Anthony Norris Groves

Anthony Norris Groves ( born 1 February 1795 in Newton Valence, Hampshire, † May 20 1853 in Bristol ) was an English dentist and missionary who founded the first evangelical mission to Arabic -speaking Muslims. He worked in Baghdad and later in South India. His ideas influenced a circle of friends in the Brethren movement, including John Nelson Darby and George Mueller, who later Groves ' sister Mary married.

Groves tried to simplify the community and the mission and saw it as a return to the methods of Jesus Christ and the apostles, as he found it in the New Testament. As a missionary, his goal was to help local believers to build their own community without depending on foreign education, approval or finance. Groves is considered the father of faith missions. His ideas were broadly supported in evangelical circles.

Life

Childhood and youth

Anthony Norris Groves was the only son of a businessman. In 1810 he began to study chemistry in London, which he finished in 1813 to join his uncle in Plymouth and there to learn the dental profession. From heartache he turned in 1814 to the Christian faith and made ​​a mental note to become a missionary. At the same time he opened a dental practice whose success exceeded his expectations, brought her to him annually 400 pounds a. This livelihood strengthened his hope that his uncle would agree to the marriage with his cousin Mary Bathia Thompson. But until the end of 1816 he succeeded Advertise to Mary, whom he married in the same year. During this time, the desire flared up again, to become a missionary.

Bible and theology

Outwardly, the family Groves was very successful, but inside Groves had the feeling that he should surrender to Jesus Christ for a plant to reach its target with increasing wealth became increasingly difficult. After a spiritually burdensome time in 1822 Groves began to study the Bible. Soon after, he was concerned with the right use of possessions and came to the conclusion part of his income for the " work of the Lord " to give away. Between 1823 and 1825, he first began to give a tenth of his income, then a quarter, and finally everything. At the same time Mary began to serve the poor. This harrowing experience opened their eyes to their own mental state. She experienced a spiritual rebirth and was ready to follow her husband, if God should call him in the missionary work. To prepare for the mission work Groves began in 1826 to study theology in Dublin and gave up his job.

Mission in Baghdad

During his stays in Dublin in 1827 learned Groves Christians know that outside of all religious organizations met for prayer and Bible study, which was completely new at the time. This group also confirmed him in the belief, celebrating the Lord's Supper without the presence of an ordained clergyman. A friend questioned whether ordination was really necessary. When the money required for ordination, he was stolen, he broke off his studies and traveled with his family from London to St. Petersburg to Baghdad. Once there, he founded a school, learned the language and living with the locals. When the plague broke out in 1831, was also Groves ' wife Mary and one of his children among the victims. Shortly thereafter, he fell sick of the plague, but from which he recovered.

Mission to India

In May 1833 Groves broke on an extended trip to all over India and traveled to Bombay, Calcutta and Ceylon until well into the Gangetic Plain. On this trip, he visited numerous mission stations. After completion of the visit to India in June 1834 Groves sailed back to England. There he met Harriet Baynes, whom he took as his second wife in April 1835. 1836, the couple traveled with a mission team to Madras (India). However, already a year later, the mission team to enable Chittoor, where it worked until 1848. This year, Groves returned to England, but left again in 1849 to break again to India. 1852 Groves returned seriously ill back to England. At the age of 58 years he died in Bristol in the house of George Muller.

Writings

  • Christian devotedness, or the Consideration of Our Saviour's Precept " Lay not up for yourselves Treasures upon Earth" ( 1825 ² 1829)
  • Mr. Anthony Norris Groves Journal of, Missionary, falling on a Journey from London to Baghdad through Russia, Georgia, and Persia; So, a journal of some Months ' Residence at Bagdad (1831 )
  • On the Nature of Christian Influence ( 1833)
  • On the Liberty of Ministry in the Church of Christ (1834 )
  • A Brief Account of the Present Circumstances of the Tinnevelly Mission ( 1835)
  • The Present State of the Tinnevelly Mission ( 1836)
  • The New Testament in the Blood of Jesus, the Sole Rule of Morals and Discipline to the Christian Church ( 1837)
  • Remarks on a Pamphlet Entitled "The Perpetuity of the Moral Law" ( 1840)
  • The Tottenham Case (1849 )
  • Catholic Christianity and Party Communion, delineated in two Letters, etc. (nd)

In German translation appeared:

  • The Christian's devotion to his savior or meditation on the Lord's commandment: "You shall not yourselves treasures on earth ," Matt. Cap. 6, V 19 Ehlers, Einbeck 1831st
  • Do not be worried ... The happiness of a dependent life. CLV, Bielefeld, 1988 ² 2004.
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