Pezel, Christoph, a German theologian, was born March 5, 1539, at Plauen; studied at Wittenberg; was then three years cantor in Ids native place, and in 1567 became court-preacher and professor of theology at Wit- tenberg. An ardent advocate of Philippism (q.v.), he was deposed after the condemnation of Crypto-t lalvinisra in 1574; in L576 was sent out of the country: in l.">77 went to Siegen, when- he taught for a while, and then became pastor at Herborn. In 1580 he was called to Bremen as pastor, and in 1584 was made professor of theology at the newly founded Gymnasium illustre. In 1589 he again assumed the pastorate, and became also superintendent, and as such contributed to the strength- ening and development of Lutheranism. He died Feb. 25, 1604. Besides theological controversial writings, and j the so-called Wittenberg Catechism entitled Catechesis continens explicationem decalogi, symboli, oraiionis domi- nicae, doctrines dt pcenitentia et sacramentis (Wittenberg, | 1571), he wrote also MeUificium Historicum, a much- used handbook of history, and edited Melancthon's let- ters to Hardenberg. (J.H.W.)
Pezron. Paul, a Roman Catholic monastic of much celebrity, was iM,rn at Hennebon, in Bretagne, in 1639. He embraced the monastic life in the Cistercian abbey de Prieres in 1661 ; was appointed master of the no\ ices and sub-prior in 1672; sub-prior of the college of the Bernardinsat Paris in 1(177 •. vicar-general of his order in
1690, and obtained the abbey of Char ye in lc.c. He
resigned it finally to give himself entirely to his studies, and became a doctor of the Sorbonne. He died in L706. His nil, si important publication is Uantiquite des temps ri/n/i/ii 1 1 dej endue, contrt lesJuifs et les nouveavx chro- nologistes I Amst 1 •"■■■< T" . l2mo). In this work the author maintains the authority ol the Septuagint chronology against that of the Hebrew Bible. Pezron's book was extremely admired for the ingenuity and learning of it ; yet created, as was natural, no small alarm among the religious. Martianay, a Benedictine, and Le Quien, a Dominican, wrote against this new system, and under- took the defence of the Hebrew text; Martianay with great zeal and heat. Le Quien with more judgment and knowledge. Pezron published Defenst d( Vantiquiti des temps in 1691 | Lto), which, like the work itself, abounded with curious and learned researches, Le Quien replied, bill Martianay brought the affair into another court; an I. in 1693, laid the hooks and principles of Pezron
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before M. de Harlai, archbishop of Paris. Harlai com- municated the representation of this adversary to Pez- ron, who, finding no difficulty in supporting an opinion common to all the fathers before Jerome, rendered the accusation of no effect. Other works of his are, Es- sai d'un Coinnieutaire Littered et Historique stir Its Pn>- phetes (1693, 12mo) : — EHistoire Eraiigelitpn ( 'mijinuet par la Judaique et la Romaine (1696,2 vols. 12mo): — Anliquite de la Nation et de la Langue des Celtes (1703, 12mo, etc.). See Niceron, Memoires, vol. i; Diet. Hist, des A uteiirs Eccles. s. v. ; Darling, Cyclop. Bibliogr. s. v. ; Hoefer, Noitv. Bio;/. Gene rale. s. v.
Pfaff, Christoph Matthaus, D.D., a German Protestant theologian, son of Johann Christoph Pfaff (q. v.), was born Dec. 25, 1686. at Stuttgard. At the age of thirteen he was admitted to the university, and after having finished his theological studies, he re- ceived the means from the duke of Wiirtemberg, in 1706, to go to other universities to perfect himself in the knowledge of the Oriental tongues. He visited with this design several universities of Germany, Hol- land, and England. Upon his return to Stuttgard in 1709, he was employed to accompany the hereditary prince Charles-Alexandre to Italy, with whom he re- mained three years in Turin, occupied especially in cop- ying from the libraries the unpublished fragments of ancient ecclesiastical authors. He afterwards went with the prince to Holland, where he spent two years, and to Paris, continuing his researches in the libraries, and placing himself in connection with the most renowned learned men. Appointed in 1716 professor cf theology at Tubingen, he became in 1720 dean of the faculty and chancellor of the university; he also received several high ecclesiastical positions, and became among others, in 1727, abbe of Loch, which gave him the entree to the states of Wiirtemberg. In 1724 he was gratified with the title of count-palatine, and was elected in 1731 mem- ber of the Academy of Berlin. In 1756 he became chan- cellor of the University of Giessen, dean of the faculty of theology, and general superintendent of the churches. Possessing extensive and varied knowledge, he care- fully avoided the bitter tone of the theologians of his confession, and he even made, but without the least suc- cess, several attempts to unite the Lutheran and Cal- vinistic churches. He died at Giessen Nov. 19, 1760. Pfaffs erudition was immense, and his works so numer- ous that they fill a whole sheet of the German bibliogra- phies. Among his numerous works and dissertations we mention, De genuinis Librorum Novi Testamenti lec- tionibus (Amst. 1709, 8vo) : — Demonstrations solides de In r.'ritr th' In Religion Protestaute rontre la Rtligimi pretendue Catholique (Tub. 1713, 1719):— De Evangeliis sub Anastatio imperatore non corruptis (Tubing. 1717, 4to) : reprinted, with several other dissertations of Pfaff, in his Prinistim Tubingenses (ibid. 1718, 4to) : — De litur- giis, missalibus, agendis et libris t celt siasticis Kcclesice ori- entalis et Occident ulis ceteris et moderna: (ibid. 1718, 4to) : — De origine juris ecclesiastici veraque ejus imhile (ibid. 1719, 1720, 1756, 4to) : — Dissertations Anti-Bceliance tres (ibid. 1719, 1720, 4to): — Institutiones theologies dog- matical et moralis (ibid. 1719, 8vo; Frankf. 1721, 8vo) ; one of the first theological works written in Germany in which the rationalistic tendency is recognised: — Iniro- ductio in historiam theologies litterariam (ibid. 1720, 8vo ; ibid. 1724-1726, 3 vols. 4to) : — De variationibus ecclesia- rum Protestant in in. adversus Bossuetum (ibid. 1720, 4to) : — Gesammelte Schriften so zur Vereinigung der protesti- renden Kirchen abzielen (Halle, 1723, 2 vols. 4to) ; a col- lection of writings tending to the reunion of the Protes- tant churches: — De titulopatriarchce a?cunienici(Tubwg. 1735, 4to) : — De ecclesia sanguinem non sitiente (ibid. 1740, 4to) : — De, sterconanistis medii cevi (ibid. 1750, 4to) : — De aureolis virginum, doctorum et martyrum (ibid. 1753, 4to). As an editor, Pfaff published Epitome In- stitutionum dirinarum Lactantii (Paris, 1712, 8vo), first edition complete: — S. Irentni fragmenta anecdota (La Have, 1715, 8vo) ; a publication followed by a dispute