Title

"Admitted to the heavenly school": Consolation, instruction, and admonition in Aegidius Hunnius's academic funeral sermons

Abstract

The funeral sermons Aegidius Hunnius (1550-1603) preached for members of the academic community in Wittenberg reveal both a learned and a warmly emotional piety. A leading figure in early Lutheran orthodoxy, Hunnius participated in the formulation of Lutheran confessional theology and in its defense against Calvinists, "papists," and Anabaptists. During his tenure as professor and pastor in Wittenberg, he also contributed to the rise in popularity of the printed funeral sermon. Hunnius's funeral sermons are evidence that he was a talented preacher and pastor, able to address both the minds and hearts of his parishioners. Even as he instructed them in Lutheran doctrine, teaching that they were justified by faith, that there was meaning in suffering, and that a Christian life lived in service of one's neighbor was the best preparation for death, he put to use his skills in classical rhetoric to speak to their emotions, encouraging transformed feelings, attitudes, and behavior.

Department(s)

Religious Studies

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.2307/20478625

Publication Date

1-1-2007

Journal Title

Sixteenth Century Journal

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