Hymn Writers of the Church

Decius, Nicolaus, was born in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, toward the close of the fifteenth century. He was first a monk in the Roman Catholic Church, being in 1519 Probst of the cloister at Steterburg, near Wolfenbüttel; but becoming a convert to Luther's views, he left the Romish Church in 1522 and moved to Brunswick, where he taught school for one year. He became an Evangelical preacher at Stettin in 1523, and was for many years pastor of the Church of St. Nicholas. He died suddenly March 21, 1541. His work was carried on under constant opposition from the Church of Rome, but he was a popular and influential preacher among the early Protestants. He was a good musician, and composed tunes for three hymns that he wrote, only one of which is contained in this collection: