Magnus Agricola


Magnus Agricola was a German Lutheran Superintendent and theologian.
The nephew of Renaissance humanist and statesman Peter Agricola, he became church minister as well as Superintendent and ecclesiastical inspector at Neuburg an der Donau. He authored several books on Lutheranism and took part to the Religionsgespräch of Regensburg where he opposed Roman Catholics.

Personal life

Agricola was born in the German municipality of Holzheim and spent his childhood in the Ulm area.
His famous uncle was the founder and rector of the Gymnasium Illustre in Lauingen, Bavaria and later became councilor and State minister of the reigning Dukes of Zweibrücken and Pfalz-Neuburg, while his grandfather, also named Magnus Agricola, was a judge and administrator of Holzheim. The senior Agricola was educated at Ingolstadt, Bavaria and, planning to join the Benedictine Abbey of Elchingen, moved to Rome at a Benedictine cardinal’s. However, due to problems in Rome, including the nepotism of Pope Alexander VI and the belligerent behavior of the future Pope Julius II, the senior Agricola enlisted in the Imperial Troops. Thus, he became involved in King Charles VIII of France's Italian war. Eventually, he returned to Germany where he later showed interest in Martin Luther’s work.
On January 10, 1586 at Lauingen, Agricola married Anna Maria Motz, whose father was a former student of the University of Tübingen and the princely chief tax collector of Pfalz-Neuburg. Motz's brother-in-law was Dietrich Hess, councilor of the reigning Duke of Neuburg, diplomatic envoy to Denmark and the Court of St. James, and permanent ambassador to the Court of France in Paris under King Henri IV and Queen-regent Mary de Medici.
Agricola had a son who received a Masters degree from the University of Wittenberg. His grandson was an alumnus of the Universities of Tübingen and Wittenberg. Both descendants became Lutheran church ministers. A son-in-law, Johannes Münderlein, was the last Lutheran bishop of Neuburg and then Superintendent of Regensburg.
Agricola fell ill with apoplexy and died in the early hours of September 29, 1605, in Neuburg an der Donau. His funeral was conducted by Jacob Heilbrunner, preacher at the court of Pfalz-Neuburg. Heilbrunner described the late Agricola as 'an active, honest and assiduous man who was dedicated to his colleagues, superintendents, church ministers and teachers of all the principality; also dedicated to his parishioners and known to all'.

Education

Agricola entered the "Gymnasium Illustre" at age ten, in 1566. He showed promise, so in 1575, Prince Philip Louis, Count Palatine of Neuburg sponsored Agricola's ongoing theological studies.
On January 5, 1576, Agricola registered at the University of Tübingen as Magnus Agricola Holtzensis. He received his "Baccalaureus" on March 27, 1577, and a "Magister" degree on July 30, 1578. He continued his university studies until 1582.

Ecclesiastical career

Agricola held a number of ecclesiastical posts in Neuburg an der Donau, Bavaria in a career spanning three decades.
His first post was deacon of St Peter's of Neuburg. He then became the minister of the Frauenkirche. From 1599 to 1603, he was Hofdiakon at the Palace of the Court of Neuburg. From 1603 until his death in 1605, Agricola was the Superintendent of Neuburg.

Contribution to the Lutheran church

As theologian of the Duke of Neuburg, Agricola took part in the Neuburg Ecumenical Councils of 1593, where Lutherans debated Calvinists and in the Religionsgespräch of Regensburg in 1601, where Lutherans opposed Catholics.
Agricola authored several books on Lutheranism. Among them was Von der Katholischen Christlichen Lehre Augsburgischer Konfession, und dem Unkatholischen Heydensüchtigen Papstum, a book of some 300 pages published in 1599 and re-published in 1602.
From 1602 to 1605, Agricola supervised the building of the new church of Neuburg.

Publications