An early death of father Edzard Ludolfi
in 1600 resulted in Edzardi’s move to Jever where he was raised by his maternal
grandfather, the superintendent Jodocus von Glan (or Glanaeus – the Latin
version of von Glan). Edzardi assumed
the name Glanaeus due to the influence of his grandfather and was henceforth known
as Jodocus Edzardi Glanaeus. Grandfather Glanaeus recognized Edzardi as
“talented and zealous” during his early studies at the town school in
Jever. He sent the youthful Edzardi to school in
Ovelgunne and then to study Latin in Celle.
By 1615, Edzardi’s grandfather was dead, he had returned from Celle, and
Johann Glaser had taken charge of his education. Glaser sent Edzardi to Hamburg where his
great uncle Lubberts von Glan (brother of Jodocus von Glan) placed him at the Gymnasium
in Hamburg. While at Hamburg, Edzardi
began to attract attention from influential men such as Nicholas Hartkopf
(senior pastor at St. Nikolai Church – Lutheran) and Sebastian von Berger
(Hamburg mayor 1614-1623). The
connection to influential men would allow Edzardi to continue his intellectual
advancement. While in Hamburg, he met
with misfortune when the house in which he lived burned taking all his books
and notebooks. He persisted and
completed a public dissertation at the Hamburg Gymnasium.
Pictured first is Jodocus von Glan (1538-1614) and second is Wolfgang Franzius (1564-1628)
In 1617, Edzardi migrated to
Wittenberg for the first Reformation Jubilee, a 100 year anniversary
celebration of Martin Luther’s first reformation document that provoked the Protestant
Reformation. He was also drawn to the
University of Wittenberg by the work of the recently deceased famous professor
and Lutheran theologian Leonhard Hutter (1563-1616). While attending the University at Wittenberg,
Edzardi was infected by the plague and spent six weeks with exhausting fever, hovering
between life and death. He recovered and
then immersed himself into theological, philosophical, and philosophical
science studies. His mentors were Jacob
Martini, Balthasar Meisner, Friderich Balduin, Wolfgang Frankius, and Nicholaus
Hunnius. During Easter in 1619, Edzardi
approached professor Wolfgang Franzius (1564-1628, Lutheran theologian) for an
opportunity to preach at the Wittenberg castle church. As the prophet of that Lutheran church,
Franzius inquired what Edzardi would teach if offered a chance to preach. Respectfully and courteously Edzardi replied
that he would preach “the word of God…according to the…power given him by God.” After Franzius posed a difficult bible
passage, Edzardi quickly and skillfully explained to Franzius the proper way a
listener should interpret that passage.
Satisfied with Edzardi’s response, Franzius exclaimed “Now, let thy preach.”
About 1620, Edzardi earned a master’s
degree from the University of Wittenberg and sought work in the Lutheran church. During the next four years, he spent a few
years at Magdeburg, where he began his work in August 1620. At Billwärder an der Bille (River Bille),
Oldenburg District in 1624, Edzardi was appointed pastor. Billwärder was a Hamburgischen village about
five miles southeast of Hamburg and close to his uncle Lubberts von Glan (his
mother’s brother, 1566-1640). While a
pastor in the Oldenburg District, he married Barbara Gravelei (or Graveley) in
1624 (estimate; as late as 1628). Note:
Edzardi moved to Billwärder in 1624 which was the earliest in which a marriage
into a Hamburg family could have taken place.
Edzardi’s son Esdras was born 28 June 1629 and therefore 1628 reveal
that 1628 was the latest the marriage occurred.
She was the daughter of Claus Graveley (or Gravel) and his wife
Elisabeth von Bergen, tenants of Hopfensaal (Hops Hall) in Hamburg. Three children were known to have been born
to this union.
Germany map (top) and (bottom)
Lubberts von Glan (1566-1640)
His work in Billwärder was
interrupted by a 1626 election in which the leaders of the St. Nikolai Church
(the main Lutheran church in Hamburg) offered Edzardi the position of pastor at
Michaelis Church (also St. Michael’s Church, at the time a small Lutheran
church) in Hamburg. Edzardi began his
tenure in September 1626 under miserable conditions – in the midst of a Hamburg
plague. He spent every day visiting
Hamburg residents who were sick and dying.
In the inner city Hamburg district of Neustadt (where Michaelis Church
was located), 4,200 people who Edzardi considered his own parishioners died
from the plague in 1628 alone. Even his
own young family was not spared (no evidence of whom in his family died, just
that one or more members, likely young children, died). During this plague, Edzardi maintained his
health and was able to perform pastoral duties among a population that was
suffering.
The plague in Germany
During Edzardi’s early life,
several European peers (he may or may not have been familiar with) accomplished
marvelous feats. Italians Bernini and Caravaggio, as well as Northern Europeans
Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Rubens, produced historic artwork. In England, William Shakespeare created
wondrous written and performed plays.
German Johannes Kepler and Italian Galileo made significant astrological
discoveries. Rulers of the Holy Roman
Empire were Ferdinand I (1619-1637), Ferdinand II (1637-1657), and Leopold I
(1658-1705). Kings of England were
Charles I (1625-1649) and Charles II (1660-1685).
After the plague ended and over
the next two decades, many Germans migrated to Hamburg repopulating the city. This emigration occurred in the midst of the
Thirty Years War (1618-1648) when 8 million Europeans fell in religious wars
across the continent. As Hamburg grew, Michaelis
church became so crowded during Edzardi’s sermons that windows were opened to
allow those in the churchyard to hear. The
chapel was built around 1600 and six years later, the small attached expansion to
accommodate a small congregation was erected.
After 40 years of growth, Edzardi led a charge beginning in 1646 to
build a larger church to provide service to all Hamburg patrons. The foundation stone was laid in Neustadt (200
meters from the existing small Michaelis church) during 1649 and the new Michaelis
church was completed and inaugurated in 14 March 1661. Edzardi delivered the introductory sermon
from Psalm 84. He was the first deacon
at new Michaelis church. He was
supported by second deacon Johann Biester and third deacon Johann Surland.
St. Michael’s Church, completed
1661 (a photo of the church burning in the eighteenth century)
During his tenure at Michaelis church in Hamburg, Edzardi
produced many written works, such as:
1.
1636 – Self-Defense for Children’s Baptism
(Against the Rebrethren)
2.
1643 – Lutheran Reverberation: A True and
Thorough Account of the Origin of Disputes in Religious Matters Between the
Lutherans and the Calvinists
3.
1646 – The Temple Sermon Haggai, Declared and
Repeated, the Christian Community in the New or Borstadt, and Other
Heart-Loving Hearts to Build His House to the Lord
4.
1649 – Ground-Laying Preaching, Since the First
Stone of the New Church was Laid in the New City of Hamburg, Which is to be
Built and Consecrated to the Great Name of Saint Michael, the Prince of the
Grotto, and the Living Son of God
5.
1651 – Spiritual Bath Cloth (Against the
Re-Exhilarators)
The plague returned to Hamburg in
1664. Edzardi’s second deacon Johann
Biester perished in Neustadt, which was the most heavily affected district. Those suffering in Neustadt were visited by
the tireless pastor Edzardi who was on the road daily. A young man newly infected by the plague
approached Edzardi during one of his visits.
Edzardi “consoled him with God’s words and promised that he would come
to him and give him the holy supper.” However,
once the man left, Edzardi was attacked by the disease. Within three days, he had improved enough to
continue his work though he still suffered.
In 1667 he became bedridden as a result of his most recent battle with
the plague. His wife Barbara was sickly
and dying at the same time. Though
physically disabled, he retained possession of his spiritual powers, offering his
wife holy conversations and prayers, particularly from Romans 8. Edzardi perished on the same day he was born
at age 72, the date was 24 March 1667. He
was buried in the choir of the Michaelis Church before the altar. An epitaph was erected in his honor at
Michaelis church praising him for having converted a Turk, an atheist, many
Jews, and other opponents of Christianity in the name of his savior Jesus
Christ.
Of the three children born to
Edzardi and his wife Barbara, only one was alive at the time of Edzardi’s death
in 1667 – Esdras Edzard, who was born 1629.
Another child was believed to have been Dorothea Edzard, born about
1636. Historians believe Jodocus Edzardi
dropped the patronymic surname suffix from his children’s names and hence his
children held the surname Edzard. Note:
Several German biographies identify Esdras Edzard with the surname
Edzardi. Yet, other biographies caution
that many biographies and histories incorrectly attribute Edzardi as Esdras’
surname and that is was indeed Edzard.
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