Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand was born in
Køge,
Zealand. He attended
Herlufsholm Academy in
Copenhagen, followed by training as a theological student in the
Netherlands at
Leiden University and the
University of Franeker. He returned to Copenhagen in 1608 to serve as
Rector of Herlufsholm Academy. In 1610, he became a Professor Pædagogicus at
University of Copenhagen, professor of Greek in 1613 and a member of the
theological faculty in 1615. In 1617 he was appointed tutor to
Crown Prince Christian, eldest son of King
Christian IV, returning to the university three years later. He was ordained Bishop of Zealand (
Bisperække for Sjællands stift) in 1639. During his long and fruitful activity in this office, he reorganized the worship service of the
Church of Denmark, especially by abolishing the Latin choir and by introducing Wednesday services during
Lent. At this same time, Denmark-Norway was impacted by the
Counter-Reformation efforts of the
Roman Catholic Church through propaganda generated by the
scholastic revival. Brochmand made the controversy with
Rome a subject of his public lectures. In 1626–28, he published his
Controversiæ sacræ (3 parts), a reply in the style of
Lutheran scholasticism to
Cardinal Bellarmine's attacks on the
Lutheran Church. In 1634, at the king's order, he engaged in a
polemic with the
Jesuits, who endeavored to defend the conversion of
Christian William, Margrave of
Brandenburg to
Roman Catholicism. stamp, 2003Against this pamphlet Brochmand delivered a series of lectures which, after his death, were collected and published under the title
Apologiæ, speculi veritatis confutatio (1653). His reputation as a
dogmatist was established by his
Systema universae theologiae (2 vols., 1633) in which he proved himself a firm opponent, not only of the Roman Catholics, but also of
Calvinism. He wrote several devotional works, of which his
Sabbati sanctificatio was for more than two centuries a favorite
collection of sermons with the Danish people. ==Legacy==