Philip IV, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
| Philipp IV, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg | |
|---|---|
| Spouse(s) | Eleonore of Fürstenberg |
| Noble family | House of Hanau |
| Father | Philipp III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg |
| Mother | Sibylle of Baden |
| Born |
20 September 1514 Babenhausen |
| Died | 19 February 1590 (aged 75) Lichtenberg |
| Buried | Castle Church in Lichtenberg |
Philipp IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg (20 September 1514, Babenhausen – 19 February 1590,Lichtenberg) was from 1538 to 1590 the reigning Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Before his accession he had already conducted government business on behalf of his father, Count Philipp III. He was very interested in alchemy.
Unlike his father, Philipp IV stood behind the Reformation. During his reign, the Lutheran faith took hold in the county. He appointed the clergy himself. After a long vacancy, he appointed a pastor in Bouxwiller (German: Buchsweiler) who was committed to the new doctrine. He worked with theologicians Erasmus Sarcerius and Philipp Neunheller, the reformer of the County of Hanau-Münzenberg. The new faith was widely introduced in 1544 and on 28 May 1548, Philipp convened a synod at Bouxwiller with all the pastors of the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg, in order to commit them to the new doctrine. This apparently happened very hesitantly, and the process of changing the clergy to adherents of the Lutheran faith continued well into the 1560s.
Philipp participated in the Diet of Augsburg in 1555, where the Peace of Augsburg was agreed, as well as the Diet in Augsburg in 1556, and the Diet of Speyer in 1570. The Catholic equipment that the, now Lutheran, churches no longer needed, was sold off from 1558 onwards. Philipp exchanged the possessions of the secularized Patershausen Abbey for Brumath, which had been held by the Archbishopric of Mainz. In 1573, a church order was adopted in Hanau-Lichtenberg. In 1580, he was among the signatories of the Book of Concord.
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