Johannes Evangelista Gossner (14 December 1773 – 20 March 1858),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

and

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 ...

, was born at Hausen near

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. He was educated at the

University of Dillingen The University of Dillingen, at Dillingen an der Donau in southern Germany, existed from 1551 to 1803. It was located in Swabia, then a district of Bavaria. Foundation Its founder was Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg, Prince-Bishop of Augsbur ...

. He, like

Martin Boos Martin Boos (25 December 176229 August 1825) was a German Roman Catholic theologian. Life He was born at Huttenried in Bavaria. Orphaned at the age of four, he was reared by an uncle at Augsburg, who finally sent him to the University of Dillin ...

and others, came under the spell of the Evangelical movement promoted by

Johann Michael Sailer Johann Michael Sailer (17 October 1751, in Aresing – 20 May 1832, in Regensburg) was a German Jesuit theologian and philosopher, and Bishop of Regensburg. Sailer was a major contributor to the Catholic Enlightenment. Biography Sailer was born ...

, the professor of

pastoral theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as a ...

. After taking priests' orders, Gossner held livings at Dirlewang (1804-1811) and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

(1811-1817), but his evangelical tendencies brought about his dismissal and in 1826 he formally left the

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 ...

for the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

communion. As

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

(

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

) minister of Bethlehem's Church (1829-1846), 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 ...

and Reformed

simultaneum A shared church (german: Simultankirche), simultaneum mixtum, a term first coined in 16th-century Germany, is a church in which public worship is conducted by adherents of two or more religious groups. Such churches became common in the German-sp ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, he was conspicuous not only for practical and effective preaching, but for the founding of schools, asylums and missionary agencies. In 1836, he founded the Gossner Mission, which aimed for a holistic understanding of mission (preaching the gospel and church social service). Its purpose was “to train young men from the craftsman class and every other class in a shorter and less expensive way than usual to become assistants in the mission, to become deacons, catechists, school teachers and collaborators in the holy work.” They have to work in “apostolic, unbound and humble simplicity”, following the example of the congregation of the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

“under the presidency of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

.“Werner Raupp (Ed.), 1990 (Sources), p. 260, 258. This missionary work is still active today in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and, among other places, in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. Lives of Gossner have been written by

Bethmann Hollweg Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was the chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry into World War I. According to biog ...

(Berlin, 1858) and Hermann Dalton (Berlin, 1878).

Sources

* Werner Raupp (Ed.): Mission in Quellentexten. Geschichte der Deutschen Evangelischen Mission von der Reformation bis zur Weltmissionskonferenz Edinburgh 1910, Erlangen/Bad Liebenzell 1990 (ISBN 3-87214-238-0 / 3-88002-424-3), S. 258-261 (Sources from the founding periode, incl. Introd. and Lit.).

References

External links

Gossner, Johannes Evangelista
from Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
Gossner Missionary Society
from

Christian Cyclopedia ''Christian Cyclopedia'' (originally ''Lutheran Cyclopedia'') is a one-volume compendium of theological data, ranging from ancient figures to contemporary events. It is published by Concordia Publishing House as an update to the Concordia Cyclope ...

Gossner Mission Homepage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gossner, Johannes 1773 births 1858 deaths 19th-century German Roman Catholic priests German Protestant clergy German philanthropists Converts to Calvinism from Roman Catholicism Founders of Indian schools and colleges

Sources

Further reading

References

See also

References

External links