Peter Heyling
Peter Heyling (born 1607 or 1608, died c. 1652) was a German Lutheran missionary to Egypt and Ethiopia. He was the first Protestant missionary to Ethiopia.

The son of a goldsmith, Heyling was a native of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. His early education was under Johann Kirchmann in Lübeck. Between 1628 and 1632 he studied theology and law at the University of Paris with four other Lübeckers. There he came under the influence of the Dutch Protestant Hugo Grotius, at that time living in Paris.

Heyling set out on his mission in 1632. His goal and that of six other student missionaries was to "reawaken the derelict churches of the Orient", that is, the Coptic and Ethiopian churches, "to genuine evangelical life". In the event, only Heyling and Hieronymus von Dorne ever set out. At the beginning of 1633 he arrived in Egypt, where he studied Arabic in Coptic monasteries and also in Jerusalem. In 1634, he arrived in Ethiopia. He became an influential preacher and physician at the court of the Emperor Fasilides (1632–1667), but his efforts to reform the church resulted in major disputes over Christology. He translated the New Testament into Amharic. There are various accounts of the manner in which Heyling met his death. One account is that he was expelled from Ethiopia around 1650, and died during his travel. Another version is that of the priest Abba Gorgoryos stating that the emperor allowed Heyling to travel to Cairo in 1652, where he died a martyr after refusing to renounce his faith to the Turkish pasha in Suakin. Gorgoryos adds to this account, dating from 1656, with the following words: "I have also heard this from the monks in Cairo, and i know of no other version. It is now four years since he died."

James Bruce on his travels through Ethiopia in 1770 claimed to see lingering signs of Heyling's influence. Samuel Gobat likewise, in 1830, found Heyling's translation of the New Testament still in circulation. In some respects, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus carries on his legacy.
Q42884
German
ORG
Q75809
Lutheran
Concept
Q491507
Egypt
LOC
Q207521
Ethiopia
LOC
Q42908
Hanseatic city
Concept
Q2843
Lübeck
LOC
None
Johann Kirchmann
UNK
Q209842
University of Paris
ORG
Q154959
Hugo Grotius
PER
Q198998
Coptic
Concept
Q179829
Ethiopian
ORG
Q13955
Arabic
Concept
Q1218
Jerusalem
LOC
Q642265
Fasilides
PER
Q187900
Christology
Concept
Q18813
New Testament
Concept
Q28244
Amharic
Concept
Q305763
Abba Gorgoryos
PER
Q107013
martyr
Concept
Q2359535
Turkish
PER
Q571215
Suakin
LOC
Q348489
James Bruce
PER
Q124432
Samuel Gobat
PER
Q940272
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus
ORG
Q1433374
Peter Heyling
PER
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DATE
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1656-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
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NUMBER
date of birth
date of death
place of birth
place of death
date of death