John Gifford Bellett

John Gifford Bellett ( born July 19, 1795 in Dublin, † October 10, 1864 ) was an Irish preacher and Bible teacher of the Brethren movement.

Life

Bellett was the eldest son of a wealthy Anglo-Irish family. He attended primary school in Taunton (his grandmother lived in Somerset ), the Grammar School in Exeter and in 1815 Trinity College in Dublin, where he met John Nelson Darby. Here he also experienced a conversion in 1817. From 1819 to 1821 he studied in London jurisprudence. In 1821 he was admitted as a lawyer in Dublin, but soon gave up his job in favor of a lay preacher in the Church of England to work. In 1825 he married Mary Drury, the daughter of an admiral. The couple had six children, of which only the daughter Letty reached adulthood.

End of 1826 or early 1827 Bellett learned the aspiring missionary Anthony Norris Groves know who suggested to him in the spring of 1827, to celebrate the Lord's Supper in a small, domestic circle. In winter 1827/28 John Nelson Darby came to this group; he was one of the closest friends Belletts. After they had come together end 1829 with a similar type of house group by the physician Edward Cronin, they moved in May 1830 into a public hall and so formed the first congregation of the Brethren movement.

From now on, Bellett devoted entirely to the holding of Bible studies, pastoral care and the writing of edifying books and articles. In the first magazine founded in 1834 the Brethren movement, The Christian Witness, he was the most prolific author. 1834/35 he took with Darby a preaching tour through the South West of Ireland, where they encountered a number of home groups that are on the same principles as the community gathered in Dublin.

From 1846 to 1848 the family lived Bellett due to illness of her son John in the English spa town of Bath. In this time the disputes between Darby, Benjamin Wills Newton and George Muller fell. Bellett first tried to exert a moderating influence, then reluctantly turned but on the side of Darby and the "closed brethren." Since his home church had the "open " attached wings in Dublin, he did not return until 1854 to return to Dublin to start a new " closed" community. But privately he used with the "open brethren " continued contact.

At the Irish revival movement in 1859 Bellett took a lively interest; until his death he held weekly Bible studies from new converts. He died at the age of 69 years, about a year after his wife, Mary.

Writings

A directory of Belletts writings can be found in the catalog of the Christian Brethren Archive ( University Library of Manchester ). In German translation appeared, inter alia:

  • The glory of Jesus Christ our Lord, in His humanity. R. Brockhaus, Elberfeld 41891, 51907 Revision: ., The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in His humanity. Ibid. 61926th edition: the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord as a man. Ernst- Paul -Verlag, Neustadt on the Wine Route 1965.
  • The Son of God. R. Brockhaus, Elberfeld, 1894, 21907 edition. Ernst- Paul -Verlag, Neustadt on the Wine Route 1953.
  • Elisa. Brief Reflections on 2 Kings. 2-13. R. Brockhaus, Elberfeld, 1897.
  • The open sky. Short Thoughts on the Epistle to the Hebrews. R. Brockhaus, Elberfeld 1901 edition. Ernst- Paul -Verlag, Neustadt on the Wine Route 1954.
  • The world before the flood and the patriarchs. R. Brockhaus, Elberfeld, 1925.
  • Reflection on the Gospel according to John. Christian magazine spread, Hückeswagen 21978th
  • Reflection on the Gospel according to Luke. Christian magazine spread, Hückeswagen 1979.
  • Thoughts on the Letter to the Ephesians. Ernst- Paul -Verlag, Neustadt on the Wine Route 1984.
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