Feisser, Johannes Elias (1805-1865)
Johannes Elias Feisser, born 1805 at Winsum, died 1865 at Nieuwe Pekela, both in the Dutch province of Groningen, studied literature and theology at the University of Groningen, received his Th.D. degree in 1828 and became a Reformed pastor, serving Lekkum 1821-1831, Winschoten 1831-1833, and Franeker 1833-1838. In 1838 he resigned because of bad health. In the same year he "experienced a new conversion." In 1839 he again went into the ministry, serving the Reformed Church of Gasselter Nijveen. In 1843 he was involved in a conflict with the Church Board because he required Scriptural discipline against offenders and because he refused to baptize children, having come to the conviction that infant baptism is unscriptural. He now was dismissed. He then came in contact with J. G. Oncken, the father of the German Baptist movement at Hamburg, and was won over to the Baptists. He was baptized in a canal near his house by Köbner, one of Oncken's assistants, together with six of his former Reformed members. This incident marked the founding of the first Baptist congregation in the Netherlands (Gemeente van Gedoopte Christenen). In 1849 he moved to Nieuwe Pekela. Here he also founded a Baptist congregation which thrived under his pastorate, attracting also a small number of Mennonite families who joined the Baptists. Feisser published a number of edificatory writings and the history of the founding of the first Baptist congregation in the Netherlands.
Bibliography
Molhuysen, P.C. and P.J. Blok. Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek. v. 1-10. Leiden, 1911-1937: II, 441-444.
Wumkes, G. A. Opkomst en vestiging van net Baptisme in Nederland. 1912: passim.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Feisser, Johannes Elias (1805-1865)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Feisser,_Johannes_Elias_(1805-1865)&oldid=80762.
APA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1956). Feisser, Johannes Elias (1805-1865). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Feisser,_Johannes_Elias_(1805-1865)&oldid=80762.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 320. All rights reserved.
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