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96-910: The rapid spread of the Lutheran and Calvinist doctrines following the Reformation was followed by a period of Catholic resurgence known as the Counter-Reformation . Interdenominational conflicts such as the Cologne War and Strasbourg Bishops' War prompted the creation of the Catholic League and the Protestant Union , with the intention of safeguarding the interests of the Holy Roman Empire 's Catholic and Protestant nobility respectively. These alliances entered their first conflict in 1609, when

192-641: A revival known as the Erweckung , or Awakening . In 1806, Napoleon's invasion of Germany promoted Rationalism and angered German Lutherans, stirring up a desire among the people to preserve Luther's theology from the Rationalist threat. Those associated with this Awakening held that reason was insufficient and pointed out the importance of emotional religious experiences. Small groups sprang up, often in universities, which devoted themselves to Bible study, reading devotional writings, and revival meetings. Although

288-571: A century of vitality, the Pietist theologians Philipp Jakob Spener and August Hermann Francke warned that orthodoxy had degenerated into meaningless intellectualism and formalism , while orthodox theologians found the emotional and subjective focuses of Pietism to be vulnerable to Rationalist propaganda. In 1688, the Finnish Radical Pietist Lars Ulstadius ran down the main aisle of Turku Cathedral naked while screaming that

384-631: A declaration of war, raising 900 troops and taking Düsseldorf . The new Brandenburg incumbent, George William , was indeed plotting a coup, but his financial dependence on the Dutch prevented him from fulfilling his plans. Another misunderstanding took place when Spain and Albert VII, Archduke of Austria interpreted the Dutch military buildup as a violation of the Twelve Years' Truce , mobilizing 13,300 infantry and 1,300 cavalry under Spanish general Ambrogio Spinola . On 20 February 1614, Emperor Matthias ordered

480-544: A herd of cows belonging to his wife. After rallying at Kaßlerfeld, the Brandenburgers created an encampment at Angermund and unsuccessfully beleaguered Düsseldorf . The Neuburg envoy in Vienna described the incident as a "Cow War", comparing Brandenburg's ruler to a cattle rustler . By July, Brandenburg had reinforced its expedition by 2,700 troops, mobilizing 16,000 more across its various territories. Wolfgang Wilhelm employed

576-662: A larger religious war. The Protestant Union mobilized 5,000 men, while Leopold recruited 1,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry in the Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg . His Habsburg relatives and the rest of the Catholic League refused to openly support Leopold, only gathering troops for their own protection. On 13 March 1610, the Protestant count Otto von Solms–Braunfels invaded Strasbourg with 2,000 troops. The Catholics simply retreated into walled towns such as Saverne , waiting until

672-487: A more moderate course. This alliance quickly collapsed upon Christian I's sudden death in September, leading to Christian II succeeding his father at the age of eight. Christian succeeded to the electorship of Saxony and as a result of his youth, his cousin, Duke Friedrich Wilhelm I of Saxe-Weimar , and maternal grandfather, Elector Johann Georg of Brandenburg , assumed the regency of the electorate. The young elector's reign

768-505: A new Protestant Union, but Christian II refused to attach Saxony to the cause, and further lack of support from Denmark, England, and France saw Ansbach and Hessen-Kassel ultimately side with Saxony in imperial politics. The atmosphere became so hostile that when someone shot at Christian II while he was out riding in April 1603, Saxony accused Christian of Anhalt of planning an assassination. Christian II's support of imperial policy wavered during

864-635: A provisional government together with the local estates. Their troops entered the duchy in defiance of the regency and the Emperor. In January 1610, Henry IV of France signed a draft military pact with the Protestant Union, dispatching 22,000 men under Claude de La Châtre, Baron de la Maisonfort  [ fr ] to north–east France. A comparable number of troops were dispatched by the Dutch towards Schenkenschanz , in an apparent show of force towards Spain. Archduke Leopold V sought to raise his profile in

960-529: A reform movement beginning in 1830. He also wrote about 1,500 hymns, including God's Word Is Our Great Heritage . In Norway , Hans Nielsen Hauge , a lay street preacher, emphasized spiritual discipline and sparked the Haugean movement, which was followed by the Johnsonian Awakening within the state-church as spearheaded by its namesake, dogmatician and Pietist Gisle Johnson . The Awakening drove

1056-462: A return to the orthodox theologians of the 17th century and opposed modern Bible scholarship. As editor of the periodical Evangelische Kirchenzeitung , he developed it into a major support of Neo-Lutheran revival and used it to attack all forms of theological liberalism and rationalism. Although he received a large amount of slander and ridicule during his forty years at the head of revival, he never gave up his positions. The theological faculty at

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1152-478: A rival of orthodoxy but adopted some devotional literature by orthodox theologians, including Arndt, Christian Scriver , and Stephan Prätorius . Rationalist philosophers from France and England had an enormous impact during the 18th century, along with the German Rationalists Christian Wolff , Gottfried Leibniz , and Immanuel Kant . Their work led to an increase in rationalist beliefs, "at

1248-592: A significant hardening of the Catholic position. The Protestant initiative passed back to the Palatinate and moderation from Saxony was drowned out amidst rising passions, culminating in a Palatine walkout. The collapse of the 1608 Reichstag suggested the futility in Christian II's faith in imperial institutions and safeguards for Protestant princes. Christian of Anhalt capitalised on the discontent and united his peers behind

1344-454: A succession crisis emerge over his rich and vast territories. The leading claimants were Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg and their troops jointly occupied the duchies. Despite moderation from Saxony, Rudolf II was unable to decide on the matter and arbitrarily enfeoffed Christian II with the entire Jülich-Cleves inheritance on 7 July; Saxony was well-aware of its inability to hold the already occupied duchies and pushed for Rudolf to establish

1440-728: A succession crisis in the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg sparked the War of the Jülich Succession . The territories in question covered an area of 14,000 km (5,400 sq mi), having both geopolitical importance due to their proximity to the Spanish Road and a booming economy, fueled by refugees from the lands ravaged by the Eighty Years' War . The mentally ill duke Johann Wilhelm died on 25 March 1609, leaving no children, and

1536-450: A theological and historical defence against the historical criticism of the Bible. Dissenting Lutheran pastors were often reprimanded by the government bureaucracy overseeing them, for example, when they tried to correct Rationalist influences in the parish school. As a result of the impact of a local form of rationalism, termed Neology , by the latter half of the 18th century, genuine piety

1632-624: Is a carrier of the "Word of God", or that only the communion of the Bishop of Rome has been entrusted to interpret the "Word of God". The Reformation in Sweden began with Olaus and Laurentius Petri , brothers who took the Reformation to Sweden after studying in Germany. They led Gustav Vasa , elected king in 1523, to Lutheranism. The pope's refusal to allow the replacement of an archbishop who had supported

1728-544: Is possibly an allusion to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor , while the dog possibly refers to Peter Canisius . Another figure interpreted as a snail carrying a church tower is possibly a metaphor for the Protestant church. Also on the rock is the number 1599 and a phrase translating as "thus gets in the world". The historical period of Lutheran Orthodoxy is divided into three sections: Early Orthodoxy (1580–1600), High Orthodoxy (1600–1685), and Late Orthodoxy (1685–1730). Lutheran scholasticism developed gradually, especially for

1824-546: Is seen as God's Word because it has the same meaning as the original Hebrew and Greek. A mistranslation is not God's word, and no human authority can invest it with divine authority. Historically, Lutherans understand the Bible to present all doctrines and commands of the Christian faith clearly . In addition, Lutherans believe that God's Word is freely accessible to every reader or hearer of ordinary intelligence, without requiring any special education. A Lutheran must understand

1920-466: The 1612 Tyrol Peasant Revolt . Occupiers Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach took over the duchy by military might, without being able to secure official recognition. In 1611, Protestantism spread to the villages of Stolberg and Weiden in the vicinity of Aachen. The city council of Aachen imposed a fine on those inhabitants who attended these services. Five citizens were detained for ignoring

2016-777: The Church Ordinance , should rest was "The pure word of God, which is the Law and the Gospel". It does not mention the Augsburg Confession . The priests had to understand the Holy Scripture well enough to preach and explain the Gospel and the Epistles to their congregations. The youths were taught from Luther's Small Catechism , available in Danish since 1532. They were taught to expect at

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2112-663: The Council of Trent , which contends that final authority comes from both Scripture and tradition . Unlike Calvinism , Lutheranism retains many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Western Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist , or Lord's Supper, although Eastern Lutheranism uses the Byzantine Rite . Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology , divine grace ,

2208-511: The Edict of Worms , in which the Diet condemned Luther and officially banned subjects of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagating Luther's ideas, facing advocates of Lutheranism with forfeiture of all property. Half of it would be then forfeited to the imperial government and the remaining half to the accusing party. The divide centered primarily on two points: the proper source of authority in

2304-706: The Inner Mission focused on renewing the situation home. Johann Gottfried Herder , superintendent at Weimar and part of the Inner Mission movement, joined with the Romantic movement with his quest to preserve human emotion and experience from Rationalism. Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg , though raised Reformed, became convinced of the truth of historic Lutheranism as a young man. He led the Neo-Lutheran Repristination School of theology, which advocated

2400-457: The Prince-Bishopric of Liège , while also bolstering the besiegers into a combined total of 25,200 troops. On 1 September, the garrison surrendered in return for free passage into upper Alsace . On 24 October, the Protestant Union and the Catholic League agreed to withdraw their forces and disband them until the end of the year. The war severely depleted the coffers of all the involved parties, leading to increased taxes which in their turn triggered

2496-405: The Protestant Union on 14 May, under the leadership of Frederick IV, Elector Palatine . The union's Palatinate leadership was provisional, for there was hope that Christian II would join and lead the northern German principalities, however Saxony's continued refusal to join ensured that the northeastern princes remained neutral. In 1609, the death of Duke Johann Wilhelm of Jülich-Cleves-Berg saw

2592-721: The Prussian Union of Churches . The unification of the two branches of German Protestantism sparked the Schism of the Old Lutherans . Many Lutherans, called " Old Lutherans ", chose to leave the state churches despite imprisonment and military force. Some formed independent church bodies, or " free churches ", at home while others left for the United States, Canada and Australia. A similar legislated merger in Silesia prompted thousands to join

2688-527: The Treaty of Xanten . The territories of Jülich-Berg and Ravenstein went to Wolfgang Wilhelm of Neuburg, while Cleves-Mark and Ravensberg went to George William. Spain gained a total of 62 towns including three Rhine crossings, namely Wesel, Orsoy and Rheinberg , significantly enhancing its position in north-west Europe. The Dutch retained their garrisons at Jülich and Pfaffenmütze but were outflanked or isolated, putting them in an unfavourable position when

2784-756: The University of Erlangen in Bavaria became another force for reform. There, professor Adolf von Harless , though previously an adherent of rationalism and German idealism , made Erlangen a magnet for revival oriented theologians. Termed the Erlangen School of theology, they developed a new version of the Incarnation , which they felt emphasized the humanity of Jesus better than the ecumenical creeds. As theologians, they used both modern historical critical and Hegelian philosophical methods instead of attempting to revive

2880-519: The higher critical method. The 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center surveyed 1,926 adults in the United States that self-identified as Lutheran. The study found that 30% believed that the Bible was the Word of God and was to be taken literally word for word. 40% held that the Bible was the Word of God, but was not literally true word for word or were unsure. 23% said

2976-534: The theology of Martin Luther as Lutherans. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran , preferring the term evangelical , which was derived from εὐαγγέλιον euangelion , a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. " Gospel ". The followers of John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also used that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to

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3072-509: The 1608 Reichstag ; Christian had come to agree with the Palatinate's argument for itio in partes in imperial institutions. Saxon prestige meant that Christian II was now the spokesman of Protestant issues and the Palatinate began to fall in line with Saxony's moderate language. However, Saxony's moderation became untenable with the Habsburg counterdemand for the return of all Catholic church property confiscated by Protestant princes since 1552,

3168-472: The Americas usually agree to teach in harmony with the entire Lutheran confessions. Some Lutheran church bodies require this pledge to be unconditional because they believe the confessions correctly state what the Bible teaches. Others allow their congregations to do so "insofar as" the confessions are in agreement with the Bible. In addition, Lutherans accept the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of

3264-401: The Bible was the written Word of God, and the only infallible guide for faith and practice. He held that every passage of Scripture has one straightforward meaning, the literal sense as interpreted by other Scripture. These teachings were accepted during the orthodox Lutheranism of the 17th century. During the 18th century, Rationalism advocated reason rather than the authority of the Bible as

3360-509: The Bible was written by men and not the Word of God. 7% did not know, were not sure, or had other positions. Although many Lutherans today hold less specific views of inspiration , historically, Lutherans affirm that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is, because of plenary, verbal inspiration, the direct, immediate word of God. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession identifies Holy Scripture with

3456-642: The Christian Church. Christian II, Elector of Saxony Christian II (23 September 1583 – 23 June 1611) was Elector of Saxony from 1591 to 1611. He was born in Dresden , the eldest son of Christian I, Elector of Saxony and Sophie of Brandenburg , the daughter of John George, Elector of Brandenburg . He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin . The Albertine Wettins had become enfeoffed with

3552-599: The Count Palatine and the Margrave to Calvinism and Catholicism respectively completely restructured their past alliances. Brandenburg and Neuburg officials ceased communicating with each other by the beginning of 1614. In May 1614, 300 Dutch troops ejected the Neuburg garrison from Jülich, in an attempt by the Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt to prevent a Brandenburg plot against the former. Wolfgang Wilhelm interpreted it as

3648-572: The Dutch and Brandenburgers from Jülich, most of Mark and Ravensberg, isolating the Netherlands from potential German Protestant allies. However by 1646, the tide of the Thirty Years' War had turned in favour of the Protestants. George William's son Frederick William was persuaded by his confidant Johann von Norprath (a Neuberg defector) to move his court from Berlin to Cleves , while also increasing

3744-586: The Elector of Saxony and rejected his father's orthodoxy; Christian I was a committed Philippist and his chancellor Nikolaus Krell introduced a Philippist bible in 1589, despite mounting popular opposition. An alcoholic and gambling addict, Christian I allowed Krell to dominate his court. The internal shift at the Saxon court also saw a rapprochement with the Palatinate in January 1591, which Christian I intended to steer towards

3840-524: The Emperor Rudolf II had claims to the duchies stemming from intermarriage but was unable to openly declare his intentions without compromising his perceived neutrality. Six other claimants appeared, with the rulers of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg having the only credible claims through their marriages to Johann Wilhelm's aunts. On 2 April, a regency was established, including

3936-623: The Lithuanian nobility converting to Lutheranism or Calvinism , but at the end of the 17th century Protestantism at large began losing support due to the Counter-Reformation and religious persecutions . In German-ruled Lithuania Minor , however, Lutheranism remained the dominant branch of Christianity. Lutheranism played a crucial role in preserving the Lithuanian language . Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen . Under

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4032-524: The Old Lutheran movement. The dispute over ecumenism overshadowed other controversies within German Lutheranism. Despite political meddling in church life, local and national leaders sought to restore and renew Christianity. Neo-Lutheran Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe and Old Lutheran free church leader Friedrich August Brünn both sent young men overseas to serve as pastors to German Americans , while

4128-553: The Pietist movement's drive to right social wrongs and focus on individual conversion. The Neo-Lutheran call to renewal failed to achieve widespread popular acceptance because it both began and continued with a lofty, idealistic Romanticism that did not connect with an increasingly industrialized and secularized Europe. The work of local leaders resulted in specific areas of vibrant spiritual renewal, but people in Lutheran areas became increasingly distant from church life. Additionally,

4224-499: The Reformation era. The doctrinal positions of Lutheran churches are not uniform because the Book of Concord does not hold the same position in all Lutheran churches. For example, the state churches in Scandinavia consider only the Augsburg Confession as a "summary of the faith" in addition to the three ecumenical creeds. Lutheran pastors, congregations, and church bodies in Germany and

4320-540: The Roman Catholic Church with regard to the authority of the institutional church , ex opere operato effectiveness of the sacraments, and the divine authority of clergy. Unlike Catholics, however, they also urged complete agreement with the Book of Concord . The Neo-Lutheran movement managed to slow secularism and counter atheistic Marxism , but it did not fully succeed in Europe. It partly succeeded in continuing

4416-716: The Saxon electorate in 1547 after Duke Moritz of Saxony backed the emperor in the Schmalkaldic War , siding against his cousin, Elector Johann Friedrich I , of the agnatically senior Ernestine line . Moritz was succeeded in the electorate by his brother August , who remained staunchly Lutheran and a steadfast ally of the emperor, well-aware that the Albertine Wettins owed their status to imperial favour. August established much of Saxony's politically moderate tactics and policies that would be closely followed by Christian II. When August died in 1586, Christian I succeeded him as

4512-443: The Spanish. Wolfgang Wilhelm raised a force numbering 2,500 troops, which assisted the Spanish in taking Jülich and Pfaffenmütze in July 1622 and January 1623 respectively. Fearing that Brandenburg would be Bergh's next target, George William secretly transferred 1,300 men into Dutch service. In May 1624, George William conceded Ravenstein to Wolfgang Wilhelm, in return for the recognition of their mutual possessions. The Spanish pushed

4608-481: The Treaty of Xanten in regard to church properties. Since more parishes were in Catholic hands in 1624 than a decade before, Wolfgang Wilhelm hoped to stabilize his control over Jülich and Berg. The Aulic Council was still reviewing the evidence when Frederick William declared himself a protector of the Protestant population living in the two duchies. In June 1651, 3,800 Brandenburg troops invaded Berg, killing two civilians, bombarding Wolfgang Wilhelm's palace and seizing

4704-526: The Twelve Years' Truce expired in April 1621. The defeat of the Protestant Union forces during the Palatinate campaign of the Thirty Years' War coincided with the end of the Twelve Years' Truce. Spain seized the opportunity to strengthen its hold on the Rhineland region by dispatching a 10,000 man army under Hendrik van den Bergh towards Jülich besieging it in September 1621. The Dutch responded by launching raids on Wolfgang Wilhelm's possessions in an attempt to prevent him from supplying straw and oats to

4800-435: The Word of God and calls the Holy Spirit the author of the Bible. Because of this, Lutherans confess in the Formula of Concord , "we receive and embrace with our whole heart the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the pure, clear fountain of Israel". The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures are confessed as authentic and written by the prophets and apostles. A correct translation of their writings

4896-514: The acceptance of its teaching. This teaching produces faith and obedience. Holy Scripture is not a dead letter, but rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is inherent in it. Scripture does not compel a mere intellectual assent to its doctrine, resting on logical argumentation, but rather it creates the living agreement of faith. As the Smalcald Articles affirm, "in those things which concern the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with

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4992-492: The beginning of this Awakening tended heavily toward Romanticism, patriotism , and experience, the emphasis of the Awakening shifted around 1830 to restoring the traditional liturgy, doctrine, and confessions of Lutheranism in the Neo-Lutheran movement. This Awakening swept through all of Scandinavia except Iceland . It developed from both German Neo-Lutheranism and Pietism. Danish pastor and philosopher N. F. S. Grundtvig reshaped church life throughout Denmark through

5088-425: The church , often called the formal principle of the Reformation, and the doctrine of justification , the material principle of Lutheran theology. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by Grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone", the doctrine that scripture is the final authority on all matters of faith. This contrasts with the belief of the Roman Catholic Church, defined at

5184-452: The clergy. While this effectively granted official sanction to Lutheran ideas, Lutheranism did not become official until 1593. At that time the Uppsala Synod declared Holy Scripture the sole guideline for faith, with four documents accepted as faithful and authoritative explanations of it: the Apostles' Creed , the Nicene Creed , the Athanasian Creed , and the unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530. Mikael Agricola 's translation of

5280-431: The disgrace of Finnish clergymen would be revealed like his current disgrace. The last famous orthodox Lutheran theologian before the rationalist Aufklärung , or Enlightenment , was David Hollatz . Late orthodox theologian Valentin Ernst Löscher took part in the controversy against Pietism . Medieval mystical traditions continued in the works of Martin Moller , Johann Arndt , and Joachim Lütkemann . Pietism became

5376-405: The duke's widow Antoinette of Lorraine, the privy councilors and an imperial commissioner. On 24 May, Rudolf II announced that the Aulic Council was to provide a definite verdict within four weeks. Brandenburg and Neuburg viewed this as a direct attempt at annexing the duchy. On 10 June 1609, they signed the Treaty of Dortmund  [ de ] , rejecting all other claimants and establishing

5472-401: The end of life: "forgiving of their sins", "to be counted as just", and "the eternal life". Instruction is still similar. The first complete Bible in Danish was based on Martin Luther's translation into German . It was published in 1550 with 3,000 copies printed in the first edition; a second edition was published in 1589. Unlike Catholicism, Lutheranism does not believe that tradition

5568-437: The end of the Thirty Years' War , the compromising spirit seen in Philip Melanchthon rose up again in the Helmstedt School and especially in theology of Georgius Calixtus , causing the syncretistic controversy . Another theological issue that arose was the Crypto-Kenotic controversy. Late orthodoxy was torn by influences from rationalism , philosophy based on reason, and Pietism , a revival movement in Lutheranism. After

5664-426: The end of the year, Neuburg and Brandenburg had disbanded their troops. The Aulic Council distributed the church property on the basis of the current year, ending the conflict. Further negotiations in 1666 and 1672 confirmed the 1651 arrangements, putting an end to the dispute. Lutheranism Bible Translators Theologians Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that identifies primarily with

5760-430: The establishment of a new Protestant alliance, now with the backing of Prince Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg . While the Palatinate led six Protestant congresses with the intention of withholding assistance for the emperor's war against the Turks, Christian II boycotted these congresses which greatly depowered the Palatine's authority. The Palatinate and Anhalt managed to gain the support of Ansbach and Hessen-Kassel for

5856-531: The expense of faith in God and agreement with the Bible". In 1709, Valentin Ernst Löscher warned that this new Rationalist view of the world fundamentally changed society by drawing into question every aspect of theology. Instead of considering the authority of divine revelation, he explained, Rationalists relied solely on their personal understanding when searching for truth. Johann Melchior Goeze (1717–1786), pastor of St. Catherine's Church in Hamburg , wrote apologetical works against Rationalists, including

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5952-439: The final source of knowledge, but most of the laity did not accept this Rationalist position. In the 19th century, a confessional revival re-emphasized the authority of the Scriptures and agreement with the Lutheran Confessions. Today, Lutherans disagree about the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Theological conservatives use the historical-grammatical method of Biblical interpretation, while theological liberals use

6048-436: The first Finnish New Testament was published in 1548. After the death of Martin Luther in 1546, the Schmalkaldic War started out as a conflict between two German Lutheran rulers in 1547. Soon, Holy Roman Imperial forces joined the battle and conquered the members of the Schmalkaldic League , oppressing and exiling many German Lutherans as they enforced the terms of the Augsburg Interim . Religious freedom in some areas

6144-462: The growth of foreign missions in Norway to non-Christians to a new height, which has never been reached since. In Sweden, Lars Levi Læstadius began the Laestadian movement that emphasized moral reform. In Finland, a farmer, Paavo Ruotsalainen , began the Finnish Awakening when he took to preaching about repentance and prayer. In 1817, Frederick William III of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in his territory to unite, forming

6240-423: The help of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine , who launched a counter invasion of Mark with the intention of obtaining provisions for his army. The estates of all five duchies refused to provide money to either side, while Duisburg 's city council requested Dutch protection. The Dutch condemned the actions of their former ally, while Sweden persuaded both sides to disengage through their envoy Melchior von Hatzfeldt . By

6336-470: The ill-disciplined invaders ran out of money and retreated. A meeting was set in Prague on 1 May 1610, to broker a settlement. Rudolf's initial decision to enfeoff the entire duchy to Christian II, Elector of Saxony was rejected by a number of moderate princes, leading to the postponement of negotiations until August. A second Protestant invasion, this time consisting of 9,800 troops and artillery, succeeded in seizing Dachstein , Mutzig and Molsheim but

6432-501: The imperial courts. Over the course of Christian's minority, Saxony returned to its orthodox stance in imperial politics and drifted into political passivity, as Christian's regents were reluctant to take any risks. Christian II came of age in September 1601. Like his father, Christian II suffered from alcoholism and was even less able to assert himself than his father, allowing his mother to dominate Saxon politics. Sophie worked to maintain Saxony's support of Emperor Rudolf II despite

6528-424: The invading forces opposing Gustav Vasa during the Stockholm Bloodbath led to the severing of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy in 1523. Four years later, at the Diet of Västerås  [ sv ] , the king succeeded in forcing the diet to accept his dominion over the national church. The king was given possession of all church properties, as well as the church appointments and approval of

6624-437: The lack of any tangible benefits, with a Saxon privy councillor noting in 1610 "politically, we're papists". Despite numerous delays from the imperial courts of justice, eventually the Reichshofrat confirmed the death sentence of Krell, despite lack of evidence of any conspiracy and pleas of mercy from Elizabeth I of England and Henri IV of France . On 9 October 1601, Krell was publicly executed in Dresden, with Sophie taking

6720-428: The language that scriptures are presented in, and should not be so preoccupied by error so as to prevent understanding. As a result of this, Lutherans do not believe there is a need to wait for any clergy, pope, scholar, or ecumenical council to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible. Lutherans confess that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates

6816-429: The local garrisons to 4,100 men. In November 1646, Frederick William invaded Berg , but the invaders soon ran out of food and returned home, achieving only the return of Ravensberg. The Peace of Westphalia finally settled the Thirty Years' War in 1648. Three years later, the Holy Roman Empire found itself on the brink of war when Wolfgang Wilhelm claimed that the normative year imposed by the treaty took precedence over

6912-562: The middle of the 16th century. These finally ended with the resolution of the issues in the Formula of Concord . Large numbers of politically and religiously influential leaders met together, debated, and resolved these topics on the basis of Scripture, resulting in the Formula, which over 8,000 leaders signed. The Book of Concord replaced earlier, incomplete collections of doctrine , unifying all German Lutherans with identical doctrine and beginning

7008-402: The obscuring of the Gospel teaching of justification by grace through faith alone. The Book of Concord , published in 1580, contains 10 documents which some Lutherans believe are faithful and authoritative explanations of Holy Scripture. Besides the three Ecumenical Creeds , which date to Roman times , the Book of Concord contains seven credal documents articulating Lutheran theology in

7104-402: The occupying forces. In 1612, Rudolf ordered the Count Palatine and the Margrave to reinstate Catholicism in the city of Aachen under the menace of a ban. The Protestants ignored the command and seriously wounded an Imperial commissioner sent to implement the Emperor's edict. Upon Rudolf's death, Emperor Matthias confirmed Saxony's rights to the fief, rekindling the dispute and the conversions of

7200-483: The only presently available sources of divinely revealed knowledge, and the only infallible source of Christian doctrine. Scripture alone is the formal principle of the faith, the final authority for all matters of faith and morals because of its inspiration, authority, clarity, efficacy, and sufficiency. The authority of the Scriptures has been challenged during the history of Lutheranism. Martin Luther taught that

7296-557: The orthodoxy of the 17th century. Friedrich Julius Stahl led the High Church Lutherans . Though raised Jewish, he was baptized as a Christian at the age of 19 through the influence of the Lutheran school he attended. As the leader of a neofeudal Prussian political party, he campaigned for the divine right of kings , the power of the nobility , and episcopal polity for the church. Along with Theodor Kliefoth and August Friedrich Christian Vilmar , he promoted agreement with

7392-551: The people shouted; "We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore". Frederick's son was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his father's death in 1533. However, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1536 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark–Norway . The constitution upon which the Danish Norwegian Church, according to

7488-517: The period of Lutheran Orthodoxy. In lands where Catholicism was the state religion, Lutheranism was officially illegal, although enforcement varied. Until the end of the Counter-Reformation , some Lutherans worshipped secretly, such as at the Hundskirke (which translates as dog church or dog altar), a triangle-shaped Communion rock in a ditch between crosses in Paternion , Austria. The crowned serpent

7584-456: The power struggle between the Emperor and Archduke Matthias by convincing the former to annul the Treaty of Dortmund and appoint him as the imperial commissioner. Leopold triumphantly entered Jülich but soon found himself besieged by an army three times his size, as fighting spread to Aachen and Düren . The struggle between the Catholic royal family and the Protestant princes brought fears of

7680-625: The preceding outward Word". Lutherans are confident that the Bible contains everything that one needs to know in order to obtain salvation and to live a Christian life. There are no deficiencies in Scripture that need to be filled with by tradition, pronouncements of the Pope , new revelations, or present-day development of doctrine . Lutherans understand the Bible as containing two distinct types of content, termed Law and Gospel (or Law and Promises). Properly distinguishing between Law and Gospel prevents

7776-537: The purpose of God's Law , the concept of perseverance of the saints , and predestination , amongst other matters. The name Lutheran originated as a derogatory term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Roman Catholics followed the traditional practice of naming a heresy after its leader, thus labeling all who identified with

7872-598: The purpose of arguing with the Jesuits , and it was finally established by Johann Gerhard . Abraham Calovius represents the climax of the scholastic paradigm in orthodox Lutheranism. Other orthodox Lutheran theologians include Martin Chemnitz , Aegidius Hunnius , Leonhard Hutter , Nicolaus Hunnius , Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand , Salomo Glassius , Johann Hülsemann , Johann Conrad Dannhauer , Johannes Andreas Quenstedt , Johann Friedrich König , and Johann Wilhelm Baier . Near

7968-523: The reign of Frederick I (1523–1533), Denmark–Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he soon adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers, the most significant of which was Hans Tausen . During Frederick's reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark. At an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by King Christian III in 1536,

8064-533: The restoration of Catholic rule in Aachen. Fearing an attack, the town council requested the aid of the Elector of Brandenburg, who sent several hundred soldiers under General Georg von Pulitz to reinforce the local militia. On 24 August, Spinola besieged Aachen on the premise of imposing a two-year-old imperial edict issued by Rudolf. After several days of negotiations, the garrison was allowed to leave together with Protestant clerics and non-citizens. The old city council

8160-638: The revival movements were divided by philosophical traditions. The Repristination school and Old Lutherans tended towards Kantianism, while the Erlangen school promoted a conservative Hegelian perspective . By 1969, Manfried Kober complained that "unbelief is rampant" even within German Lutheran parishes. Traditionally, Lutherans hold the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the only divinely inspired books,

8256-545: The seat of honour. This act of revenge was widely interpreted across the empire as Christian's determination to oppose Calvinism. In Dresden, on 12 September 1602, Christian married Hedwig , daughter of the King Frederick II of Denmark . This marriage was childless. The internal strife and growing conservatism in Saxony allowed for the more militant Palatinate to reassert itself as the leading Protestant principality and seek

8352-432: The then- Livonian Order . Lutheran clergy became civil servants and the Lutheran churches became part of the state. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century as the monarchs of Denmark–Norway and Sweden adopted the faith. Through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia . It also began spreading into Lithuania Proper with practically all members of

8448-473: The theology of Martin Luther , the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 1517. Lutheranism subsequently became the state religion of many parts of Northern Europe , starting with Prussia in 1525. In 1521, the split between Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church was made public and clear with

8544-409: The town's decree and banished as they refused to pay the fine. This caused a riot against the council on 5 July. The Catholic councillors were expelled and many Catholic buildings were sacked. The rebels assaulted the church and the college of the Jesuits , smashed the altars and images and held a mock mass dressed in priestly garments. A new Protestant council was established and appealed for support to

8640-547: The two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed . As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped. Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Anabaptists and Calvinists . In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church. Lutheranism has its roots in

8736-569: The work of Martin Luther , who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. The reaction of the government and church authorities to the international spread of his writings, beginning with the Ninety-five Theses , divided Western Christianity . During the Reformation, Lutheranism became the state religion of numerous states of northern Europe , especially in northern Germany , Scandinavia , and

8832-569: Was also brought to a halt after the local population refused to supply the troops with food. In the meantime Leopold fled Jülich, leaving 1,500 troops inside. Their fate was sealed as the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic finally intervened in support of the Protestants, aiming to antagonize Spain by putting further pressure on the Spanish Road. The Dutch intercepted a relief party heading from

8928-435: Was found almost solely in small Pietist conventicles. However, some of the laity preserved Lutheran orthodoxy from both Pietism and rationalism by reusing old catechisms, hymnbooks, postils , and devotional writings, including those written by Johann Gerhard , Heinrich Müller and Christian Scriver . Luther scholar Johann Georg Hamann (1730–1788), a layman, became famous for countering Rationalism and striving to advance

9024-654: Was immediately hit with internal strife; Christian I's unexpected death had sparked rumours that he had been poisoned by a Lutheran establishment in Saxony to forestall a Calvinist reformation. From 1591 to 1593, Christian's mother Sophie of Brandenburg orchestrated a reactionary purge of Philippists and crypto-Calvinists , imprisoning Krell and obliging all pastors to swear allegiance to the Lutheran Book of Concord , earning approval from Saxony's Lutheran populace. Convinced that he had corrupted her late husband, Sophie worked to have Krell executed, though found herself obstructed by

9120-406: Was reinstated while participants in the 1611 riots were punished. From Aachen Spinola pressed on towards Düren, Neuss , Wesel and Mülheim , which he captured with Wolfgang Wilhelm's help. The Dutch occupied the duchy of Mark and the rest of Cleves, while also reinforcing Jülich. On 13 October, Spinola and Maurice of Nassau initiated peace negotiations under French and English mediation known as

9216-690: Was secured for Lutherans through the Peace of Passau in 1552, and under the legal principle of Cuius regio, eius religio (the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled) and the Declaratio Ferdinandei (limited religious tolerance ) clauses of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. Religious disputes among the Crypto-Calvinists , Philippists , Sacramentarians , Ubiquitarians , and Gnesio-Lutherans raged within Lutheranism during

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