Pietas – Confessio – Meditatio

The thesis Pietas – Confessio – Meditatio. Studies in the Theology of Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand (1585-1652) is a contribution to scholarship on the Danish professor of theology and bishop of Zealand, Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand (1585-1652), whose influence as a systematic theologian, church reformer and pastoral counsellor in Denmark-Norway is indisputable, but whose works have received little attention. Both his systematic theology, Universæ Theologiæ Systema (1633), and his house postil, Sabbati Sanctificatio (1635-38), had a big impact on theology and piety in church and household for generations.

Contrary to an observed dissociation between the academic-dogmatic and pastoral-devotional writings of Brochmand, this thesis argues that there is a close connection between them, and it demonstrates the fruitfulness of incorporating both genres when studying early modern Lutheran theology. The thesis accomplishes this through a study of select theological topics in three chapters: the nature of theology, the concept of faith and activity and passivity in the Christian life. The fourth and final chapter focuses on the postil as an instrument for piety, analysed through the lens of meditation as a form of psychagogical praxis.