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Bartholomew Ziegenbalg Date of Birth: 10 July 1682 Place of Birth: Pulsnitz, Germany Date of Death: 23 February 1719 Place of Death: Tharangambadi, India BiographyBartholomäus Ziegenbalg was born near Dresden in Saxony in 1682. Both his parents died when he was still a young boy, but he remembered especially his mother for her piety. After completing his school education in Görlitz in 1702, he enrolled on a course of study to improve his knowledge of biblical and classical European languages at a high school in Berlin,…

Lutheran-Muslim dialogue in Tranquebar, South India Bartholomew Ziegenbalg Date: Early 18th century Original Language: German DescriptionZiegenbalg’s perceptions and portrayals of Islam are concentrated in the first two volumes of the nine-volume work known as the  Halle reports, which began with an initial letter from missionaries in India and continued with subsequent instalments. Each volume is divided into 12 such continuations. All references given here to Ziegenbalg’s dialogues with Muslims are to vol. 1 or vol. 2, along wit…

[English Version] Tranquebar, Dorf an der Coromandel-Küste in Südindien, 1619/20–1845 dänische Kolonie. Zu Beginn der Kolonisation stellten der dänische Aristokrat Ove Gjedde (1594–1660) und Ragunatha, der nayak (König) von Tanjore (1600–1630), die rel. Freiheit für Hindus, Muslime und Christen sicher. Die Dänen errichteten in den 20er Jahren des 17.Jh. das Fort Dansborg und gründeten 1701 die Zionskirken (Dänische Missionen). T. war ein internationaler Handelsplatz. 200 Jahre lang prägten indisch…

[English Version] Schwartz, Christian Friedrich (8.10.1726 Sonnenburg bei Kostrzyn – 13.2.1798 Tanjore, Indien), Missionar in Tranquebar (1750–1762), Tiruccirappalli (1762–1772) und Tanjore (1772–1798). Sch. gründete Kirchen und Grundschulen und führte die Pockenimpfung ein. Unter seiner Leitung wurden in Tanjore bes. Einrichtungen für verfolgte indische Christen geschaffen. Seine Sprachkenntnisse (Dt., Griech., Hebr., Tamil, Engl., Pers., Marathi) ermöglichten ihm Einsichten aus verschiedenen Quell…

[English Version] Ziegenbalg, Bartholomäus (10.7.1682 Pulsnitz, Sachsen – 23.2.1719 Tranquebar, Südindien). Nachhaltige Impulse erfuhr Z. von der Frömmigkeit seiner Mutter, den Predigten A.H. Franckes, den Schriften J.A. Freylinghausens, der Ausbildung bei J. Lange in Berlin und seiner Begegnung mit Ph.J. Spener. Während Z.s Zeit als Pastor in Berlin meldete der dänische Hofkaplan Franz Julins Lütkens (1650–1712) im Auftrag König Friedrichs IV. bei Lange und seinen Freunden Bedarf an Missionaren fü…

[English Version] . Die Th. führen ihre Anfänge auf den Apostel Thomas (Didymus) zurück, der gemäß der Tradition in Edessa, Persien und Südindien Kirchen gründete und 79 n.Chr. in Mylapore bei Chennai (Südindien) als Märtyrer starb. Als Beleg gelten die Thomasakten, die mündliche Überlieferung sowie die alten Kirchen von Kodungalur, Niranam und Quilon in Kerala. Auch wenn eine Tätigkeit des Apostels in Indien als unhist. gelten muß, sind die frühen Anfänge des Christentums in Indien unstrittig. Um…

[German Version] (Jul 10, 1682, Pulsnitz, Saxony – Feb 23, 1719, Tranquebar, South India) was profoundly influenced by the piety of his mother, the sermons of A.H. Francke, the writings of J.A. Freylinghausen, the training he received from J. Lange in Berlin, and his encounter with P.J. Spener. During his time as a pastor in Berlin, the Danish court chaplain Franz Julius Lütkens (1650–1712), acting on behalf of King Frederick II, reported to Lange and his friends the need for missionaries in the D…

[German Version] Thomas Christians trace their origin back to the apostle Thomas Didymus, a disciple of Jesus Christ, who is believed to have established churches in Edessa, Persia, and South India, and died a martyr’s death in Mylapore near Chennai in South India (72 ce). They say the Acts of Thomas, oral traditions, and the ancient churches at Kodungalur, Niranam, and Quilon in Kerala prove their claims. Even though an act of the apostles in India has to be counted as unhistoric, the early origins of Christendom are indisputably in India. About 345 ce, Thomas of Cana led a group of Ea…

[German Version] (Oct 8, 1726, Sonnenburg, Kostrzyn – Feb 13, Tanjore, India) worked as missionary in Tranquebar (1750–1762), Tiruccirappalli (1762–1772), and Tanjore (1772–1798). He established churches, primary schools, and introduced vaccination for smallpox. Under his leadership, special Christian settlements for persecuted Indian Christians were founded in Tanjore. His language skills (Ger., Gk, Heb., Tamil, Eng., Pers., and Marathi) enabled him to draw insights from different sources and wor…

[German Version] ¶ is a seashore village on the Coromandel Coast in southern India. When it became a Danish colony (1619/1620–1845), Ove Gedde (1594–1660), a Danish noble, and Ragunatha Nayak, the king of Tanjore (1600–1630), ensured religious freedom for the Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. The Danes built Fort Dansborg in the 1620s and erected the Zion Church (Danish Missions) in 1701. Tranquebar was a place of international trade. For over 200 years, Indian cotton and spices played a major role…

[German Version] I. India – II. Caste and Christianity (in History) – III. Missiology I. India “Caste” (from Port. casta, “pure, unadulterated, chaste”) is the term used to denote Indian social groups based on criteria of consanguinity and, in part, fictional genealogy; they are distinguished by common occupations, names, and traditions, especially norms governing marriage and diet (Dietary laws: VIII). Traditional Hindu society adopts a hierarchic model of four classes (Skt. varṇa, often mislabeled “castes”) (Hinduism: III, 2). Castes are charact…