Johann Heß (23 September 1490 – 5 January 1547) was a German

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...

 Lutheran

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

 theologian and Protestant Reformer of Breslau (Wroclaw)

Wroclaw

Wrocław , situated on the River Oder , is the main city of southwestern Poland.Wrocław was the historical capital of Silesia and is today the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Over the centuries, the city has been part of either Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, or Germany, but since 1945...

.

Heß was born in Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

. He attended the universities of Leipzig

University of Leipzig

The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...

 and Wittenberg, where he was taught in jurisprudence and liberal arts. In Wittenberg he became a follower of Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

, and stayed in touch with the Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 when he relocated to Neisse (Nysa)

Nysa, Poland

Nysa is a town in southwestern Poland on the Nysa Kłodzka river with 47,545 inhabitants , situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Nysa County. It comprises the urban portion of the surrounding Gmina Nysa, a mixed urban-rural commune with a total population of 60,123 inhabitants...

 in 1513 as the secretary of Johannes V. Thurzo

Thurzo

Thurzo or Turzo was a Hungarian noble family from the 15th century to the first half of the 17th century.The ancestors of the Thurzo family came to the Kingdom of Hungary from Lower Austria....

, bishop of Breslau. In 1518 Heß moved to Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 to study theology, completing his studies there in 1519. On the way back to Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

 he stopped in Wittenberg

Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....

 and became a friend of Philipp Melanchthon

Philipp Melanchthon

Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...

. In 1520 he was ordained to the priesthood and in 1523 Heß was pressed by the city council of Breslau (probably at the instigation of Laurentius Corvinus

Laurentius Corvinus

Laurentius Corvinus was a Silesian scholar who lectured as an ‘extraordinary’ professor at the University of Krakow when Nicolaus Copernicus began to study there...

) to become pastor of St. Maria Magdalena church. In the coming years he slowly introduced Protestant teachings in Breslau, presenting his ideas in a disputation

Disputation

In the scholastic system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences...

 at St Dorothy's monastery at Breslau in 1524. His careful approach even normalized the relationship to Catholic bishop Jakob von Salza. Theologically he, Ambrosius Moibanus

Ambrosius Moibanus

Ambrosius Moibanus was a German Lutheran theologian and reformer, and first Lutheran pastor at St Elisabeth's church in Breslau .He was active in Silesia. He was an opponent of the Anabaptists, and pressed for their persecution....

, pastor of St. Elisabeth church, and the city council of Breslau sided with Wittenberg and opposed Caspar Schwenckfeld and his followers in Liegnitz (Legnica)

Legnica

Legnica is a town in south-western Poland, in Silesia, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the plain of Legnica, riverside: Kaczawa and Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 and 31 December 1998 Legnica was the capital of the Legnica Voivodeship. It is currently the seat of the county...

. In 1541 he took part in the Conference of Regensburg

Conference of Regensburg

The Colloquy of Regensburg, historically called the Colloquy of Ratisbon, was a conference held at Regensburg in 1541, during the Protestant Reformation, which marks the culmination of attempts to restore religious unity in the Holy Roman Empire by means of theological debate.-Background:Delegates...

. In 1547 Heß died in Breslau.