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Justus Jonas | |
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| Born | (1493-06-05)5 June 1493 |
| Died | 5 October 1555(1555-10-05) (aged 62) Eisfeld,Duchy of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire |
| Education | University of Erfurt |
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Justus Jonas, the Elder (5 June 1493 – 9 October 1555), or simplyJustus Jonas, was a GermanLutheran theologian and reformer. He was aJurist,Professor andHymn writer. He is best known for his translations of the writings ofMartin Luther andPhilipp Melanchthon.[1] He accompanied Martin Luther in his final moments.
Jonas was born atNordhausen in present-dayThuringia where he was the son of the burgermeister. His birth name was Jodokus (Jobst) Koch, which he changed according to the common custom of German scholars in the sixteenth century, when at theUniversity of Erfurt. He entered that university in 1506, studied law and thehumanities, and became Master of Arts in 1510. In 1511, he went toUniversity of Wittenberg, where he took his bachelor's degree in law. He returned toErfurt inThuringia during 1514 or 1515 was ordained priest.[2][3][4]
In 1518, he was appointedCanon of St. Severus Church (Severikirche) in Erfurt which was a collegiate church. In 1519, he becameRector of theUniversity of Erfurt. In 1521, he was appointed Probst ofAll Saints' Church (Schlosskirche) at Wittenberg and Professor of Church Law in theUniversity of Wittenberg. From 1541 to 1546, he served as superintendent and chief pastor atHalle.[5]
His great admiration forErasmus first led him to Greek, Hebrew andBiblical studies, and his election in May 1519 as rector of the university was regarded as a triumph for the partisans of theNew Learning. It was not, however, until after theLeipzig Disputation withJohann Eck thatMartin Luther won his allegiance. He accompanied Luther to theDiet of Worms in 1521, and there was appointed professor of canon law at Wittenberg.[4]
During Luther's stay in theWartburg, Jonas was one of the most active of the Wittenberg reformers. Giving himself up to preaching and polemics, he aided theReformation by his gift as a translator, turning Luther's andMelanchthon's works into German or Latin as the case might be, thus becoming a sort of double of both.[4] Jonas also assisted Luther with his translation of theBible into the German language.[6]
One of the eight hymns in thefirst Lutheran hymnal is attributed to him,In Jesu Namen wir heben an (In the name of Jesus we begin), which appeared in 1524 with four hymns byMartin Luther and three byPaul Speratus.[7] His hymnWo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, a paraphrase ofPsalm 124, was published in theErfurtEnchiridion in 1524. It was used by several composers as a base for organ and choral music, including Bach'schorale cantataBWV 178.[8]
Jonas was busy in conferences (including a prominent role in the Reformation conferences at Marburg (1529) and Augsburg (1530)) and visitations during the next twenty years, and in diplomatic work with the princes.[4] In the autumn of 1531, Jonas published a German translation of theApology of the Augsburg Confession, and in 1541, he began a successful preaching crusade inHalle, becoming superintendent of its churches in 1542 or 1544 and priest in theMarket Church of Our Dear Lady (Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen) the city ofHalle, Saxony-Anhalt.[9]
Martin Luther became severely ill and visited his friend during Christmas in 1545. Jonas was present at Luther's deathbed atEisleben, and preached the funeral sermon; in a procession Luther's body was taken to Halle and buried in Wittenberg. In the same year Jonas was banished from the duchy byMaurice, Duke of Saxony. From that time until his death, Jonas was unable to secure a satisfactory living.[4] He wandered from place to place preaching, and finally went toEisfeld, Thuringia (1553), where he died, aged 62.[10]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Jonas, Justus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 497.
