|
Johannes BugenhagenBorn in Eastern Pomerania in 1485, Johannes Bugenhagen studied humanism in Greifswald and was ordained as priest before holding diverse positions as teacher of the Holy Scriptures and of the early fathers of the church. Initially Luther's anti-Roman paper "The Babylonian Captivity", published in 1521, was met with total rejection by Bugenhagen. After intensive study of this hypothesis, he did however become a firm supporter of the Reformation Movement and moved to Wittenberg. "Doctor Pommer", as Luther called him, became one of the most effective reformers. He was not only active as Wittenberg's town priest from 1523 onwards, Luther`s personal spiritual adviser and theology lecturer at the Wittenberg University, but also an exceptionally good organizer and indispensable for the Reformation in northern Germany and Scandinavia. He founded a church polity for Braunschweig, Hamburg, Luebeck, Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, Hildesheim, Braunschweig-Wolfenbuettel and Denmark; he even helped with the initiation and realization of the polity in these areas. They not only regulated the worship service, but also far reaching things such as the educational system and social matters. In 1539 Bugenhagen was made superintendent general of the Electorate of Saxony. After Martin Luther's death Bugenhagen attended to his widow and children. Johannes Bugenhagen died in Wittenberg in 1558. His tombstone can be seen in the City Church in Wittenberg. |
|