Gottlieb Nathanael Bonwetsch
The Rev. Gottlieb Nathanael Bonwetsch was born on February 7, 1848, in Norka, the son of Pastor Christoph Heinrich Bonwetsch, who served in Norka at that time, and Beate Christiana Friederich.
He married Lydia Deggeller in the colony of Grimm on December 15, 1883. She was born in Karras in the province of Stavropol on March 5, 1861, and died in Göttingen on January 4, 1939. She was the daughter of Pastor Bernhard Deggeller and Elisabeth Lang.
He married Lydia Deggeller in the colony of Grimm on December 15, 1883. She was born in Karras in the province of Stavropol on March 5, 1861, and died in Göttingen on January 4, 1939. She was the daughter of Pastor Bernhard Deggeller and Elisabeth Lang.
Photograph from "The Church, The People, and the Age" (1914), edited by Robert Scott and George William Gilmore
From 1859 to 1865, he attended high school and college in Reval (now Tallinn, Estonia). He was a theology student at the seminary in Dorpat, Estonia (now Tartu) from 1866 to 1870. He was ordained in Moscow on February 7, 1871. From 1871 to 1874, he served as the assistant to the dean of the Bergseite colonies. He received further theological education in Göttingen, Germany, from 1874 to 1875. He served from 1875 to 1877 as his father's assistant pastor in Norka.
He returned to Germany again, this time to Bonn, for further education in 1877-1878. On April 8, 1878, he became a professor of church history at the seminary in Dorpat. He earned a doctorate in theology on November 2, 1881, and was tenured as a professor on October 3, 1883. He served on the Göttingen City Council from 1891 to 1921, retaining an emeritus professorship in church history.
Gottlieb Nathanael Bonwetsch died in Göttingen on July 18, 1925.
The son of Rev. Gottlieb Nathanael Bonwetsch, Dr. Gerhard Bonwetsch, is the author of Geschichte der deutschen Kolonien an der Wolga (The History of the German Colonies on the Volga), published in Stuttgart in 1919. The book was dedicated to his father on his 70th birthday. Dr. Gerhard Bonwetsch states that his father was born on February 17, 1848, in Norka on the Bergseite of the Volga.
He returned to Germany again, this time to Bonn, for further education in 1877-1878. On April 8, 1878, he became a professor of church history at the seminary in Dorpat. He earned a doctorate in theology on November 2, 1881, and was tenured as a professor on October 3, 1883. He served on the Göttingen City Council from 1891 to 1921, retaining an emeritus professorship in church history.
Gottlieb Nathanael Bonwetsch died in Göttingen on July 18, 1925.
The son of Rev. Gottlieb Nathanael Bonwetsch, Dr. Gerhard Bonwetsch, is the author of Geschichte der deutschen Kolonien an der Wolga (The History of the German Colonies on the Volga), published in Stuttgart in 1919. The book was dedicated to his father on his 70th birthday. Dr. Gerhard Bonwetsch states that his father was born on February 17, 1848, in Norka on the Bergseite of the Volga.
Cover of the book titled "Kirchengeschichte Russlands" by Gottlieb N. Bonwetsch from Norka.
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A page from the book titled "The Church, The People, and the Age" (1914), edited by Robert Scott and George William Gilmore
Cover of the book "Grundriss der Dogmengeschichte" by Gottlieb N. Bonwetsch from Norka.
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Sources
Amburger, Erik. Die Pastoren Der Evangelischen Kirchen Russlands Vom Ende Des 16. Jahrhunderts Bis 1937: Ein Biografisches Lexikon. Lüneburg: Inst. Nordostdt. Kulturwerk, 1998. 269. Print.
Bonwetsch, Gerhard. Geschichte der deutschen Kolonien an der Wolga. Stuttgart: J. Engelhorns Nachf., 1919. 26. Print.
Schnurr, Joseph. Die Kirchen und das religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen. Stuttgart: AER-Verl., 1978. 127. Print.
Scott, Robert, George William Gilmore, and Clarence Augustine Beckwith. The Church, the People, and the Age. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1914. Print.
Hasselblatt, Arnold. Album academicum of the Imperial University of Dorpat. Tartu: 1889.
Bonwetsch, Gerhard. Geschichte der deutschen Kolonien an der Wolga. Stuttgart: J. Engelhorns Nachf., 1919. 26. Print.
Schnurr, Joseph. Die Kirchen und das religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen. Stuttgart: AER-Verl., 1978. 127. Print.
Scott, Robert, George William Gilmore, and Clarence Augustine Beckwith. The Church, the People, and the Age. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1914. Print.
Hasselblatt, Arnold. Album academicum of the Imperial University of Dorpat. Tartu: 1889.
Last updated October 27, 2025