Loosjes, Jacob (1874-1935)
Jacob Loosjes, son of Adriaan Loosjes was born 17 January 1874 at Amsterdam and died 17 October 1935 in Bussum. He studied Dutch language and literature, passed his doctoral examination, then studied law and earned his doctorate with a dissertation, De algemeene waterstaatsreglementen onderling vergeleken.
After serving for several years in the department of "waterstaat," he began his study at the Amsterdam Mennonite Seminary, in 1908 becoming a ministerial candidate. In May 1909 he was called to the Mennonite church in Hollum on Ameland. During his service for the "waterstaat" he wrote a historical treatise, Waterstaatswetgeving voor 1813. Now he turned his attention to church history, especially that of his own brotherhood. In addition to many articles in the Mennonitsches Lexikon, his book De Gereformeerde Kerk van Ameland (1912) is particularly important. Of great interest for Mennonite history is his paper "Jan Jacobsz en de Jan-Jacobsgezinden," published in Nederlandsche Archief voor Kerkgeschiedenis of 1914.
In those days there was little possibility for an orthodox Mennonite preacher to be called to a pulpit; Jacob Loosjes therefore found himself obliged to join the Lutheran Church. In 1914 he accepted the call to Tiel and in 1918 to Bussum. After 1920 he was also a lecturer on history at the Lyceum at Bussum. To the historian a new field of work was opened, the history of the Lutheran Church in the Netherlands. The results of his study are in part found in the Biografisch Woordenboek der Protestantsche Godgeleerden in Nederland, which is published under his coeditorship with J. P. de Bie. In addition Loosjes published his Geschiedenis der Luthersche Kerk in de Nederlanden in 1921; Luthersche weldadigheid in 1924; Naamlijst van predikanten enz. der Luthersche Kerk in Nederland, 1925.
In 1925 Loosjes was called to the professorship at the Lutheran seminary in Amsterdam and in the following year he made his speech of acceptance on the subject, "Lutherschen en remonstranten in den tijd van de Dordtsche Synode," but remained a lecturer at Bussum at the same time. He was an untiring worker. Again and again scholarly works flowed from his pen, as in 1932 the History of the Christ Church (English Episcopal Church). Loosjes was actually not a theologian but a historian, who worked very exactly and sought to fathom the history in his various fields of work, at first in the work of the "waterstaat," then Mennonite history on Ameland, and finally Lutheran history.
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe; Schneider, 1913-1967: II, 688 f.
| Author(s) | W Leendertz |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Leendertz, W. "Loosjes, Jacob (1874-1935)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Loosjes,_Jacob_(1874-1935)&oldid=105895.
APA style
Leendertz, W. (1956). Loosjes, Jacob (1874-1935). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Loosjes,_Jacob_(1874-1935)&oldid=105895.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pp. 391-392. All rights reserved.
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