LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Concordia Lutheran Seminary

68 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW XII
The death of Anton Boehm on 27 May 1722 created a vacancy in the
position of German Lutheran Court Chaplain in London. The following
December, Ziegenhagen received a call from King George I to succeed
Boehm in that position. How he came to be considered for this position is
not clear. 45 Whether or not Francke was personally involved in
recommending Ziegenhagen, it is apparent from Ziegenhagen’s correspondence
with him that Francke was aware of these developments and approved
of them.
In October 1722, Ziegenhagen had become aware that he was being
considered for the position. However, he was concerned that the matter be
kept quiet to prevent various people in Hanover from making trouble for
him, presumably by giving a bad report on him to the Elector of Hanover,
who would have to issue the call as King of England. 46 In November, he
travelled to London to meet with Georg Andreas Ruperti, who had served
both as Boehm’s associate chaplain and as the pastor of St. Mary’s in the
Savoy. On 6 December, Ziegenhagen preached in the royal chapel and was
told by Ruperti that both of the chaplaincy positions would be commended
to him. But, as Ziegenhagen wrote in a letter to Francke, he wasn’t certain
that he would be able to handle both positions. Since the call issued by King
George I on 11/22 December 1722 47 was to be successor of Anton Boehm
and to fill only that position, it appears that Ziegenhagen opted not to take
over both chaplaincy positions. 48 Boehm had been able to avoid being
ordained by having an associate who was an ordained pastor. Given the
silence about this issue in his correspondence with Francke, it is likely that
Ziegenhagen followed the same path. It was a full year after the king issued
this call, however, before Ziegenhagen finally moved to London. 49
45 Brunner says that “When Boehm died, Count von Platen had his cabinet preacher
[Ziegenhagen] appointed Court chaplain.” This is not supported by the correspondence of
Ziegenhagen with Francke. Rather, it seems as if Francke had expressed concern about how
von Platen had taken Ziegenhagen’s leaving, for Ziegenhagen assured Francke that their
parting in Hanover had been cordial. Letter of Ziegenhagen to A. H. Francke, London,
21 February 1724.
46 Letter of Ziegenhagen to A. H. Francke, Linden, 31 October 1722.
47 The double date was due to the fact that Germany adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1700
while England did not adopt it until 1752. According to the old Julian calendar used in
England in 1722, the date would be 11 December; according to the Gregorian calendar used
in Germany it would be 22 December.
48 Lists of chaplains of the German Royal Chapel show Ruperti serving as Court Chaplain
from 1711 to 1731. John Southerden Burn, The History of the French Walloon, Dutch and
other Foreign Protestant Refugees settled in England (London: Longman, Brown, Green and
Langmans, 1846).
49 Letter of Ziegenhagen to A. H. Francke, London, 17 January 1724.