Franz Hermann Reinhold von Frank (May 2, 1827 – February 7, 1894) was a German

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 ...

born in

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

. He was an important figure in the "Erlangen School" of the German

Neo-Lutheranism Neo-Lutheranism was a 19th-century revival movement within Lutheranism which began with the Pietist-driven '' Erweckung,'' or ''Awakening'', and developed in reaction against theological rationalism and pietism. This movement followed the Old L ...

movement, and a specialist in theological dogmatics. In 1850 he received his PhD at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

, where he was a disciple of Gottlieb Christoph von Harless. Afterwards, he worked as a school subrector in

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtu ...

, and in 1853 began teaching classes at the Gymnasium in

. In 1857 he was appointed professor of church history and systematic theology at the University of Erlangen. He died in

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inha ...

Written works

* ''System der christlichen Gewissheit'', 1870-1873 (2 volumes) – System of Christian certainty. * ''System der christlichen Wahrheit'', 1878-1880 (2 volumes) – System of Christian truth. * ''System der christlichen Sittlichkeit'', 1884-1887 (2 volumes) – System of Christian morality. * ''Über die kirchliche Bedeutung der Theologie A. Ritschl's: Conferenzvortrag'', 1888 – On the ecclesiastical importance of Albrecht Ritschl's theology. * ''Zur Theologie A. Ritschl's'' (third edition, 1891) – On the theology of Albrecht Ritschl. * ''Dogmatische Studien'', 1892 – Dogmatic studies. * ''Geschichte und Kritik der neueren Theologie insbesondere der systematischen, seit Schleiermacher'', 1898 – History and criticism of modern theology : in particular, the systematic, since

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional ...

References

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
(biography) 1827 births 1894 deaths People from Altenburg 19th-century German Protestant theologians German Lutheran theologians Historians of Christianity Leipzig University alumni University of Erlangen-Nuremberg faculty German male non-fiction writers 19th-century male writers German historians of religion 19th-century Lutherans {{christianity-historian-stub