Christian Scriver (2 January 1629 – 5 April 1693) was a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister and devotional writer.

Biography

Christian Scriver was born at

Rendsburg Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...

in the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been div ...

, Germany. He entered the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...

in 1647. He was awarded a master's degree in Theology in 1651. During 1653, he was appointed

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

at Stendal. He was called in 1667 to

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

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

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

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

, 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 a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and thus prepared the way for

Pietism 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. Although the movement is ali ...

, even while himself maintaining strict

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

. 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 The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

from misery to eternal life and combining

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

, dogmatics, and

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

. 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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Note

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 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