's Treasure", 5 parts, 1675-1692; new ed., 3 vols., Berlin, 1852–53), describing the progress of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

from misery to eternal life and combining allegory, dogmatics, and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

. It has been translated into numerous languages, including Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Finnish. Scriver was also a hymn-writer, though his hymns never gained wide acceptance. A number of his compositions have been translated into English including ''Auf, Seel, und danke deinem Herrn'' ("To God, my soul, thank-offerings pay") and ''Hier lieg ich nun, mein Gott, zu deinen Füssen'' ("Here, O my God, I cast me at Thy feet"). His most well-known hymn ''Den lieben Sonne Licht und Pracht'' ("Love the sun light and splendor") is found in a number of renderings.''Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works Der lieben Sonne Licht und Pracht'' (Bach Cantatas.com)
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References

Other sources

*Lund, Eric (2011) ''Seventeenth-Century Lutheran Meditations and Hymns'' (New York: Paulist Press)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scriver, Christian 1629 births 1693 deaths People from Rendsburg People from the Duchy of Schleswig German Lutherans 17th-century German writers 17th-century Lutherans Early modern Christian devotional writers German Lutheran hymnwriters Lutheran writers 17th-century hymnwriters University of Rostock alumni 17th-century German male writers 17th-century Lutheran theologians 18th-century Lutheran theologians

Biography

See also

Note

References

Other sources

External links