Martin Luther: Christian theologian and initiator of the Reformation. Protestantism. Martin Luther and the beginning of the Reformation. Reasons for the success of the spread of Luther's ideas Who is Martin Luther

Martin Luther is famous, first of all, for initiating large-scale transformations in the religious worldview of the people at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries, which led to the emergence of another direction of Christianity - Protestantism.

Who was Martin Luther?

Lucas Cranach. Hans and Margaret Luther.

Martin Luther was born into the family of a former peasant who became a mining metallurgist, and eventually a wealthy burgher. When the boy was 14 years old, he was sent to a Franciscan Catholic school, after which, at the behest of his parents, he began studying law at the university in Erfurt. From an early age, the boy was attracted to theology; together with his friends, he sang church hymns under the windows of wealthy townspeople.

In 1505, against the wishes of his parents, Martin left the law faculty and entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. After only a year of service, the young man took monastic vows, and in 1507 he was ordained a priest.

In 1508 he was sent to teach at one of the newly established institutes in Wittenberg, where he became interested in the philosophical works of Bishop Augustine, one of the outstanding figures of the Christian church.

During one of his trips to Italy in 1511, Luther came to the conclusion that the Roman Catholic Church was widely abusing its position by issuing indulgences for money. It was a crisis of faith that he could not cope with for a long time.

Soon after the trip, Luther received a doctorate in theology and began to teach extensively. At the same time, he very thoughtfully and painstakingly studied biblical texts. As a result of his theological studies, Luther developed his own beliefs about how a believer should serve God, which diverged significantly from what the Catholic Church professed.

"95 Theses" and the beginning of the Reformation

Luther's 95 Theses. commons.wikimedia.org

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church a document consisting of 95 theses criticizing the papacy and indulgences (forgiveness of sins for money). In his message, nailed to the parish door, he declared that the church is not a mediator between God and man, and the Pope has no right to give absolution, since a person saves his soul not through the church, but through faith in the Creator.

At first, Luther’s theses remained without due attention from the Pope, who considered that this was one of the manifestations of “monastic quarrels” (discord between different church parishes), which were not uncommon in those days. Meanwhile, Luther, having secured the support of the Roman Prince Frederick the Wise, continued to spread his views on the activities of the Catholic Church. Only when the Pope sent his emissaries to him did the theologian agree to stop criticizing the existing church foundations.

Luther's excommunication

One of the key events of the Reformation period was the Leipzig Dispute, which took place in 1519. Johann Eck, an outstanding theologian and ardent opponent of Luther, challenged one of the reformer’s comrades, Karlstadt, to a public debate in the city of Leipzig. All of Eck's theses were constructed in such a way as to condemn the ideas and beliefs of Martin Luther. Luther was able to join the debate and defend his position only a week after the start of the debate.

Luther in Worms: “On this I stand...” commons.wikimedia.org

Martin Luther, in contrast to his opponent, insisted that the head of the church is Jesus Christ, and the papal church received consecration only in the 12th century, thus not being the legal substitute of God on earth. The dispute between the two opponents lasted for two whole days, and was witnessed by a large number of people. The debate between the parties ended with Luther breaking all ties with the papal church.

The speech of the theologian from Erfurt stirred up the masses, and entire movements began to organize spontaneously, which demanded church reforms and the elimination of monastic vows.

Luther's ideas found particular support among the emerging layer of capitalists, because the papal church strongly suppressed the economic independence and entrepreneurial activity of the people, condemning personal savings.

In 1521 the Roman Emperor Charles V published the so-called The Edict of Worms (decree), according to which Martin Luther was declared a heretic and his works were subject to destruction. Anyone who supported him could henceforth be excommunicated from the papal church. Luther publicly burned the imperial decree and declared that the fight against papal dominance was his life’s work.

Martin Luther burns a bull. Woodcut, 1557. Commons.wikimedia.org

Luther's patron, Frederick the Wise, secretly sent the theologian to the remote castle of Wartburg so that the Pope could not find out about the location of the traitor. It was here, while in voluntary confinement, that Luther began translating the Bible into German. It must be said that in those days the people did not have free access to biblical texts: there were no translations into German, and people had to rely on the dogmas that the church dictated to them. The work of translating the Bible into German was of great significance for the people, and helped the theologian himself to confirm his beliefs regarding the Catholic Church.

Development of the Reformation

The main idea of ​​the Reformation, according to Luther, was a non-violent limitation of the powers of the Pope, without war and bloodshed. However, spontaneous protests by the masses at that time were often accompanied by pogroms of Catholic parishes.

As a countermeasure, imperial knights were sent, some of whom, however, went over to the side of the instigators of the Reformation. This happened because the social importance of knights in a prosperous Catholic society had greatly decreased compared to ancient times, the warriors dreamed of restoring their reputation and privileged position.

The next stage of the confrontation between Catholics and reformers was the peasant war led by another spiritual figure of the Reformation - Thomas Munzer. The peasant revolt was unorganized and was soon suppressed by the forces of the empire. However, even after the end of the war, supporters of the Reformation continued to promote their vision of the role of the Catholic Church among the people. The reformers combined all their postulates into the so-called. Tetrapolitan Confession.

At this time, Luther was already very ill and could not defend his vision of a nonviolent Reformation to other participants in the protest movement. On February 18, 1546, he died in the city of Eisleben at the age of 62 years.

Bugenhagen preaches at Luther's funeral. commons.wikimedia.org

Reformation without Luther

Adherents of the idea of ​​the Reformation began to be called Protestants, and those who followed the theological teachings of Matrin Luther - Lutherans.

The Reformation continued after the death of its ideological inspirer, although the imperial army dealt a serious blow to the Protestants. Cities and spiritual centers of Protestantism were devastated, many adherents of the Reformation were imprisoned, even Martin Luther's grave was destroyed. Protestants were forced to make significant concessions to the Catholic Church, however, the ideas of the Reformation were not forgotten. In 1552, the second major war between Protestants and imperial forces began, which ended in victory for the reformers. As a result, in 1555, the Augsburg Religious Peace was concluded between Catholics and Protestants, which equalized the rights of representatives of Catholicism, Protestantism and other faiths.

The Reformation, which began in Germany, affected many European countries to varying degrees: Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France. The authorities of these states were forced to make concessions to the growing masses of people who demanded freedom of religion.

In the 16th century, the world was mired in the chaos of the Reformation, the instigator of which was Martin Luther. Some called him “a man with the soul of the devil”, others considered him an angel, but today both Protestants and Catholics agree that he was not only right in his judgments, but also changed the history of the West for the better.

Who is Martin Luther

Luther's personality is perceived ambiguously by many.

The one who, at a difficult moment in his life, asked St. Anne for help, later became famous for renouncing the cult of saints. Anyone who vowed to take the monastic vow soon abandoned the institution of monasticism. The former faithful son of the Catholic Church turned the entire structure of medieval Catholicism on its head. Being a devoted servant of the Pope, over time he began to identify him with the Antichrist. But at the same time, his controversial personality awakened Christian consciousness in Europe.

Historian R. Baynton

Birth and childhood

On November 10, 1483, a boy was born into the family of Hans and Margaret Luther, who was named Martin. The Luther family was not rich, but the father was very hardworking and strived to provide his family with everything they needed. To do this, he moved from a small Saxon village to Eisleben, where Martin was born, and got a job in the copper mines. After the future reformer was 6 months old, the Luthers moved to Mansfeld, where the family’s financial situation improved sharply, and Hans Luther acquired the status of a wealthy burgher.

Schooling

The first difficulties in life overtook Martin at the age of 7 years. The parents sent their son to study at a city school, which turned out to be almost useless for the talented little genius: during 7 years of study, Martin learned to write, read, and also learned several prayers and the Ten Commandments.

At the age of 14, the boy is transferred to the Franciscan school in Magdeburg. There was not enough money, so Luther and his friends sang under the windows of devout citizens, trying to somehow earn extra money. Then, for the first time, thoughts came to him that he should follow in his father’s footsteps and go to the mines, but a chance meeting with the wife of a wealthy local resident opened the way for the boy to a new life.

Student years

By decision of his parents, in 1501 Martin entered the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Erfurt. At that time, wealthy citizens sought to give their sons a higher legal education, for which it was necessary to take a course in the “seven liberal arts.”

The teenager had an excellent memory, which allowed him to grasp new knowledge on the fly. He easily mastered complex material and soon became popular among his peers.

After receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1505, Luther began studying law. That same year, against his father's wishes, he entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. This event is preceded by several legends. According to one of them, Martin once found himself in a severe thunderstorm and, in exchange for a miraculous rescue, promised to join the Augustinian Order.

The second says that the future reformer abandoned worldly life due to the sudden death of a close friend and awareness of his own sinfulness.

Service in the monastery

Luther took monastic vows in 1506, and in 1507 he was elevated to the rank of priest. At first, his activities in the holy place had little to do with worship - Martin served the elders, guarded the gates, wound the tower clock and swept the church yard.

Nevertheless, he carefully adhered to these vows, fulfilling every instruction. Immersed in the life of a monk, Martin devoted himself entirely to prayer, using austerities in food, clothing and rest, and later recalled: “If anyone could go to heaven by living a monastic life, it would be me.”

Luther continued to learn and develop. In 1508, on the recommendation of the vicar general, Martin (at that time already Augustine’s brother) was sent to the University of Wittenberg as a teacher of dialectics and physics.

After earning a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, Luther was able to teach theology and was qualified to interpret biblical scriptures. To better understand their meaning, the priest began to study foreign languages.

In 1511, having gone to Rome on business of the order, Luther was greatly impressed by the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, which gave indulgences for money, and since then his attitude towards the church changed: the priest was overcome by experiences that played a large role in the formation of his views.

Since 1512, Luther received the position of professor of theology, read sermons, painstakingly studied the Bible, and also served as caretaker in 11 monasteries.

Personal life

Contrary to all the canons of the Catholic Church, Luther believed that God cannot forbid people to live in love and continue their family line. Therefore, on June 13, 1525, his wedding took place with Katharina von Bora, a former nun who bore him six children in their marriage. At the time of marriage, the Protestant was 42, and his chosen one was only 26.

The harsh church upbringing and asceticism adopted by the wife made her character strict and stern, which was clearly manifested in the life of the spouses. They chose an abandoned Augustinian monastery as their place of residence. They had no property, but their home was always open to those in need until the moment he died.

Illness and death

Hard work and emotional distress undermined Luther's health. Until his death, he lectured, preached and wrote books, often forgetting about food and healthy sleep. The illness crept up on him unnoticed, at first manifesting itself in dizziness and sudden fainting, but then it became much more serious, and the torment it caused was unbearable.

During his lifetime, Martin admitted that the devil often visited him at night and asked strange questions. The so-called stone disease made him suffer for many years, and Luther desperately asked the Lord for death.

On April 18, 1546, the great reformer passed away. His body was buried in the courtyard of the very church where, according to legend, he once nailed his famous 95 theses.

Religious activities

After receiving his Doctor of Bible degree in 1512, Luther began a series of Bible lectures that he preached throughout his life.

Teaching theology and theology

The initial lectures of the founder of Protestantism were devoted to the Psalter. Having worked through it all, Martin showed even then that he was at the top of Bible study in his day.

At that time, the so-called Biblical humanism came into fashion, relating to the humanities - the study of ancient Greek and Latin writers, as well as Hebrew literature. Biblical humanists were interested in a wide range of topics - ancient and classical authors, both ecclesiastical and pagan. In addition, they were very interested in mastering foreign languages. Luther often used their works in his lectures.

Having finished his lectures on the Psalter, Martin took up lectures on the Epistle to the Romans, working through its text from 1515 to 1516.

The following year he lectured on Galatians and published them in 1519. The year 1517 marked the beginning of work on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Towards the end of 1517, the priest became involved in controversy in the church over his 95 Theses, so a second series of lectures had to be started in 1518-1519, as the events of the Reformation piled on him the burden of new affairs.

In 1535, the reformer began a series of lectures on the Book of Genesis, which took him ten years.

Sermons

Luther began his preaching work in the city church of Wittenberg and at first had no intention of going against his native Catholic Church. The parishioners loved him for his eloquence and piety. In his sermons, he often reflected on the relationship between man and God.

For the Roman Church, these relationships were very clear: God addresses people through the Pope, and then down the church hierarchy. Consequently, the Vatican ascribed to itself a monopoly on the interpretation of the Bible and believed that it could punish those who, in its opinion, had violated the biblical commandments.

The Reformer rejected “apostolic mediation” in the relationship between God and man. The highest spiritual authority, according to Luther's teachings, was only the Bible.

After the events of 1524-1525, Luther began to emphasize the lack of education and stupidity of the peasants, speaking of the need to train competent preachers.

The priest set himself the following tasks:

• create a canon of doctrinal books;
• train clergy to preach the correct gospel teaching.

That is why he prepared a collection of church sermons called Postilla, which priests could use if they did not want to read their own.

Luther's reform activities

On October 18, 1517, Pope Leo X issued a bull on the remission of sins and the sale of indulgences in order to “Provide assistance in the construction of the Church of St. Peter and the salvation of the souls of the Christian world." This was precisely the beginning of Luther’s activities, which meant only the eradication of abuses within the Church. He opposed indulgences and had no plans to start a conflict with the Pope, and there was no talk of founding his own Church.

Theses against the Roman Church

Disillusioned with Catholic teachings, Luther wrote his 95 Theses, and on October 31, 1517, contrary to the legend that he nailed them to the church gates of Wittenberg, Martin sent them to the Bishop of Brandenburg and the Archbishop of Mainz. Thus began the confrontation between Martin Luther and the Pope.

The theses say that the state should not depend on the Church, and it should not act as a mediator between man and God. Despite the fact that there had been attempts to resist the Catholic Church before, Luther’s theses became popular and turned a simple monk into a revolutionary.

Pope Leo X made a lot of efforts to calm the rebellious man, declaring anathema to Martin, excommunicated him from the church, and even ensured that in April 1521 the reformer was condemned by the Reichstag of Worms. But this did not stop Luther, so the monk found himself outlawed.

Burning of a papal bull

The disputes raised by Luther began to pose a great danger to the Church, so the Pope decided to act more harshly, and in 1520 he issued a bull in which he excommunicated Luther as a heretic and condemned his writings.

In response, Luther publicly burned this bull in the courtyard of the University of Wittenberg and, in his address “To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation,” declared that the fight against papal dominance was the business of the entire German nation.

Issued on May 26, 1521, the Edict of Worms accuses Martin of heresy, but supporters of his ideas help their ideological mastermind escape by staging his kidnapping. In fact, Luther was settled in Wartburg Castle, where he began translating the Bible into German.

Bible Translation

The main thing for Luther remained faith in God, and he recognized only Holy Scripture as its source. That is why Luther decided to translate the Bible into German, and not its canonized version, the so-called Vulgate, but the original source.

The reformer worked on translating the Bible for about twelve years. For the first three months he worked on the text of the New Testament, relying on the translations of Erasmus of Rotterdam. Preparing a German translation of the Old Testament turned out to be a long and arduous task.

A book entitled "The Bible, which is the complete Holy Scripture in German" with the caption "March. Luther. Wittengberg" was published in 1534 and became the most published book in Germany.

The mental anguish that constantly accompanied Martin’s life haunted his translation work related to the Bible. Until his death, he constantly improved his creation, convening “revision commissions for the translation of the Holy Scriptures.” During his lifetime, several hundred errors were corrected in the translation.

Adoption of Protestantism

Protestantism as a religion received official acceptance by society in 1529 and was initially considered one of the movements of Catholicism, but a few years later a split occurred, dividing it into two movements: Lutheranism and Calvinism.

Jacques Calvin became the second major reformer who promoted the idea of ​​the absolute predetermination of human destiny by God.

Preacher Books

Spreading the reformation spirit, Luther used the literary genres of pamphlets, ballads and woodcuts, which were unpopular at that time.

He published his 95 theses in printed form in the form of pamphlets and leaflets, realizing that this was one of the best and simplest ways to disseminate his own ideas. In many pamphlets, the author encouraged readers to discuss its contents and read it aloud to those who did not know how to read and write.

The Wittenberg priest also successfully used news ballads, made in the form of descriptions of events in poetic form, set to an already known melody. News ballads often combined a pious melody with secular or even blasphemous lyrics.

The main and most popular works of the reformer include the following:

• Berleburg Bible;
• Lectures on the Epistle to the Romans;
• 95 theses on indulgences;
• To the Christian nobility of the German nation;
• About the Babylonian captivity of the church;
• Letter to Mulpforth;
• Open letter to Pope Leo X;
• About the freedom of a Christian;
• Against the damned bull of the Antichrist;
• About the slavery of the will;
• About the war against the Turks;
• Large and Small Catechism;
• Letter of transfer;
• Praise for the music;
• About the Jews and their lies.

Video

A short report dedicated to the great reformer.

On October 31, 1517, a very active Catholic preacher from the Augustinian order, a 34-year-old priest named (1483-1546), nailed his theological manifesto, consisting of 95 theses, to the gates of the castle church in the Saxon city of Wittenberg. There was nothing extraordinary in this event itself: this is the second decade of the 16th century, the era of the “high Renaissance,” which will soon move into the “later” one. Recently, such titans of Renaissance art as Bellini, Giordone, Botticelli, Bramante died; Bosch died a year ago; Leonardo before Vinci will die in two years; Raphael will die in three years. Michelangelo has already painted the Sistine Chapel, Durer has already created almost all of his masterpieces. The Spaniards discovered America a long time ago and are exploring it in all directions, the Portuguese have already paved the sea route to India, and Magellan is already preparing to circumnavigate the world. Book printing has been developing for more than half a century; in Germany alone there are already more than ten universities, where, as it should be, theological disputes are being conducted, and the disputes are public. A circle of the so-called has been gathering in Oxford for a long time. Christian humanists led by the dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, John Colet, who rejects Confession and other church institutions. Niccolò Machiavelli had already written his “The Prince” (1513), Thomas More had already composed his “Utopia” (1516), Erasmus of Rotterdam had already published all his main works, and just in the same year he published the first critical edition of the New Testament in Basel. The year before, the first critical edition of the Psalter had already been published in Genoa, in four languages ​​and with three Latin translations. Johann Reuchlin had already proved the need to study Jewish books, so that under his influence, Pope Leo X not only refused to ban the Talmud to the Jews, but even opened a department of Hebrew in Rome. Theological ferment concerns not only the educated elite, but also the “broad masses of the people”: the Waldenses in France and Italy have not disappeared at all, the Hussites in the Czech Republic have long become a local denomination, throughout the Catholic world, here and there, charismatic communities of varying degrees of exaltation are emerging. So the appearance of a new Savonarola anywhere in Europe would be quite expected, just as his outcome would be expected - either complete obscurity, into which many failed Savonarolas have sunk, or a public execution instead of the declared end of the world, which was awarded to the successful Girolamo Savonarola 19 years ago. The only thing that could be completely unexpected is that the new Savonarola will not only remain famous and alive, but will also win, taking with him not just one city or even a country, but almost half of Europe. That is why, from October 31, 1517, not only the history of the teachings of Martin Luther himself, but also the entire Reformation, otherwise called Protestantism, is counted.

Reformation and Modernity

Religion is, first of all, a worldview, and the challenge of Protestantism is a worldview challenge

What new and surprising can be said about a historical phenomenon that is already 500 years old and without which it is impossible to imagine all these 500 years? At first glance, there is absolutely nothing: Protestantism played a key role in the formation of modern civilization, and any modern person should be aware of his “ancestry.” Not having any information about Luther is the same as not knowing anything about Columbus, Copernicus or Shakespeare: we do not owe our existence to all these people, but our very existence without them could be somewhat different, we would simply live in a different culture . Inattention to the religious factor is not explained by indifference to religion itself, as it may seem at first glance, but by an underestimation of that most important sphere of human life that religion directly concerns - the sphere of worldview. Any religion is, first of all, a worldview that should determine the whole life, and the challenge of Protestantism is, first of all, a worldview challenge, everything else is secondary. Ignoring the ideological essence of any religion gives rise to false myths even about its external and accidental properties, and these myths are successfully supported by everyone who is ready, for example, to endlessly talk about the harm or benefit of the Reformation, but fail to read at least once the same “95 Theses” . The most frequently repeated myths about Protestantism - repeated not only by superficial journalists and poorly educated politicians, but also by seemingly serious humanitarians - are the myths that the Reformation stood for the value of freedom against religious "despotism", defended the value of reason against religious "obscurantism" .

If we turn to the doctrines of the Reformation, there is no talk of any “progress” there.

It is worth noting that this understanding of Protestantism is associated, first of all, with a deeply clichéd perception of European history itself as a unilinear “progress”, where the “dark Middle Ages” are suddenly replaced by the “light” trends of the New Age (Modernism), all without exception “liberation” and “rational” - Renaissance, Humanism, Reformation and, finally, the Enlightenment itself. The Reformation in this scheme is perceived not as an independent phenomenon, but simply as a certain stage or aspect of the general “progressive” movement forward, as if Luther and the other founding fathers of Protestantism were completely in solidarity with this “progress”, and in their views they are certainly closer to future French revolutionaries than to Spanish inquisitors. But if we turn to the real doctrines and texts of the founders of the Reformation themselves, then there is no talk of any “progress” or “revolution”. The accusatory pathos of the first Protestants concerned exclusively theological issues, and the schism of the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century itself was a purely religious conflict, on which other conflicts were layered - social, political, geopolitical, economic - which provided it with such a large-scale escalation, and for Luther himself - actual victory.

Luther did not understand what the Church was

The initial reason for the indignation regarding the young Augustinian monk was abuse Catholic clergy by their position and frank trade church sacraments, especially indulgence - remission of sins, which, with due payment, replaced the sacrament of Confession. Such a vicious practice, clearly contrary to Christianity, was not at all characteristic of the thousand-year-old medieval church: this is precisely a “tribute of the times” of that very Renaissance, reviving ancient, pagan passions that infected even the Vatican, whose court morals the naive Martin was horrified back in 1511, when I was there on business for my order. The excesses of the indulgence trade knew no bounds: the most ridiculous incident occurred with their main defender, the Dominican monk Johann Tetzel from Leipzig, who, for immediate payment, agreed to absolve a future, uncommitted sin to a cunning rich aristocrat. When Tetzel left the city, this aristocrat tracked him down and severely beat him, explaining that it was this sin that he had in mind... Any honest Christian would have been justifiably outraged by such trading in salvation, but Luther decided to go further and reconsider those minimal theological foundations , which allow priests to justify this practice. As a result, in a few years, Luther made a rapid evolution, or rather a revolution, from a well-intentioned critic of church impiety to the founder of a new major denomination, heretical both from the point of view of Catholicism and, of course, Orthodoxy itself, about which Luther, apparently, knew almost nothing did not know. However, it is quite difficult to say that Luther did not know something very important, because for his time and place he was one of the most educated people. It is enough to remember that it was he who translated the Bible into German, laying the foundation not only for Protestant theology, but also for the German literary language. But from the Orthodox point of view, we can absolutely say that he did not understand something very important in Christianity, namely, Luther did not understand, What is the Church, and this misunderstanding underlies all Protestant ecclesiology. It is no coincidence that instead of one Lutheran Church, the Reformation gave birth to dozens and hundreds of new schisms and sects, which even with the most scrupulous political correctness are very difficult to call “churches.”

Reformation and freedom

The Lord trusts His disciples with the right to participate in the salvation of other people

The main thrust of Luther's criticism was initially directed against the right of the priesthood to forgive sins for money, but since the apologists of this practice, such as Johann Tetzel, did not find anything better than to justify it without hesitation with the unique gift of the priesthood to forgive any sins, Luther very soon decided that this right too needs to be reconsidered. And here the most paradoxical moment arises: the right of the Church to control the spiritual life of its members is possible not because a person in Christianity is too unfree, but on the contrary - because he is too free. The basis of the foundations of Christian ecclesiology is that unique gift of participation in the salvation of people, which Jesus Christ himself gave to his apostles: Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven(Matthew 18:18), Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; whoever you leave it on will stay on it(John 20, 22‒23). The apostles received this gift at the moment of the descent of the Holy Spirit on them at Pentecost, and then they, at their own discretion, passed it on to their disciples through their ordination to the rank of bishop, which is why the chain of episcopal ordinations until the end of time is called apostolic succession. In turn, this very right to “knit and decide” is possible precisely because the human person is created in the image of God, an integral property of which is freedom - freedom of thought and action. If a person did not possess a certain ontological freedom, then he would not have any rights, but the Lord trusts His disciples with the most responsible of all possible rights - the right to participate in the salvation of other people, in deciding their posthumous fate. Luther recognized this logical connection very clearly, but he did not like it. As a great admirer of St. Augustine, who in his time very zealously defended the primacy of the Divine will and Grace over human freedom, Luther radicalizes Augustine’s position to the point that human deeds supposedly have no power for salvation, and a person is saved “only by faith” (lat. sola fide) or, otherwise, “by grace alone” (lat. sola gratia). And one should not think that Luther himself was at all uncomfortable in recognizing his lack of freedom: “ As for me, I confess: even if it were possible, I would not want to have free will or have something in my power with the help of which I could strive for salvation"(On the Slavery of the Will", 1525).

Thus, Luther denies the basic principle of the relationship between God and man, revealed in Orthodox hesychasm - the principle of synergy (interaction) of the absolutely free will of the Creator and the relatively free will of man created in His image. And if so, then the entire content of church life, all the sacraments and the priesthood itself turn out to be meaningless, because the Church as an institution of salvation is possible precisely because a person can participate in this salvation, and the priesthood can provide the path to this salvation through the church sacraments. As a result, Luther comes to the point that he rejects the entire Holy Tradition of the Church precisely as sacred, that is, inspired by God: for him, from now on, it is simply a collection of more or less authoritative Christian instructions, nothing more. In this case, all Church Councils are simply episcopal conferences, and their canons are simply conditional rules. What then remains of all Christianity? What remains is only the Revelation of God itself, only the Gospel itself, and since it cannot in any way be cut off from all the books of Holy Scripture, this is, in general, the entire Bible, which Luther diligently translates into German. Thus, to the principle of salvation by faith and grace alone is added the principle of salvation “by Scripture alone” (Latin sola Scriptura). In this situation, the function of the priest is primarily to know and interpret Scripture, and this is very similar to the position of rabbis in Judaism or muftis in Islam. The consistent logic of Protestantism should lead to this result - the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe "Church" as a non-hierarchical community of believers, guided only by Scripture with the help of elected authoritative mentors. Actually, this is exactly the path that the most radical Protestants took, but Luther himself was not consistent in his conclusions: he still really wanted to preserve the mystical idea of ​​the Church, of Baptism and the Eucharist, of the special role of the priest and the need for prayer, moreover, even of good deeds in the name of the Lord, and therefore he founded the most moderate version of Protestantism, called Lutheranism after him, otherwise the Evangelical Church. All other Protestant organizations can be classified according to the degree of consistent rejection of Holy Tradition as a manifestation of that very human free will.

If there is no Holy Tradition, then everyone is his own Ecumenical Council

However, the Protestant denial of free will in practice led to the following paradox: if there is no such thing and apostolic succession is impossible, then everyone becomes his own final authority on all theological issues, everyone is his own father of the Church, and the entire Ecumenical Council. This conclusion was already predetermined in Luther's 37th thesis: “ Every true Christian, living or dead, participates in all the benefits of Christ and the Church, as a result of the gift of God and without letters of release" Therefore, while some followers of the Reformation grabbed the Bible as the only source of faith, began to literally understand all its quotations and gave birth to the famous Protestant fundamentalism, other heirs of Luther began to completely arbitrarily interpret any biblical fragments and gave birth to the no less famous Protestant liberalism. But both extremes are united in one thing: there can be no mediating authority between Scripture and man, because no one has the right to establish the only correct interpretation of Scripture itself. Therefore, Luther himself could afford to absolutize one apostolic statement - The righteous will live by faith(Rom. 1:17) – and actually ignore the other: faith without works is dead(James 2:17). This situation is completely unacceptable for Orthodox theology, which proceeds from the fact that Scripture and Tradition are two sources of one faith, because each of them reflects the faith of a single Church, and in this sense, there is only one source of faith - the Church itself, which forms its own Tradition, the central of which the Holy Scriptures form a part. And this Scripture can be interpreted only by taking into account all its fragments, as a whole, and also by taking into account the comments of the Church Fathers.

Reformation and Reason

Scripture and Tradition are two sources of one faith

The denial of free will is directly related to another key position of the Protestant worldview, which critics of the Reformation pay much less attention to, namely the denial of the necessary role of the human mind in the knowledge of truth. Just as from the fact of the fallen state of the human will Luther comes to the denial of free will itself, so from the fact of the fallen state of the human mind he comes to the denial of reason itself. Atheists love to quote Luther’s contemptuous words about reason, as if he expresses the position of all Christianity, while from the Orthodox point of view, reason is an integral property of the image of God in man, along with freedom. The most authoritative Orthodox compendium of all times, “The Source of Knowledge” by St. John of Damascus, begins with an apology for knowledge: “ There is nothing more valuable than knowledge, for knowledge is the light of the rational soul. On the contrary, ignorance is darkness. Just as the deprivation of light is darkness, so the lack of knowledge is darkness of the mind“, and he even calls the rejection of all knowledge the heresy of gnoseomachy (88th in his list “On a Hundred Heresies”). But the Church Fathers are not authoritative for Luther, and in his work “On the Slavery of the Will” he even claims that “ the human mind churns out only nonsense and nonsense», « no one can understand God's words better than those whose minds are weak. And Christ came for the sake of the weak in mind or those whose minds are weak" Therefore, Protestant theology from the very beginning took a position of fundamental anti-intellectualism and rejected all the achievements of Christian scholasticism, not because scholasticism was too dogmatic for it, but on the contrary - because it was too rational. Salvation “by faith alone” naturally denies not only free will, but also reason, which turns out to be superfluous here and interferes with pure faith.

Salvation “by faith alone” naturally denies not only free will, but also reason

Luther's attitude towards the incompatibility of faith and reason, historically dating back to the famous Latin apologist Tertullian, who eventually left Christianity as an overly intellectual religion, anticipated the atheistic understanding of any religion as a purely irrational, purely sensory sphere, where the reasoning consciousness has nothing to do. And in this respect, the Protestant Reformation, similar to the “neopagan” Renaissance, really contributed to the secularization of the New Age. Both movements coincided in two key positions - the denial of Christian synergy and the denial of Christian intellectualism. Firstly, the Reformation gave rise to the idea of ​​absolute Divine predestination, which fully corresponded to the pagan idea of ​​an irresistible mystical fate as the main principle of human life, revived by lovers of antiquity. It is from these two roots that the rampant determinism of the 18th-20th centuries grows, when different theories will propose one single impersonal factor that determines the entire world history. Secondly, by opposing faith and reason, the Reformation gave rise to sentimental pietism, which fully corresponds to the pagan cult of passions revived by the Renaissance, when the search for the “living God” was replaced by the search for new acute experiences. But if the meeting of the Reformation with the Renaissance contributed only to secularization, then for Christianity itself it would only be an external challenge. A much greater danger is posed by the fact that when the first “romantic” reaction arose at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, its adherents by default accepted the axioms of the Enlightenment itself: the identification of religion with pure irrationality and the belief in the existence of an all-determining impersonal beginning of history. Since all European conservatism, including Russian and Orthodox, emerged from the romantic reaction, these false ideas are still very popular among modern conservatives. It would seem that we have gone very far from the main topic of the article, but in fact we are talking about the absentee influence of Martin Luther even on modern Orthodox conservatism. How many Orthodox zealots who sincerely criticize any “Protestant influences” will not agree that freedom is a sinful value and nothing at all depends on human will? Or is it because the human mind is too sinful to reason about Divine things, and the Orthodox faith is incompatible with any rationality? But these are typically Protestant ideas that have nothing to do with the Orthodox faith, although their supporters can be sure that the Reformation brought the “revolutionary” values ​​of Freedom and Reason to the world.

From victory to defeat

Martin Luther won in his time not because he was able to inspire “broad layers of the population,” and especially not because his theological arguments seemed more convincing, but because his preaching turned out to be beneficial to the real political force - the ruling German princes, the Landgraves and the electors, who had long dreamed of complete religious independence from Rome, and they had the strength to provide real resistance to the Catholic troops. And Luther himself relied not on an amorphous people, but on an organized state, which was very smart on his part. It is no coincidence that Luther’s first political work was addressed “To the Christian nobility of the German nation on the correction of Christianity” (1520), and when the threat of popular uprisings arose, he wrote “An open exhortation to all Christians to refrain from unrest and rebellion” (1522) and “Against murderous and plundering hordes of peasants" (1524). Therefore, none of the class wars that Marxists talk about had anything to do with the Reformation itself - rather, interethnic and geopolitical conflicts were involved.

Yes, Luther won, considering that already during his lifetime almost all of Northern Europe broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and became covered with a confederation of Lutheran dioceses. But already during his lifetime, Protestantism began to constantly fragment, so that today the Evangelical Lutheran Church is far from the largest Protestant denomination in the world, even there are more Baptists and Pentecostals. Also in Germany itself, which thanks to Luther seemingly acquired its own “national confession,” Catholics outnumber Protestants. But the problem is not so much in the number of Lutherans, but in the quality of modern Lutheranism, which, being the oldest and “traditional” Protestant church, has also become one of the most liberal. Of course, among the Lutheran churches there is no absolute unity on all doctrinal issues, and among them there are both more conservative and more modernist trends. But suffice it to say that at the head of the largest Lutheran organization - the state church of Sweden - is the Archbishop of Uppsala, a woman, Antje Jakelen, and the Bishop of Stockholm is not only a woman, but also an open lesbian, Eva Brunne, who lives with her “wife”, “priest” Gunilla Linden . And these facts have not surprised anyone for a long time: for today’s heirs of Luther, this is quite normal, not to mention the more predictable “relaxations” that Luther himself, in principle, could not imagine.

Because if between me and Scripture there are no unconditional authorities who could explain Scripture to me, then the only authority is myself, and I myself decide what is written there and how to understand it. To paraphrase the hero of “Demons” Shigalev, I start from absolute lack of freedom - I arrive at absolute arbitrariness. And in this sense, in the long run, Luther, of course, lost: was it worth rebelling against papal apostasy in order to generate even greater apostasy?

One of the main modern trends in Christianity is Protestantism, a teaching that actually opposes the official Catholic Church, and today we intend to talk about this in more detail, having examined its main ideas, essence, principles, and philosophy of Protestantism, as one of the most widespread religious teachings today peace.

Having emerged as an independent movement, Protestantism, together with Catholicism and Orthodoxy, became one of the three main directions in Christianity.

What is Reformation in Christianity?

Sometimes Protestantism is called the reformers, the movement of reformation, or even the revolutionaries of Christianity, for their ideas that man himself should be responsible for himself, and not the Church.

Protestant reformers believe that, after the split of Christianity into Catholics and Orthodoxy, the Christian Church turned into officials who moved away from the original teaching of the Apostles, but rather began to earn money from parishioners and increase its influence in society and on politicians.

The history of the emergence of Protestantism

It is believed that Protestantism appeared in Europe in the 16th century as opposition to the Roman Catholic Church. The teachings of Protestants are sometimes called the Reformation, since Protestants decided that Catholics had moved away from the principles of true Christianity, based on the teachings of the apostles.

The emergence of Protestantism is associated with Martin Luther, born in Saxony. And it is he who is considered the initiator of the Reformation, who opposed the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church. By the way, it has already been cancelled, perhaps thanks to him.

Indulgence among Catholics

In the modern Catholic Church, it is accepted that one can be freed from sins if one repents during the sacrament of confession. But during the Renaissance or Renaissance, sometimes indulgences were simply given out for money.

Seeing what the Catholics had come to, Martin Luther began to openly oppose this, and also argued that Christianity needed to be urgently and significantly reformed.

Principles of Protestantism and the Protestant Faith

Religious principles in Protestantism are expressed as the theology or statement of faith of the Reformation, that is, the transformation of Catholic Christianity. These principles include the following:

• God's Word is found only in the Bible and therefore the Bible is the only source and document for a believer;
• No matter what actions a person does - forgiveness can only be earned by faith, but not by money;
• Salvation in Protestantism is generally viewed as God's grace is not the merit of man, but a gift from God for the sake of Jesus Christ and for the people living on earth. And salvation, according to the Bible, is the deliverance of a person from his sins and, accordingly, from grave consequences, namely from death and hell. And it says that salvation is possible because of the manifestation of God's love for man;
• The Church cannot even be a mediator between God and man. And the only mediator is Christ. And therefore salvation is possible not through faith in the church, but through faith in Jesus and in God directly;
• One can only worship God, since salvation comes only through him. Therefore, just as a person believes in the atonement of sins through Jesus, so faith in God is also salvation;
• Any believer can and has the right to expound and interpret the word of God.

Basic ideas of Protestantism

All the main ideas of Protestantism began with Martin Luther, when he began to oppose the indulgences of the Roman Catholic Church, when remission of sins was sold for money and for each crime there was a fee or price.

Himself Martin Luther argued that forgiveness of sins is not performed by the Pope, but by God. Also in Protestantism, the idea that the Bible is the only source of the teachings of Christianity is seriously affirmed.

As a result, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church, which led to a split in the Church into Catholics and Protestants ( Lutherans) and contributed to the emergence of many wars on religious grounds.

Supporters or followers of Martin Luther began to be called Protestants, after they came to his defense. This happened after the Speyer Reichstag (the highest legislative authority of the Roman Church) declared Martin Luther a heretic.

The Essence of Protestantism

At its core, the teachings of Protestantism are based, like Orthodoxy and Catholics, on faith in One God, as well as on the Bible as the only source of the teachings of Christianity.

Protestants recognize the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and his death for human sins. They also have faith in the resurrection of Jesus after his death.

And they are waiting for the messiah or the return of Christ in the flesh in the future. Lutherans in the 20th century even managed to achieve a ban on teaching Charles Darwin's theory in some US states, as “anti-divine.”

Philosophy of Protestantism

The philosophy of Protestantism is based on the reformation of Roman Catholicism, which is considered to have departed from the true teachings of the Bible.

In addition, the Catholic Church in the West owned up to 1/3 of the cultivated land, where the labor of serfs, that is, practically slaves, was used. And Protestantism emphasizes personal responsibility to God and society, and also does not approve of slavery.

In England, Lutherans even demanded the destruction of the Papal system of power. Thus, the famous Lutheran John Wycliffe argued that the Roman Church after the schism moved away from the true teaching. And he said that Jesus Christ, and not the Pope, is the head of the church and the authority for the believer is the Bible, not the Church.

Supporters of Protestantism

The Lutheran Reformation was supported by peasants, who were practically ruined by church tithes, as well as artisans, subject to excessive taxes.

Protestantism rejects all the decisions of the Pope and all his decrees, claiming that the Holy Teaching or the Bible alone is sufficient. At one time, Martin Luther even publicly burned one of the papal decrees.

Naturally, soon after the discontent towards large church business with a turnover of tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars a year, persecution of Protestants began, and although Martin Luther himself was not harmed, still two Protestant monks were burned. The philosophy of the Lutherans was already used in their own way by the masses in their knightly and peasant wars.

Later, Martin Luther wrote two books for Protestant supporters: one for pastors, which tells how to preach correctly, and the other for ordinary believers, which outlined the Ten Commandments, the Creed and the Lord's Prayer.

Directions in Protestantism

One of the well-known trends in Lutheranism is Evangelicalism- this includes Mennonites And Baptists. This is how the Gospels are known in Russia Baptists, Pentecostals And Prokhanovites.

The basic principles of Evangelicalism include the affirmation of the Bible as the only statement of God, as well as active missionary activity.

Also among the directions in Protestantism can be attributed fundamentalism, Liberalism And Dialectical theology. All of them are based on the Bible - as the only teaching from God.

Features of the teachings of Protestantism

Protestants have common ideas with other traditions of Christianity, such as the One God, the Trinity, Heaven and Hell, and also recognize the sacraments of Baptism and Communion.

But on the other hand, there is no tradition of prayers for the dead and prayers to the saints, as is the case with Catholics or Orthodox Christians.

Any premises can be used for Protestant worship services, and it is based on preaching, prayer and psalm singing.

Number of Protestants

Protestantism is considered the second largest in the number of believers in Christianity and has up to 800 million people. Protestantism is widespread in 92 countries around the world.

Conclusion

Needless to say, Martin Luther managed to spread his teaching, which is what he always dreamed of. And perhaps Protestants went deeper, towards the personal freedom of each person, in contrast to the more traditional church and commercial Christianity.

And yet, God still appears as something external to man. And for some reason everyone passes by the main thing - by God, and “God is Love,” as Jesus Christ said.

After all, if God is Love, then it is invisible, it can only be felt, it simply exists. I Am is that I Am. Love is being itself, it is love for everyone, this is really something that even Protestants should not forget about with their desire to reform only the external part of this teaching, in fact, just like love for nature and everything else.

I hope for further meetings on our portal of Training and Self-Development, where we have already written not only about the philosophy, essence, ideas of the Protestant Church and Protestants, but also about other types of Christianity, for example, you can or about.

The founder of the Reformation that changed the Western world, Martin Luther, died 470 years ago.

1. Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) – the founder of the Reformation, during which Protestantism emerged as one of the three (along with Orthodoxy and Catholicism) main directions of Christianity. The name "Protestantism" comes from the so-called Speyer Protestation. This was a protest submitted in 1529 by six princes and fourteen free German cities at the Reichstag in Speyer against the persecution of Lutherans. Based on the title of this document, supporters of the Reformation were subsequently called Protestants, and the totality of non-Catholic denominations that emerged as a result of the Reformation was called Protestantism.

2. The beginning of the Reformation is considered to be October 31, 1517, when the Augustinian monk Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses to the doors of the temple in Wittenberg, where solemn university ceremonies were usually held. They did not yet contain any denial of the supreme power of the Pope, much less an announcement his Antichrist, nor the general denial of church organization and church sacraments as necessary mediators between God and man. The theses challenged the practice of indulgences, which at that time was especially widespread in order to cover the costs of the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

3. The Dominican monk Johann Tetzel, who was an agent for the sale of papal indulgences and who shamelessly traded them and thereby provoked Martin Luther, after reading 95 theses, declared: “I will ensure that in three weeks this heretic goes to the stake and proceeds in an urn to to the sky."

Tetzel argued that indulgences were more powerful than Baptism itself. The following story is told about him: one aristocrat in Leipzig turned to Tetzel and asked to forgive him a sin that he would commit in the future. He agreed on condition of immediate payment of the indulgence. When Tetzel left the city, the aristocrat caught up with him and beat him, saying that this was the sin he meant.

4. Martin Luther was born into the family of a former peasant who became a successful mining master and wealthy burgher. His father shared in the profits from eight mines and three smelters (“fires”). In 1525, Hans Lüder bequeathed 1,250 guilders to his heirs, with which it was possible to purchase an estate with arable land, meadows and forest. At the same time, the family lived very moderately. Food was not very plentiful, they skimped on clothing and fuel: for example, Luther’s mother, along with other city women, collected brushwood in the forest in the winter. Parents and children slept in the same alcove.

5. The real name of the founder of the Reformation is Luder (Luder or Luider). Having already become a monk, he communicated and corresponded a lot with humanists, among whom it was customary to take sonorous pseudonyms. So, for example, Gerard Gerards from Rotterdam became Erasmus of Rotterdam. Martin in 1517 sealed his letters with the name Eleutherius (translated from ancient Greek as “Free”), Elutherius and, finally, not wanting to stray far from the name of his father and grandfather, Luther. Luther's first followers did not yet call themselves Lutherans, but "Martinians."

6. The father dreamed of seeing his capable son become a successful lawyer and was able to provide his son with a good education. But suddenly Martin decides to become a monk and, against the will of his father, having experienced a strong conflict with him, he enters the Augustinian monastery. According to one explanation, he was once caught in a very strong thunderstorm when lightning struck very close to him. Martin felt, as he later said, “a monstrous fear of sudden death” and prayed: “Help, Saint Anne, I want to become a monk.”

7. The father, having learned about Luther’s intention to take monastic vows, became furious and refused to give him his blessing. Other relatives said they didn't want to know him anymore. Martin was at a loss, although he was not obliged to ask his father's permission. However, in the summer of 1505, a plague raged in Thuringia. Martin's two younger brothers became ill and died. Then Luther's parents were informed from Erfurt that Martin had also become a victim of the plague. When it turned out that, fortunately, this was not the case, friends and relatives began to convince Hans that he should allow his son to become a monk, and the father eventually agreed.

8. When the papal bull excommunicating Luther “Exsurge Domine” (“Arise, Lord...”) was prepared, it was delivered for signature to Pope Leo X, who was hunting wild boar on his estate. The hunt was unsuccessful: the boar wandered off into the vineyards. When the upset dad took the formidable document in his hands, he read its first words, which sounded like this: Arise, Lord, and Peter, and Paul... against the wild boar that devastates the vineyard of the Lord.” The Pope nevertheless signed the bull.

9. At the Reichstag of Worms in 1521, where Luther’s case was heard in the presence of the German emperor and they demanded his abdication, he utters his famous phrase “I stand here and cannot do otherwise.” Here are his fuller words: “If I am not convinced by the testimony of Scripture and the clear arguments of reason - for I do not believe either the pope or the councils, since it is obvious that they have often erred and contradicted themselves - then, in the words of Scripture, I am delighted in my conscience and caught in the word of God... Therefore, I cannot and do not want to renounce anything, for it is unlawful and unrighteous to do anything against my conscience. I stand by this and cannot do otherwise. God help me!

Luther in the family circle

10. The Reformation split the Western world into Catholics and Protestants and gave rise to an era of religious wars - both civil and international. They lasted more than 100 years until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. These wars brought a lot of grief and misfortune, hundreds of thousands of people died in them.

11. During the German Peasants' War of 1524–1526, Luther sharply criticized the rebels, writing “Against the murderous and plundering hordes of peasants,” where he called the reprisal against the instigators of the riots a godly act. However, the uprisings were largely caused by the reformation ferment of minds generated by Luther. At the peak of the uprising in the spring and summer of 1525, up to 300,000 people took part in the events. Modern estimates place the death toll at around 100,000.

12. Luther resolutely rejected forced celibacy of the clergy, including by his own example. In 1525, he, a former monk, at the age of 42, married 26-year-old and also a former nun, Katharina von Bora. In their marriage they had six children. Following Luther, another leader of the Reformation from Switzerland, W. Zwingli, married. Calvin did not approve of these actions, and Erasmus of Rotterdam said: “Lutheran tragedy turns into comedy, and all troubles end in a wedding.”

13. Luther in 1522 translated into German and published the New Testament, and in the next 12 years the Old Testament. The Germans still use this Lutheran Bible.

14. According to the great German sociologist Max Weber in his famous work “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” Luther not only initiated the Reformation, but also gave a decisive beginning to the birth of capitalism. According to Weber, the Protestant ethic defined the spirit of the New Age.

15. Unlike Orthodoxy, Lutheranism recognizes only two sacraments - Baptism and Communion, which it understands only as symbolic actions that “kindle the faith.” At the same time, Lutherans in the Eucharist see in bread and wine a reminder of the Calvary sacrifice, but they deny the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. They speak only about the invisible presence of the Savior in the Sacrament of the Eucharist “in bread, with bread and under bread” (Lat. in pane, cum pane et usb pane, “Formula of Concord”).

Attitudes towards the priesthood also vary greatly. Although Luther recognized the need for the priesthood, there is no word in Lutheran doctrinal books about the succession of pastoral ministry, or about a special messenger from above. The right to ordination is recognized for any member of the Church (emissary from below).

Lutherans also deny the invocation and help of saints, the veneration of icons and relics, and the significance of prayers for the dead.

As Archpriest Maxim Kozlov writes in the book “Western Christianity: A View from the East,” “Luther had the intention of freeing believers from spiritual despotism and tyranny. But, having rejected the authority of the pope, he, by force of logical necessity, rejected the authority of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and then the holy fathers and Ecumenical Councils, that is, he rejected the entire universal Sacred Tradition. Having rejected the entire authority of the Church in the name of personal freedom, Luther thereby gave complete arbitrariness in matters of faith, which led to division and falling away from the Roman Church. Having given the people the Bible in German, the German reformer believed that the Holy Scriptures are clear in themselves and that every person who is not entrenched in evil will understand it correctly without the guidance of the Tradition of the Church. However, he was mistaken: even his closest associates interpreted the same biblical passage differently.

The screensaver features a painting by Anton von Werner. Luther in Worms: “On this I stand...”