Background
John Christopher Kunze was born on August 5, 1744 in Saxony (now Artern), Germany. He was the son of an innkeeper and tradesman.
(Excerpt from Hymn and Prayer-Book: For the Use of Such Lu...)
Excerpt from Hymn and Prayer-Book: For the Use of Such Lutheran Churches as Use the English Language May the adorable Lord and Matter, whofe church has always been uled and inclined to finghispraifes, and who inhabits the praifes of his Ifi'ael, deign there endeavors of a por tion of his bleflings, that with this little book in the hand and the contents in the heart, many {oms} families, and congregations may wore filip him in the beauty ofholinefs. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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John Christopher Kunze was born on August 5, 1744 in Saxony (now Artern), Germany. He was the son of an innkeeper and tradesman.
Kunze was educated at the Halle Orphanage, then under Gotthilf August Francke, at Rossleben and Merseburg, and at the University of Leipzig, where he matriculated September 21, 1763. He had a minute knowledge of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, and Italian literature, and was a student also of medicine, astronomy, and numismatics.
After teaching for three years at Kloster Bergen near Magdeburg, Kunze became inspector of an orphanage at Greitz. In 1770, through his connections at Halle, he was called to Philadelphia as coadjutor to Henry Melchior Mühlenberg. Accompanied by F. A. C. and G. H. E. Muhlenberg, he left Halle on May 5, was ordained at Wernigerode, and landed at New York September 22, 1770.
In 1779 he succeeded his father-in-law as chief pastor in Philadelphia, and J. H. C. Helmuth became his colleague. In 1784 he removed permanently to New York as pastor of Christ Church, with which he united the remnants of the old Dutch congregation.
As a scholar Kunze had few equals in the United States, and in his own denomination his influence was second only to Mühlenberg's.
Although he never mastered the pronunciation of English and was compelled to abandon his attempts to preach in that language, he realized that English would become the language of the Lutheran Church in America, and the chief ambition of his life was to provide adequately for the education of Lutheran ministers who could use both German and English. His first attempt in this direction was his Seminarium, a pre-theological school, which he started in Philadelphia in 1773. In spite of many handicaps it managed to thrive, but the outbreak of the Revolution closed its doors.
In 1779 he tried to establish a German Institute in the University of Pennsylvania, but the movement never received any support. As professor of Oriental languages in Columbia College, 1784-87 and 1792-99, he again failed for lack of students.
In 1797 he became professor of theology on the Hartwick Foundation, the bequest of Johann Christoph Hartwig, which paid him a yearly stipend of $500.
In New York society he was a general favorite. John Daniel Gros and Rabbi G. M. Seixas were among his intimate friends. A much less intimate friendship with Aaron Burr scandalized some of his Episcopal colleagues.
With the help of his assistant, George Strebeck, Kunze prepared A Hymn and Prayer Book for the Use of Such Lutheran Churches as Use the English Language (1795). It is the first Lutheran hymn book in the English language and contains the earliest surviving American translation of Luther's Shorter Catechism. The six sermons by his deceased pupil, Lawrence Van Buskirk, which he published with a brief introduction in 1797 are the first English Lutheran sermons published in America.
(Excerpt from Hymn and Prayer-Book: For the Use of Such Lu...)
(Excerpt from Einige Gedichte und Lieder Sport): 50151111...)
During his last years he was much disquieted by the growing spirit of rationalism.
On July 23, 1771 Kunze married Mühlenberg's second daughter, Margaretta Henrietta.
