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Stephan Prætorius | |
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Stephan Prätorius | |
 Stephan Prætorius | |
| Born | (1536-05-03)3 May 1536 |
| Died | 4 May 1603(1603-05-04) (aged 67) Salzwedel |
| Occupation(s) | minister, author |
| Notable work | Acht-und-fünfzig schöne, auserlesne, geist- und trostreiche Traktätlein |
| Theological work | |
| Language | German |
Stephan Praetorius (orPrætorius) (German:Stephan Prätorius; 3 May 1536, inSalzwedel – 4 May 1603,[1] in Salzwedel) was a GermanLutherantheologian andpastor.
Prætorius was born in Salzwedel,Margraviate of Brandenburg. He was educated at theUniversity of Rostock,[2] where he also taught in the local schools; was ordained byAgricola atBerlin in 1565; becamepreacher in the same year at the monastery of the Holy Ghost at Salzwedel, and soon afterdeacon of the Church of St. Mary's; and from 1569 until his death was pastor in Salzwedel.
A great admirer ofMartin Luther, and an opponent ofJesuitism andCalvinism alike, Prætorius laid great stress on thesacraments, though not in theRoman Catholic sense, and held tojustification by faith, though he also insisted on purity of life.
He was a precursor ofJohann Arndt andPhilipp Jakob Spener, though notPietist in the narrow sense. His lack of caution brought upon him the charges ofantinomianism and "perfectionism", the latter theory later even being called "Prætorianism". Through his tracts, published by him or his friends after 1570, Prætorius exercised an influence far beyond his own congregation. These were collected and published by Arndt under the titleAcht-und-fünfzig schöne, auserlesne, geist- und trostreiche Traktätlein (Lüneburg, 1622),[3] containing also fourteen hymns with their melodies, one of them being "Was hat gethan der heilige Christ?" Prætorius was also one of the few Protestant theologians of his century who exhorted the Christianity to comply with the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel.[4]
Prætorius' tracts were later arranged in the form of dialogues, with certain moderations, by M. Statius in hisGeistliche Schatzkammer der Gläubigen (Lüneburg, 1636, and often). There arose over his writings the Prætorian controversy,Abraham Calovius assailing the view of Prætorius and Statius that the faithful possess salvation not only in prospect but in reality. Spener's antagonist, G. C. Dilfeld, considered Prætorius akin to Esaias Stiefel, and the general superintendent ofGreifswald, Tiburtius Rango,[5] secured the prohibition of theSchatzkammer inSwedish Pomerania. Despite all this, Prætorius' writings were continually read, and in the second quarter of the 17th century, they influenced a circle of converts inCottbus and its vicinity. Spener frequently alludes to him admiringly, and theSchatzkammer has been revised by the Kornthal pastor J. H. Stoudt (Stuttgart, 1869).
This article incorporates text from a publication in thepublic domain: Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1911). "Prætorius, Stephan".New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 9 (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls. p. 151.
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