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Hesshusen (Hesshusius), Tillemann

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Hesshusen (Hesshusius), Tillemann

a Lutheran theologian, was born November 3, 1527, at Wesel, in Cleves. In his youth he traveled over France, England, Denmark, and Germany; after which he went to Wittenberg, where, in 1550, he became Master of Arts and soon made his mark as a preacher. In 1552, when but twenty-five years old, he was appointed pastor of Goslar, and in 1553 was made D.D. But his peculiarities of mind and temper prevented his remaining long in any post. Always in conflict with the authorities, his friend Melancthon in vain procured him several advantageous situations, securing him, when but thirty years old, the nomination as professor of theology at Heidelberg, superintendent of the Palatinate, and president of the Church Council, which he lost again two years after, in 1559, after a bitter controversy with Klebitz (q.v.) on the doctrine of the Lord's Supper. He fought the same battle again with A. Hardenberg at Bremen. (See CRYPTO-CALVINISM).

Having finally sought a refuge in his native city of Wesel, he was driven from it in 1564 for writing his Unterschied zwischen d. wahren katholischen Lehre d. Kirche u. z. d. Irrthü mern d. Papisten u. d. rnmischen Antichrists, which highly displeased the government. After varied fortunes, he was in 1573 appointed bishop of Sameland; but, having there awakened great opposition, his doctrines were condemned by a synod in- 1577, and he himself was afterwards driven out of the country. Shortly after he entered on his last situation as the leading professor of theology of the University of Helmstadt, where he died, Sept. 25,1588. During his whole career as a controvertist, Hesshusen was a strong advocate of extreme Lutheranism, against the Melancthonian Synergists. (See SYNERGISTIC CONTROVERSY). After the promulgation of the Formula of Concord (q.v.), he opposed it (having subscribed it in 1578) on the ground that certain changes had been made in it before publication. Under his influence, the University of Helmstadt withdrew its sanction from the Formula. Among his writings, the most important are his Commnentarii d. Psamen: — De justificatione peccatoris coram Deo (1587): — Examen Theologicum (Helmstadt, 1586). See Jno. Ge. Leuckfeld Hist. Heshusiana (Quedlinburg, 1716); Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 6, 49; Planck, Gesch. d. Prot. Theol.; Gass, Geschichte d. Prot. Theol. vol. 2.