Matthias Flacius Illyricus
| Matthias Flacius | |
|---|---|
Matthias Flacius Illyricus
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| Born |
Matija March 3, 1520 Labin, Venetian Republic (Present day Croatia) |
| Died | March 11, 1575 (aged 55) Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire (Present day Germany) |
| Other names | Matija Vlačić (Franković) Ilirik |
| Occupation | theologian, church historian, philosopher |
| Years active | 1544-1575 |
Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; Croatian: Matija Vlačić Ilirik) (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present day Croatia.
Flacius was born in Labin in Istria, son of Andrea Vlacich alias Francovich and Jacobea Luciani, daughter of a wealthy and powerful Albonian family. His mother's uncle was the Lutheran Baldo Lupetina who later was condemned to death in Venice for his faith. He lost his father during his early childhood.
At the age of sixteen Flacius went to study in Venice where he was taught by the humanist Giambattista Cipelli (Baptista Aegnatius / Battista Egnazio). At the age of seventeen, he intended to join a monastic order, with a view to sacred learning. His intention, however, was diverted by his uncle, Baldo Lupetina, provincial of the Franciscans and sympathetic to the Reformation cause, who convinced him to start a university career.
Flacius continued his studies in Basel in 1539, then went to Tübingen and finally ended up in Wittenberg where in (1541) he was welcomed by Melanchthon. There he came under the influence of Martin Luther. In 1544, Flacius was appointed professor of Hebrew at Wittenberg. He finished his master's degree on 24 February 1546, ranking first among the graduates.
Soon, Flacius was prominent in the theological discussions of the time, opposing strenuously the Augsburg Interim, and the compromise of Melanchthon known as the Leipzig Interim. Melanchthon wrote of him with venom as a renegade (aluimus in sinu serpentem, "we have nourished a snake in our bosom"). In 1549 Flacius moved to Magdeburg. On 7 May 1557 he was appointed professor of New Testament at the theological faculty in Jena but was soon involved in controversy with his colleague Victorinus Strigel on the synergistic question (relating to the function of the will in the conversion).
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