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Born: February 1, 1560 - Ostritz / Oberlausitz, Saxony, Germany
Died: August 14, 1624 - Görlitz, Saxony, Germany |
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Gregorius Richter, the Elder [Gregor Richterus] was a German Evangelical Lutheran pastor and song poet. He attended Gymnasium in Breslau and studied theology in Frankfurt an der Oder. In 1584 he took up a position as a teacher in Görlitz and in 1587 he was called as a pastor to Rauscha, Lower Silesia. In 1590 he moved to Görlitz as a deacon (second pastor) and became the first pastor (Pastor primarius) there in 1606. He had violent theological disputes with Jakob Böhme, a shoemaker and leisure philosopher, which were also held in writing and printed as pamphlets. When Richter died in 1624, he had delivered a total of 5893 sermons in his life.
His son of the same name (1598-1633) was also a teacher and pastor. The hymn Lasset ab von euren Thränen cannot be safely attributed to the father or the son; however, the hymn Steh doch, Seele, steh doch stille', which was formerly attributed to the father, most likely comes from Gregorius Richter, the younger. |
