Heurnius, Justus (1587-1652)

Dutch pioneer missionary in the East Indies

Born in Leiden, Heurnius took a medical degree, traveled throughout Europe, became a theological student in Groningen, and subsequently served as pastor in Kalslagen beginning in 1620. He wrote De legatione evangelica ad Indos capessenda admonitio (1618) and asked the East India Company and the Amsterdam church to send him overseas. Through the efforts of Sebastiaen Danckaerts, one of the first pioneers of Dutch missions in the East Indies, Heurnius was sent to Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in 1624. There he organized the Dutch East Indies church and its order. Approaching the Chinese population, he prepared a Dutch-Latin-Chinese dictionary and translated the Heidelberg Catechism into Chinese. Temporarily barred from his work by fierce opposition from the colonial government, he was restored to office in 1632 and extended his work to several remote islands, starting from the island of Ambon. He proposed that a theological college should be established for indigenous students in the East Indies. After he returned to the Netherlands in 1639, he became a minister at Wijk bij Duurstede, where he and others translated the Bible into Malay.

Leendert J. Joosse, “Heurnius, Justus,” in Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed. Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998), 291.

This article is reprinted from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Macmillan Reference USA, copyright © 1998 Gerald H. Anderson, by permission of Macmillan Reference USA, New York, NY. All rights reserved.

Heurnius, Justus. De Legatione Evangelica ad Indos Capessenda Admonitio [An Exhortation to Embark upon an Evangelical Mission among the Indians]. Lugduni Batavorum, 1618.

_____. Compendium Doctrinae Christianae de Creatione et Salvatione Generis Humani in Sinicam Traductum. Batav. Jacat, 1628.

Ruyl, Alb, Justus Heurnius and Jan van Hasel. De vier Heylighe Evangelien, beschreven door de vier evangelisten Matthaeus, Marcus, Lucas, Johannes, ende het boeck van de Handelingen der H. Apostelen, beschreven door Lucam: Overges. In Nederduyts ende Maleys nae de Griecksche waerheydt. Amsteldam: gedr. door ordr. van de E. E. Heeren Bewint-hebberen der Oost-Indische Compagnie, 1651. Orig. 1646. Also with Thomas Marshall. Oxford: Printed by H. Hall, 1677.

Secondary

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