Phlippi, Friedrich Adolph

PHILIPPI, fi-lip´-pi, FRIEDRICH ADOLPH: German Lutheran; b. at Berlin Oct. 15, 1809; d. at Rostock Aug. 29, 1882. Although a Jew by birth, he soon began to consider the problem of the truth of Christianity. He became a convert when he was sixteen years old, but out of respect to his parents he was not baptized until four years later. After completing his education at the universities of Berlin (1827–29) and Leipsic (1829–30), he taught at Dresden (1830–32) and Berlin (1833–34), but withdrew from active life to devote himself to the private study of theology, especially dogmatics and exegesis. In 1837 he became privat-docent for theology in the University of Berlin, whence he was called to Dorpat in 1841 as professor of dogmatics and moral theology. Here he took a lively interest in the ecclesiastical questions of the day, contributing much to strengthen the position of Lutheranism in Russian territory. In 1851 he was called to Rostock as professor of New-Testament exegesis, in which capacity he successfully opposed the theology of Johann Hofmann and Michael Baumgarten (qq.v.). In addition to his professorial duties, Philippi was appointed a theological examiner in 1856, and a consistorial councilor in 1874. Among his writings are: De Celsi adversarii Christianorum philosophandi genere (Berlin, 1836); Der thätige Gehorsam Christi, ein Beitrag zur Rechtfertigungslehre (1841); Commentar über den Brief Pauli an die Römer (3 parts, Erlangen and Frankfort, 1848–52; Eng. transl. by J. S. Banks, 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1878–79); Kirchliche Glaubenslehre (6 vols., Gütersloh, 1854–79); Predigten and Vorträge (edited by F. Philippi, 1883); Symbolik, akademische Vorlesungen (edited by the same, 1883); and Erklärung des Briefes Pauli an die Galater (edited by the same, 1884).

(Ferdinand Philippi.†)

Bibliography: Meklenburgisches Kirchen- und Zeitblatt, 1882, nos. 19–21; M. A. Landerer, Neueste Dogmengeschichte, p. 215 et passim, Heilbronn, 1881.