PREGER, prê' ger, JOHANN WILHELM: German Lutheran; b. at Schweinfurt (70 m. e. of Frankfort) Aug. 25, 1827; d. at Munich Jan. 30, 1896. He studied at Erlangen 1845-49, and at Berlin 1850; and in 1851 he was called as city vicar and professor of Protestant religious instruction and history in the student institutions at Munich, becoming gymnasial professor in 1868. For seventeen years he gave instruction in religion in the commercial schools there, his duties being modified when there was a change made in the direction of the school curriculum. During forty-five years of service at Munich, he developed a many-sided activity and yet found time for important literary labors. His Geschichte der Lehre vom geistlichen Amte (Nordlingen, 1857) was evoked by W. Lohe's Kirche and Amt (Erlangen, 1851) and T. Kliefoth's Acht Butcher von der Kirche (Halle,1857), and develops the thought that the doctrine of the ministerial office depends upon the doctrine of justification. His next work was M. Flacius Illyricus und seine Zeit (2 vols., Erlangen, 1859-61), historical and impartial in aim. The following years were occupied with preliminary studies for the great work of his life, Geschichte der deutschen Mystik im Mittelalter (3 vols., Leipsic, 1874-93). The chief personages dealt with are Eckhart, Suso, and Tauler, but the study embraces the lesser lights. A fourth volume was projected but did not appear. In preparation of this work a large number of preliminary studies found entrance into various journals and reviews (list in Hauck-Herzog, RE, xvi. 2). He wrote also, among other works, a Lehrbuch der bayrischen Geschichte (Erlangen, 1864) which passed through many editions; Luthers Tischreden aus den Jahren 1531-32 (1888); and Ueber die Verfassung der franzosischen Waldesier in der alten Zeit (1890).

He was a man of wide knowledge and interests, receptive and courteous toward the opinions of others, a clear-minded teacher who won the regard of his pupils, and a helpful worker in ecclesiastical circles.

(W. CASPARI)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: The memorial addresses at the grave were by Kelber and Von Stahlin, Munich, 1890; a memoir by Cornelius is in SMA, 1896; and T. Kolde's tribute is in Beitrage zur bayerischen Kirchengeschichte, 1890.

PREGIZERIANS: A German religious sect taking its name from Christian Gottlob Pregizer (b. at Stuttgart Mar. 18, 1751; d. at Haiterbach, 30 m. s.w. of Stuttgart, Oct. 30, 1824). At first rigidly ascetic, he became known as a powerful revivalist while preacher in the Schlosakirche in Tübingen. In his first pastorate at Grafenberg (1783-95) he seems to have been under the influence of theosophical pietism and was coolly received by his congregation. When, however, he became pastor at Haiterbach in 1795, he inaugurated a profound movement among the congregations of the vicinity. Conventicles arose here and there, several of them under his own leadership. After 1801 he became associated with the so-called "Blessed Ones" who arose in the last decade of the eighteenth century in the valley of the Rems and the Schwarzwald, and who, rejecting the new hymnal of 1791, sang the old hymns to merry popular tunes with appropriate instrumental music. In opposition both to the moralism of the Enlightenment (q.v.) and to the doctrine of sanctification taught by Johann Michael Hahn (q.v.), they laid an exaggerated stress on justification by faith. The excesses of his followers caused Pregizer to be summoned before the consistory in 1808, but although his somewhat ambiguous explanations were not wholly satisfactory, no ground could be found for proceeding against him. His conduct and mode of life were blameless; he did not teach the sinlessness of those who had found grace; and he so strenuously opposed the anti-ecclesiastical and antinomian tendencies of his followers that the extremists among them turned away from him.

The sect expanded after Pregizer's death, but there was a distinct lack of leaders. The moral excesses of the Pregizerians became so great that police interference was necessary. Gradually, how

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ever, a small body of nobler type broke off from the main sect, rejected all vagaries, and evolved views on justification and baptism along the lines marked out by Luther. The cardinal tenet of Pregizerianism centers in justification, which occurs once and for all in each individual, and which is essentially connected with baptism. The Christian must ever be joyful because of the grace which he has experienced, and the Pregizerians were, accordingly, often called "Hurrah Christians" (Juchhe-Christen), or, because of their belief in ictic conversion, "Galloping Christians" (Galopp-Christen). They also taught that there is no sin and that confession and penance are unnecessary; they disregarded the Sabbath and manifested other antinomian tendencies; and they practically rejected the Lutheran Church. They were chiliasts and restorationists, but refused to take any part in either foreign or domestic missions. The only official source for a knowledge of the doctrines of the sect is the Sammlung geistlicher Lieder zum Gebrauch fur gldubige Kinder Gottes, to which is appended Pregizer's confession of faith. There are still about eighty Pregizerian communities in Wurttemberg and Baden, though their number is steadily diminishing. Extravagances have been abandoned, but they retain their joyous characteristics. They are marked by Lutheran piety and use Luther's writings along with the Bible. They are for the most part faithful to the Lutheran Church, and are united by a conference held thrice annually at various places in Wurttemberg.

(C. KOLB.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Gruneisen, in ZHT, 1841; C. Palmer, Die Gemeinachaften and Sekten Wurttembergs, Tübingen, 1877; C. Dietrich and F. Brookes, Die Privet-Erbauungagemeinschaften innerhalb der evanpeliachen Kirche Deutachlonds, Stuttgart, 1903.