Johannes Brenz

Johannes Brenz
Theologian
Spouse(s)	Katharina Brenz

Johann (Johannes) Brenz (24 June 1499 – 11 September 1570) was a German

.

Early advocacy of the Reformation

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v t e

Brenz was born in the then

Opposed by the Emperor

After the last remnants of the ancient regulations of the church of Hall had been abolished, his new rules appeared in 1543. Calls to Leipzig in 1542, to Tübingen in 1543, and to Strasbourg in 1548 were declined in favor of his position at Hall. Brenz had long opposed the adherence of Hall and the margrave to the Schmalkaldic League, since he regarded resistance to the temporal authorities as inadmissible. Gradually, however, his views changed, through the hostile attitude of the emperor. In 1538 Hall entered the League, and after its defeat Charles V came to the city (on 16 December 1546) and obtained possession of papers, letters, and sermons of Brenz, who, despite the bitter cold, was obliged to flee, although he returned on 4 January 1547. The new Augsburg Interim of the emperor, which Brenz called interitus ("ruin"), recalled him to the scene of action, and he earnestly opposed its adoption. The imperial chancellor, Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, demanded his surrender, and Brenz, warned by a note reading: "Flee, Brenz, quickly, more quickly, most quickly!" escaped on the evening of his forty-ninth birthday, 24 June 1548. He hastened to Duke Ulrich, who concealed him in the castle of Hohenwittlingen near Urach, where, under the pseudonym of Joannes Witlingius, he prepared an exposition of Ps. xciii and cxxx. As the emperor was everywhere searching for him, Ulrich sent him by way of Strasbourg to Basel, where he was kindly received and found time to write an exposition of the prophecy of Isaiah. Duke Christopher called him to Montbéliard, where, in January 1549, Brenz was notified of the death of his wife. The condition of his children induced him to go to Swabia, but owing to the pursuit of the emperor, he was often in great danger, and the duke sheltered him in the castle of Hornberg near Gutach. There he spent eighteen months under the name of Huldrich Engster (Encaustius), always active for the welfare of the Church, both by his advice to the duke and his theological labors. He declined calls to Magdeburg, Königsberg, and England. In August 1549 he ventured to go to Urach, where his friend Isenmann was now minister, in order to take counsel with the duke, his advisers, and Matthaeus Alber, regarding the restoration of the evangelical divine service. In the autumn of 1550 he married his second wife Catherine, the oldest daughter of Isenmann.^[1]

Activity, 1550–53

After Ulrich's death Brenz was asked to prepare the confessio Wirtembergica for the Council of Trent, and with three other Wittenberg theologians and Johann Marbach of Strasbourg, he went to Trent in March 1552 to defend his creed (see Jakob Beurlin). Great was the surprise of the fathers of the council, but they refused to be instructed by those who were to obey them. The Interim was abolished. Brenz who had thus far lived at Stuttgart, Tübingen, Ehningen, and Sindelfingen as counselor of the duke, was made provost of the Cathedral of Stuttgart on 24 September 1554 and appointed ducal counselor for life. He was now the right hand of duke Christoph in the reorganization of ecclesiastical and educational affairs in Württemberg. The great church order of 1553–59, containing also the confessio Wirtembergica, in spite of its dogmatism, is distinguished by clearness, mildness, and consideration. In like manner, his Catechismus pia et utile explicatione illustratus (Frankfort, 1551) became a rich source of instruction for many generations and countries. The proposition made by

Controversies

The

• Where Faith Comes From, a sermon by Johannes Brenz. Tr. by Jacob C. Behnken.
• Godly magistrates and church order
• Homily on John 15:26-27, translated by Nathaniel J. Biebert (Red Brick Parsonage, 2014).

Notes

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References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
  New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
  (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls.
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Brenz, Johann" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

External links

• "Brenz, Johann" .
  New International Encyclopedia
  . 1905.