Pierre Jurieu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pierre Jurieu
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 24 December 1637 |
| Died | 11 January 1713 (aged 75) |
Pierre Jurieu (born December 24, 1637 – died January 11, 1713) was an important French Protestant leader. He was known for his strong beliefs and his many writings.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Pierre Jurieu was born in a town called Mer, in Orléanais, France. His father was a Protestant pastor, which is a religious leader.
Pierre studied at two famous schools: the Academy of Saumur and the Academy of Sedan. He learned from his grandfather, Pierre Du Moulin, and another teacher named Leblanc de Beaulieu.
After finishing his studies in the Netherlands and England, Pierre became an Anglican priest. When he came back to France, he became a pastor like his father. He took over his father's church in Mer.
Career and Moving to Holland
In 1671, Jurieu published his first book, Examen de livre de la reunion du Christianisme. A few years later, in 1674, his book Traité de la dévotion helped him get a new job. He became a professor of theology (the study of religious faith) and Hebrew at Sedan. He also became a pastor there.
In 1675, he wrote another book called Apologie pour la morale des Reformés. Pierre was known for being very argumentative. Some people even called him "the Goliath of the Protestants" because he was so strong in his debates.
In 1681, the school at Sedan was closed down. Jurieu was invited to work at a church in Rouen. But he was worried about staying in France because of a book he was writing. So, he moved to Holland. He became a pastor at the Walloon church in Rotterdam, where he stayed until he died. He also taught at a special school there.
Secret Network
From the 1690s, Pierre Jurieu started and helped run a secret network in France. This group was based in Rotterdam. They had agents in all the main French ports.
A person named Etienne Caillaud helped Jurieu write and decode secret messages. This work was paid for by many Huguenots (French Protestants) and by important leaders like William III and Anthonie Heinsius.
Important Writings
Jurieu worked hard to help people who suffered after the Edict of Nantes was cancelled in 1685. This Edict had protected Protestants in France, but its cancellation meant they faced harsh treatment.
He found comfort in the Apocalypse, a book in the Bible about the end times. He believed that the "Antichrist" (which he thought meant the Pope) would be defeated in 1689. This belief, even if it sounds strange, helped encourage William of Orange in his plans to invade England.
Jurieu also defended Protestantism against attacks from other thinkers. But he also argued with other Protestants if their ideas were different from his. His strong arguments against his colleague Pierre Bayle led to Bayle losing his teaching job in 1693.
One of Jurieu's most important works was Lettres pastorales adressées aux fidéles de France. These were three volumes published in Rotterdam between 1686 and 1687. Even with strict police, these "Pastoral Letters" made their way into France. They had a big impact on the Protestant people there.
In these letters, Jurieu wrote about the idea of a contract between a ruler and the people they govern. This idea was later discussed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Another important work by Jurieu was Histoire critique des dogmes et des cultes (1704). He wrote many other books that debated different ideas.
See also
- Irenicism
