Justus Gesenius
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Justus Gesenius (b. at Esbeck (near
Elze Elze () is a town in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approximately west of Hildesheim. The municipality of Elze also comprises the villages of ''Esbeck, Mehle, Sehlde, Sorsum, Wittenburg'' ...
), in the
principality of Calenberg The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the Welf duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg established in 1432. Calenberg was ruled by the House of Hanover from 1635 onwards; the princes received the ninth electoral dignity of the Holy Roman ...
, 6 July 1601 - d. at
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
18 September 1673) was a
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 ...
theologian of the seventeenth century, known for his catechisms. His father was preacher at Esbeck. Having received his early education at the Adreanum in
Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...
, he went in his eighteenth year to the
University of Helmstedt The University of Helmstedt (german: Universität Helmstedt; official Latin name: ''Academia Julia'', "Julius University"), was a university in Helmstedt in the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that existed from 1576 until 1810. History Founded ...
, where he studied under
Georg Calixtus Georg Calixtus, Kallisøn/Kallisön, or Callisen (14 December 1586 – 19 March 1656) was a German Lutheran theologian who looked to reconcile all Christendom by removing all differences that he deemed "unimportant". Biography Calixtus was born i ...
and Conrad Horneius. In 1628 he took his degree of master of philosophy in Jena and was called as pastor to the church of St. Magnus in Brunswick. After seven years of beneficent activity there, he received a call to Hildesheim, the seat of George, duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg, as court chaplain and preacher in the Collegiate of St. Blaise. After the duke's death (1641), he, as well as the whole
consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...
, removed to
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, where he became chief court chaplain and general
superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
of the principality of Calenberg. Later (1665) he was general superintendent of Grubenhagen as well. He received the degree of doctor of divinity in 1643 for a dissertation, ''De igne purgatorio''. Gesenius' importance lies chiefly in the services he rendered in the production of good hymnals and
catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
s. With his friend
David Denicke David Denicke (30 January 1603 – 1 April 1680) was a German jurist and hymn writer. Born in Zittau, he studied law and philosophy and became a lecturer in Königsberg. He traveled from 1625 to 1628 to Holland, England and France. In 1629, he beca ...
, he brought out a hymnal containing 222 hymns (Hanover, 1646), which was later enlarged and arranged for use in the churches. The compilers did not confine themselves to collecting and arranging the hymns, but also adapted many of the older ones and probably added a few of their own composition. To correct the prevailing ignorance in regard to Christian doctrine, Gesenius, in 1631, brought out his ''Kleine Katechismusschule'', or " Brief Instruction as to how the Catechism Should be Taught to the Young and the Simple " (often reprinted). Later, by order of Duke George and of the consistory, he issued an abridgment of this work under the title ''Kleine Catechismusfragen über den kleinen Catechismum Lutheri'' (1639 and manytimes republished). This work constitutes the celebrated catechism of Gesenius, which was introduced into all the schools of the principality of Calenberg and gained great repute in many parts of
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
. Notwithstanding the praise which was accorded the author, he was violently attacked, especially by Statius Buscher in his ''Cryptopapismus novae theologiae Helmstadiensis'' (Hamburg, 1638). Although Gesenius justified himself in a ''Grundliche Widerlegung'' (Lunenburg, 1641) and although his innocence was established through an investigation by impartial theologians, it must be admitted that, carried away by his zeal for a lively faith and for better knowledge, he allowed himself to wander from the straight path of Lutheran doctrine. Of the charge that he was secretly a
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 ...
he clears himself in his last important work, ''Warum willst du nicht römisch-katholisch werden, wie deine Vorfahren waren?'' (4 parts, Hanover, 1669 72). The strife concerning his ''Catechismusfragen'' was renewed in the eighteenth century, when King George I, in 1723, sought vainly to introduce Gesenius' catechism into the
duchies of Bremen and Verden ), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...
(cf. ''Unschuldige Nachrichten'', 1724). In addition to the other services rendered by Gesenius to the cause of religious education, he published, in 1656, a manual of instruction in Biblical history, ''Biblische Historien Alten and Neuen Testaments''.


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Justus Gesenius (Hymn-Writer) - Bach Cantatas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gesenius, Justus 1601 births 1673 deaths German Lutheran theologians German Lutheran hymnwriters University of Helmstedt alumni 17th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers 17th-century hymnwriters 17th-century German writers 17th-century German male writers