David Pareus
Encyclopedia
David Pareus was a German
Reformed
Protestant theologian
and reformer.
, whom he accompanied to Amberg
, in 1566; but immediately entered the Collegium Sapientiae
, at Heidelberg. His father disinherited him because of the opinions that David formed during his studies, under Zacharias Ursinus
. On May 13, 1571, he became pastor at Niederschlettenbach
and six months later a teacher in the Paedagogium at Heidelberg. On August 24, 1573, he resumed the pastorate in the previously Roman Catholic village of Hemsbach
; where, with the consent of the congregation, he reconstructed the church along Reformed lines.
Dismissed from his office after the death of Frederick III, Elector Palatine
, Pareus was appointed, in 1577, by Count Palatine
Johann Casimir, pastor at Oggersheim. Transferred to Winzingen in 1580, he cultivated acquaintance with the teachers at the Casimirianum, in the neighboring Neustadt
. After the death of Ludwig VI, Johann Casimir, acting as regent of the Palatinate, called Pareus as teacher to the Collegium Sapientiae
in September 1584. Pareus became the director of the Collegium in 1591. In 1598, he entered the theological faculty as teacher of the Old Testament and from 1602 until his death he taught the New Testament. He attracted many students from far and wide. From 1592, he belonged to the Palatine church council. In September 1621, as the Spanish troops approached the Palatinate, Pareus fled to Annweiler, and later to Neustadt. Then, when Frederick V, Elector Palatine
returned temporarily to the Palatinate, Pareus returned to Heidelberg, in May 1622, where he died on June 15, 1622.
He was survived only by his son Philipp (1576-1648), who issued his father's writings, to which he pre fixed a life (Frankfort, 1647).
Pareus further contended against Johann Georg Siegwart in Sieg der Neustädtischen Bibel (Neustadt, 1591), and with Egidius Hunnius, in 1593-99, who accused him of the judaizing error of the Reformed party, with Clypeus veritatis catholicae de sacrosancta trinitate and Orthodoxus Calvinus. He also issued various tracts against the papacy (1604-17).
Despite these many literary battles, Pareus was by nature irenic. In constructive activity were the many editions, after 1593, of his Summarische Erklärung der Katholischen in der Churpfalz geübten Lehre; and his numerous commentaries on the Old and New Testament Scriptures (published 1605-1618). In the Irenicum sive de unione et synodo evangelicorum liber votivus (Heidelberg, 1614-1615), he proposed a general synod of all Evangelicals to unite the Lutherans and the Calvinists, who, he represents, were surely at one in every essential. On only one point, however, not affecting the foundation of belief, was there divergence. This appeal of Pareus brought little response from his contemporaries, and his overture for peace was rejected by the Lutheran theologians Hutter
and Siegwart.
Pareus advocated calling rulers to account for their actions. These opinions were viewed with suspicion by the absolute monarchy of James I of England
. In 1622, authorities in Oxford
were ordered to search libraries and bookshops and to burn every copy of his work.
Attribution
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Reformed
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
Protestant theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and reformer.
Life
He was born at Frankenstein December 30, 1548. He was apprenticed to an apothecary and again to a shoemaker. In 1564 he entered the school of Christoph Schilling at HirschbergHirschberg
The German word Hirschberg is composed of Hirsch and Berg . It may refer to:* several places in Europe, including:** Hirschberg, Thuringia, Germany.** Hirschberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
, whom he accompanied to Amberg
Amberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
, in 1566; but immediately entered the Collegium Sapientiae
Collegium Sapientiae
The Collegium Sapientiae was a preparatory academy and later theological seminary in Heidelberg in the early modern period....
, at Heidelberg. His father disinherited him because of the opinions that David formed during his studies, under Zacharias Ursinus
Zacharias Ursinus
Zacharias Ursinus was a sixteenth century German Reformed theologian, born Zacharias Baer in Breslau . He became the leading theologian of the Reformed Protestant movement of the Palatinate, serving both at the University of Heidelberg and the College of Wisdom...
. On May 13, 1571, he became pastor at Niederschlettenbach
Niederschlettenbach
Niederschlettenbach is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
and six months later a teacher in the Paedagogium at Heidelberg. On August 24, 1573, he resumed the pastorate in the previously Roman Catholic village of Hemsbach
Hemsbach
Hemsbach is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the Bergstraße, 18 km northeast of Mannheim.Hemsbach has restored one of the synagogues that flourished in the town before Kristallnacht....
; where, with the consent of the congregation, he reconstructed the church along Reformed lines.
Dismissed from his office after the death of Frederick III, Elector Palatine
Frederick III, Elector Palatine
Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Palatinate from the childless Elector Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine in 1559...
, Pareus was appointed, in 1577, by Count Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
Johann Casimir, pastor at Oggersheim. Transferred to Winzingen in 1580, he cultivated acquaintance with the teachers at the Casimirianum, in the neighboring Neustadt
Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Neustadt an der Weinstraße is a town located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,892 inhabitants as of 2002, it is the largest town called Neustadt.-Etymology:...
. After the death of Ludwig VI, Johann Casimir, acting as regent of the Palatinate, called Pareus as teacher to the Collegium Sapientiae
Collegium Sapientiae
The Collegium Sapientiae was a preparatory academy and later theological seminary in Heidelberg in the early modern period....
in September 1584. Pareus became the director of the Collegium in 1591. In 1598, he entered the theological faculty as teacher of the Old Testament and from 1602 until his death he taught the New Testament. He attracted many students from far and wide. From 1592, he belonged to the Palatine church council. In September 1621, as the Spanish troops approached the Palatinate, Pareus fled to Annweiler, and later to Neustadt. Then, when Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....
returned temporarily to the Palatinate, Pareus returned to Heidelberg, in May 1622, where he died on June 15, 1622.
He was survived only by his son Philipp (1576-1648), who issued his father's writings, to which he pre fixed a life (Frankfort, 1647).
Works
Pareus began his literary activity with a tract against the doctrine of ubiquity, Methodus ubitquitariae controversiae (Neustadt, 1586). Polemical matter accompanied his issue of the Neustadter Bibel, 1587, an edition of Luther's translation, with appended table of contents and superscriptions. Jakob Andrea, in his Christliche Erinnerung (Tabingen, 1589), styled this publication an "arrant piece of knavery"; while Pareus, in Rettung der Neustadter Bibel (Neustadt, 1589), answered in a more moderate tone.Pareus further contended against Johann Georg Siegwart in Sieg der Neustädtischen Bibel (Neustadt, 1591), and with Egidius Hunnius, in 1593-99, who accused him of the judaizing error of the Reformed party, with Clypeus veritatis catholicae de sacrosancta trinitate and Orthodoxus Calvinus. He also issued various tracts against the papacy (1604-17).
Despite these many literary battles, Pareus was by nature irenic. In constructive activity were the many editions, after 1593, of his Summarische Erklärung der Katholischen in der Churpfalz geübten Lehre; and his numerous commentaries on the Old and New Testament Scriptures (published 1605-1618). In the Irenicum sive de unione et synodo evangelicorum liber votivus (Heidelberg, 1614-1615), he proposed a general synod of all Evangelicals to unite the Lutherans and the Calvinists, who, he represents, were surely at one in every essential. On only one point, however, not affecting the foundation of belief, was there divergence. This appeal of Pareus brought little response from his contemporaries, and his overture for peace was rejected by the Lutheran theologians Hutter
Leonhard Hutter
Leonhard Hutter was a German Lutheran theologian.-Life:He was born at Nellingen near Ulm. From 1581 he studied at the universities of Strasbourg, Leipzig, Heidelberg and Jena...
and Siegwart.
Pareus advocated calling rulers to account for their actions. These opinions were viewed with suspicion by the absolute monarchy of James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. In 1622, authorities in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
were ordered to search libraries and bookshops and to burn every copy of his work.
Sources
- http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc08/Page_353.html
Attribution