[198] Around the time of the Siege of Vienna, Luther wrote a prayer for national deliverance from the Turks, asking God to "give to our emperor perpetual victory over our enemies". [238] According to the prevailing opinion among historians,[15] his anti-Jewish rhetoric contributed significantly to the development of antisemitism in Germany,[239] and in the 1930s and 1940s provided an "ideal underpinning" for the Nazis' attacks on Jews. Martin Luther, (born November 10, 1483, Eisleben, Saxony [Germany]died February 18, 1546, Eisleben), German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. They escorted Luther to the security of the Wartburg Castle at Eisenach. [161] He often accompanied the sung hymns with a lute, later recreated as the waldzither that became a national instrument of Germany in the 20th century. Preachers such as Thomas Mntzer and Zwickau prophet Nicholas Storch found support amongst poorer townspeople and peasants between 1521 and 1525. [20][18] The religious scholar Martin Marty describes Luther's mother as a hard-working woman of "trading-class stock and middling means", contrary to Luther's enemies, who labeled her a whore and bath attendant. Frederick III had him intercepted on his way home in the forest near Wittenberg by masked horsemen impersonating highway robbers. "[186] On his table Luther wrote the words "Hoc est corpus meum" ("This is my body") in chalk, to continually indicate his firm stance. Luther and Protestantism | Western Civilization - Lumen Learning He continued to work on refining the translation until the end of his life. Citing Jesus' words "The flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6.63), Zwingli said, "This passage breaks your neck". [240] The city of Nuremberg presented a first edition of On the Jews and their Lies to Julius Streicher, editor of the Nazi newspaper Der Strmer, on his birthday in 1937; the newspaper described it as the most radically antisemitic tract ever published. [252] The pro-Nazi Christian group Deutsche Christen drew parallels between Martin Luther and the "Fhrer" Adolf Hitler. Martin Luther | Catholic Answers The "first use of the law," accordingly, would be the law used as an external means of order and coercion in the political realm by means of bodily rewards and punishments. At first, "the pope demanded twelve thousand ducats for the twelve apostles. "[171] He also rejected the existence of purgatory, which involved Christian souls undergoing penitential suffering after death. [29] One friend blamed the decision on Luther's sadness over the deaths of two friends. [234] Josel of Rosheim, the Jewish spokesman who tried to help the Jews of Saxony in 1537, later blamed their plight on "that priest whose name was Martin Luthermay his body and soul be bound up in hell!who wrote and issued many heretical books in which he said that whoever would help the Jews was doomed to perdition. [103], Luther justified his opposition to the rebels on three grounds. Martin Luther and the Long March to Freedom of Conscience Martin Luther Collection: Early works attributed to Martin Luther, (285 titles). First, the Dominican theologian Sylvester Mazzolini drafted a heresy case against Luther, whom Leo then summoned to Rome. He wrote, "All the articles of our Christian faith, which God has revealed to us in His Word, are in presence of reason sheerly impossible, absurd, and false. This behavior started with his learning of the execution of Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos, the first individuals to be martyred by the Roman Catholic Church for Lutheran views, prompting Luther to write the hymn "Ein neues Lied wir heben an" ("A New Song We Raise"), which is generally known in English by John C. Messenger's translation by the title and first line "Flung to the Heedless Winds" and sung to the tune Ibstone composed in 1875 by Maria C. Luther taught that salvation and, consequently, eternal life are not earned by good deeds; rather, they are received only as the free gift of God's grace through the believer's faith in Jesus Christ, the redeemer from sin. Luther was baptized the next morning on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours. The theologians were not prepared to make a general ruling, and they reluctantly advised the landgrave that if he was determined, he should marry secretly and keep quiet about the matter because divorce was worse than bigamy. Brecht, 2:60; Bainton, Mentor edition, 165; Marius, 168169. [187], Despite the disagreements on the Eucharist, the Marburg Colloquy paved the way for the signing in 1530 of the Augsburg Confession, and for the formation of the Schmalkaldic League the following year by leading Protestant nobles such as John of Saxony, Philip of Hesse, and George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. [253], Some scholars, such as Mark U. Edwards in his book Luther's Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 153146 (1983), suggest that since Luther's increasingly antisemitic views developed during the years his health deteriorated, it is possible they were at least partly the product of a state of mind. Was Martin Luther a Protestant or a Traditionalist Catholic? [26] For Luther, reason could be used to question men and institutions, but not God. In contrast to the views of John Calvin[167] and Philipp Melanchthon,[168] throughout his life Luther maintained that it was not false doctrine to believe that a Christian's soul sleeps after it is separated from the body in death. He was buried in the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg, in front of the pulpit. 8, "Predigt ber Mat. Martin Luther and John Calvin were crusaders for the reformation and were able to share their ideas and beliefs effectively; they were then accepted/recognized by the peoplethe educated and uneducated, the middle class and nobility. How Martin Luther Started a Religious Revolution - National Geographic Johann von Staupitz, his superior, concluded that Luther needed more work to distract him from excessive introspection and ordered him to pursue an academic career. [146] [219] The affair caused lasting damage to Luther's reputation. No judgment could be sharper. The statement was in Latin, apart from "We are beggars," which was in German. [273][274][275][276][277], Martin Luther's Death House, considered the site of Luther's death since 1726. [104] Only later in life did he develop the Beerwolf concept permitting some cases of resistance against the government. encyclopedia Martin Luther Founder of Protestantism, b. at Eisleben, November 10, 1483; d. at Eisleben, February 18, 1546 Listen to the audio version of this content Click to enlarge Luther, MARTIN, leader of the great religious revolt of the sixteenth century in Germany, b. at Eisleben, November 10, 1483; d. at Eisleben, February 18, 1546. [132] Luther's service, however, included congregational singing of hymns and psalms in German, as well as parts of the liturgy, including Luther's unison setting of the Creed. He prayed, consulted friends, and gave his response the next day: Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Homo enim in hac vita defatigatus diurno labore, sub noctem intrat in cubiculum suum tanquam in pace, ut ibi dormiat, et ea nocte fruitur quiete, neque quicquam scit de ullo malo sive incendii, sive caedis. Bach, used this rich hymn as a subject for their own work, although its objective baptismal theology was displaced by more subjective hymns under the influence of late-19th-century Lutheran pietism.[161]. [269] The funeral was held by his friends Johannes Bugenhagen and Philipp Melanchthon. The Ten Commandments, and the beginnings of the renewed life of Christians accorded to them by the sacrament of baptism, are a present foreshadowing of the believers' future angel-like life in heaven in the midst of this life. [51] "This one and firm rock, which we call the doctrine of justification", he writes, "is the chief article of the whole Christian doctrine, which comprehends the understanding of all godliness. Luther sympathised with some of the peasants' grievances, as he showed in his response to the Twelve Articles in May 1525, but he reminded the aggrieved to obey the temporal authorities. [192] Luther had argued against resisting the Turks in his 1518 Explanation of the Ninety-five Theses, provoking accusations of defeatism. His position was entirely religious and in no respect racial. Mullett, 186187; Brecht, 2:264265, 267. Hillerbrand, Hans J. [7] His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches. [158][159], Luther was a prolific hymnodist, authoring hymns such as "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), based on Psalm 46, and "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" ("From Heaven Above to Earth I Come"), based on Luke 2:1112. Branches of Protestantism that emerged afterwards vary in their remembrance and veneration of Luther, ranging from a complete lack of a single mention of him to a commemoration almost comparable to the way Lutherans commemorate and remember his persona. Luther, Martin. These theses asserted that the law is no longer to be taught to Christians but belonged only to city hall. ", Richard (Dick) Geary, "Who voted for the Nazis? Other 16th- and 20th-century versifications of the Lord's Prayer have adopted Luther's tune, although modern texts are considerably shorter. Lutheranism, the Reformed tradition, and Anglicanism. "[235] Josel asked the city of Strasbourg to forbid the sale of Luther's anti-Jewish works: they refused initially but did so when a Lutheran pastor in Hochfelden used a sermon to urge his parishioners to murder Jews. On 1 August 1521, Luther wrote to Melanchthon on the same theme: "Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. Did Martin Luther go back to the Catholic Church? Von Miltitz attempted to broker a solution, but Luther, who had sent the pope a copy of On the Freedom of a Christian in October, publicly set fire to the bull and decretals at Wittenberg on 10 December 1520,[72] an act he defended in Why the Pope and his Recent Book are Burned and Assertions Concerning All Articles. Fine Christians they are! [261], His poor physical health made him short-tempered and even harsher in his writings and comments. [199], In 1542, Luther read a Latin translation of the Qur'an. Switzerland celebrates the holiday on the first Sunday after 31 October. [22] The three schools focused on the so-called "trivium": grammar, rhetoric, and logic. [164], Luther wrote "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir" ("From depths of woe I cry to You") in 1523 as a hymnic version of Psalm 130 and sent it as a sample to encourage his colleagues to write psalm-hymns for use in German worship. Reformation Day commemorates the publication of the Ninety-five Theses in 1517 by Martin Luther; it has been historically important in the following European entities. The Elector Frederick persuaded the pope to have Luther examined at Augsburg, where the Imperial Diet was held. That Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses helped launch the Reformation is beyond question. Nottingham: IVP, 2009, p. 60. Learn more about Lutheranism in this article. [222] He considered the Jews blasphemers and liars because they rejected the divinity of Jesus. On Oct. 31, 1517, an outspoken university lecturer and Augustinian monk named Martin Luther posted a list of objections to the dominant Roman Catholic beliefs and practices of his time. For in that very passage he is dealing with the main point of Christian doctrine, namely, that we are justified by faith in Christ without any works of the Law. Luther made certain concessions to the Saxon, who was a relative of the Elector and promised to remain silent if his opponents did. His "95 Theses," which propounded two central beliefsthat the Bible is the central religious authority and that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deedswas to spark. [97] After banishing the Zwickau prophets, he faced a battle against both the established Church and the radical reformers who threatened the new order by fomenting social unrest and violence. Luther's writings circulated widely, reaching France, England, and Italy as early as 1519. "[24] He received his master's degree in 1505. [215] Luther's teaching of the Ten Commandments, therefore, has clear eschatological overtones, which, characteristically for Luther, do not encourage world-flight but direct the Christian to service to the neighbor in the common, daily vocations of this perishing world. (Show more) Notable Family Members: Original sourcebook excerpt taken from, Robin A. Leaver, "Luther's Catechism Hymns. [18], He had several brothers and sisters and is known to have been close to one of them, Jacob. For example, the Instructions for the Visitors of Parish Pastors in Electoral Saxony (1528), drafted by Melanchthon with Luther's approval, stressed the role of repentance in the forgiveness of sins, despite Luther's position that faith alone ensures justification. Martin Luther, "On Justification CCXCIV". [271][272], The tomb of Philipp Melanchthon, Luther's contemporary and fellow reformer, is also located in the All Saints' Church. [225], Luther's major works on the Jews were his 60,000-word treatise Von den Juden und Ihren Lgen (On the Jews and Their Lies), and Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi (On the Holy Name and the Lineage of Christ), both published in 1543, three years before his death. In the view of Luther's biographer Martin Brecht, "giving confessional advice for Philip of Hesse was one of the worst mistakes Luther made, and, next to the landgrave himself, who was directly responsible for it, history chiefly holds Luther accountable". [127], In response to demands for a German liturgy, Luther wrote a German Mass, which he published in early 1526. Many historians mark the start of the Protestant Reformation with Luther's 95 theses. It permitted anyone to kill Luther without legal consequence. [135], Luther and his colleagues introduced the new order of worship during their visitation of the Electorate of Saxony, which began in 1527. Martin Luther in the Circle of Reformers, 1625-50 (oil on panel), by an artist of the German School. [208] Luther states that everything that is used to work sorrow over sin is called the law, even if it is Christ's life, Christ's death for sin, or God's goodness experienced in creation. [166] He wrote two hymns on the Ten Commandments, "Dies sind die heilgen Zehn Gebot" and "Mensch, willst du leben seliglich". The siege was lifted on 14 October 1529, which Luther saw as a divine miracle. [109] "Suddenly, and while I was occupied with far different thoughts," he wrote to Wenceslaus Link, "the Lord has plunged me into marriage. Luther based his position on predestination on St. Paul's epistle to the Ephesians 2:810. [195] In 1526, he argued in Whether Soldiers can be in a State of Grace that national defence is reason for a just war. Martin Luther - The German Way & More [268], An apoplectic stroke deprived him of his speech, and he died shortly afterwards at 2:45a.m. on 18 February 1546, aged 62, in Eisleben, the city of his birth. Fahlbusch, Erwin and Bromiley, Geoffrey William. On one occasion, Luther referred to the elector as an "emergency bishop" (. November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546 Martin Luther, one of the most notable theologians in Christian history, is responsible for initiating the Protestant Reformation. Daniel Weissbort and Astradur Eysteinsson (eds. The emperor presented the final draft of the Edict of Worms on 25 May 1521, declaring Luther an outlaw, banning his literature, and requiring his arrest: "We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic. Protestant Reformation | The First Amendment Encyclopedia Ninety-five Theses | Description, History, Significance, & Facts 31 March 2017, Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Albrecht von Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants, The Sacrament of the Body and Blood of ChristAgainst the Fanatics, On the Holy Name and the Lineage of Christ, Episcopal (United States) Calendar of Saints, Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, "Journal of Theology: Martin Luther, Reformation Theologian and Educator", "Martin Luther | Biography, Reformation, Works, & Facts", "The Doctrine of Justification in the Lutheran Confessions", Justification as Healing: The Little-Known Luther", "Justification by Faith: The Lutheran-Catholic Convergence", "The Acts and Monuments of the Church Martin Luther", "Life of Luther (Luther by Martin Luther)", "Let Your Sins Be Strong," a Letter From Luther to Melanchthon, "The Contested History of a Book: The German Bible of the Later Middle Ages and Reformation in Legend, Ideology, and Scholarship", "Waldzither Bibliography of the 19th century", "Smalcald Articles, Part II, Article II, paragraph 12", "Smalcald Articles, Part II, Article II, paragraph 28", "Chapter 9. [15][16][17], Martin Luther was born to Hans Luder (or Ludher, later Luther)[18] and his wife Margarethe (ne Lindemann) on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, County of Mansfeld, in the Holy Roman Empire. 3, 5, 7, 9 - 12 Subjects Religion, Social Studies, Civics, U.S. History, World History Image Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms 1521 Martin Luther, a German teacher and a monk, brought about the Protestant Reformation when he challenged the Catholic Church's teachings starting in 1517. Indulgences are, in Roman Catholic theology . [230] In Robert Michael's view, Luther's words "We are at fault in not slaying them" amounted to a sanction for murder. [124] At times, Luther's practical reforms fell short of his earlier radical pronouncements. Saxony-Anhalt has two towns officially named after Luther, Lutherstadt Eisleben and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. In Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants, written on his return to Wittenberg, he gave his interpretation of the Gospel teaching on wealth, condemned the violence as the devil's work, and called for the nobles to put down the rebels like mad dogs: Therefore let everyone who can, smite, slay, and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish than a rebel For baptism does not make men free in body and property, but in soul; and the gospel does not make goods common, except in the case of those who, of their own free will, do what the apostles and disciples did in Acts 4 [:3237]. [210] Claiming that the lawin any formshould not be preached to Christians anymore would be tantamount to asserting that Christians are no longer sinners in themselves and that the church consists only of essentially holy people. They embarked on what appears to have been a happy and successful marriage, though money was often short. Between 1500 and 1530, Luther's works represented one fifth of all materials printed in Germany. [3] He was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism . Early Yiddish in Non-Jewish Books", "Chapter 5. first curiosity-driven wordlists: Rotwelsch", 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198785019.001.0001, "A Closer Look at the "Crucifixion Psalm", Hitler and the Holocaust, Christian Anti-Semitism", "Martin Luther and "The Jews" A Reappraisal", Official Missouri Synod Doctrinal Statements, "Special Interests at the Ballot Box? Hans Hillerbrand writes that Luther had no intention of confronting the church but saw his disputation as a scholarly objection to church practices, and the tone of the writing is accordingly "searching, rather than doctrinaire. 's 1970 survey of 4,745 North American Lutherans aged 1565 found that, compared to the other minority groups under consideration, Lutherans were the least prejudiced toward Jews. [67], In January 1519, at Altenburg in Saxony, the papal nuncio Karl von Miltitz adopted a more conciliatory approach. Luther refused to recant, and on January 3, 1521 Pope Leo excommunicated Martin Luther . [175], Luther's Commentary on Genesis contains a passage which concludes that "the soul does not sleep (anima non sic dormit), but wakes (sed vigilat) and experiences visions". Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls (Mark 13:31). [223] In 1523, Luther advised kindness toward the Jews in That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew and also aimed to convert them to Christianity. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [184], Zwingli, for example, denied Jesus' ability to be in more than one place at a time. "[89] In November, Luther wrote The Judgement of Martin Luther on Monastic Vows. [257] Nevertheless, Professor Richard Geary, former professor of modern history at the University of Nottingham and the author of Hitler and Nazism (Routledge 1993), published an article in the magazine History Today examining electoral trends in Weimar Germany between 1928 and 1933. Those who attended a farewell supper walked him to the door of the Black Cloister. These included a renewed attack on Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz, whom he shamed into halting the sale of indulgences in his episcopates,[84] and a Refutation of the Argument of Latomus, in which he expounded the principle of justification to Jacobus Latomus, an orthodox theologian from Louvain. [47] According to Roland Bainton, on the other hand, it is true.[48]. Austria allows Protestant children not to go to school that day, and Protestant workers have a right to leave work in order to participate in a church service. [68] The theologian Johann Eck, however, was determined to expose Luther's doctrine in a public forum. Reformation | Definition, History, Summary, Reformers, & Facts Hac similitudine, quam habeo a somno viventia." In 1516, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences to raise money in order to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He published a short commentary on Galatians and his Work on the Psalms. As a consequence, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X on 3 January 1521, in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. In the Church of England's Calendar of Saints he is commemorated on 31 October. "[202] He opposed banning the publication of the Qur'an, wanting it exposed to scrutiny. The extant manuscript shows multiple revisions, demonstrating Luther's concern to clarify and strengthen the text and to provide an appropriately prayerful tune. [200] He went on to produce several critical pamphlets on Islam, which he called "Mohammedanism" or "the Turk". He supplied four of eight songs of the First Lutheran hymnal Achtliederbuch, 18 of 26 songs of the Erfurt Enchiridion, and 24 of the 32 songs in the first choral hymnal with settings by Johann Walter, Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn, all published in 1524. His biblical ideal of congregations choosing their own ministers had proved unworkable. It was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521, with Emperor CharlesV presiding. In 1524 Luther developed his original four-stanza psalm paraphrase into a five-stanza Reformation hymn that developed the theme of "grace alone" more fully. In the middle betwixt, he jolted the globe, constituting the basis accompanying the expectation of positive vote located orders. [8] His marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry. Religious minorities in both areas were persecuted. Hansjrg Buss. Luther later compared his education there to purgatory and hell. Or did he? On October 31, 1517, a monk named Martin Luther marched to the cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany and nailed his 95 theses to the door. Martin Luther | Achievements | Britannica Second, the violent actions of rebelling, robbing, and plundering placed the peasants "outside the law of God and Empire", so they deserved "death in body and soul, if only as highwaymen and murderers." It is a civic holiday in the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. [25] Luther sought assurances about life and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing particular interest in Aristotle, William of Ockham, and Gabriel Biel. Luther's goal was to enable the catechumens to see themselves as a personal object of the work of the three persons of the Trinity, each of which works in the catechumen's life. On 31 October 1517, Luther wrote to his bishop, Albrecht von Brandenburg, protesting against the sale of indulgences. "The Smalcald Articles," in. [139] Luther incorporated questions and answers in the catechism so that the basics of Christian faith would not just be learned by rote, "the way monkeys do it", but understood.[140]. Luther's final journey, to Mansfeld, was taken because of his concern for his siblings' families continuing in their father Hans Luther's copper mining trade. "Methodists adapt Catholic-Lutheran declaration on justification." His tool of choice for this connection was the singing of German hymns in connection with worship, school, home, and the public arena. [130] He retained the elevation of the host and chalice, while trappings such as the Mass vestments, altar, and candles were made optional, allowing freedom of ceremony. Christians, he said, must not slacken in following Christ on account of such false assurances. [17] Reinhold Lewin writes that anybody who "wrote against the Jews for whatever reason believed he had the right to justify himself by triumphantly referring to Luther." A distinct "Yes" was Luther's reply. After 8p.m., he experienced chest pains. [23], In 1501, at age 17, he entered the University of Erfurt, which he later described as a beerhouse and whorehouse. Wolfgang Katenz) "Luther, Martin," in Hillerbrand, Hans J. Two further states (Lower Saxony and Bremen) are pending a vote on introducing it. In 1529, he wrote the Large Catechism, a manual for pastors and teachers, as well as a synopsis, the Small Catechism, to be memorised by the people. He thanked God for revealing his Son to him in whom he had believed. Throughout the 1580s, riots led to the expulsion of Jews from several German Lutheran states. "[54] Faith, for Luther, was a gift from God; the experience of being justified by faith was "as though I had been born again." Let them go on; I shall reap the benefit. However, Philip's sister Elisabeth quickly made the scandal public, and Philip threatened to expose Luther's advice. [5] Those who identify with these, and all of Luther's wider teachings, are called Lutherans, though Luther insisted on Christian or Evangelical (German: evangelisch) as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ. Original German and Latin of Luther's last written words is: "Wir sein pettler. Luther's hymns inspired composers to write music. This is necessary to believe. [98], Despite his victory in Wittenberg, Luther was unable to stifle radicalism further afield. In: See Merton P. Strommen et al., A Study of Generations (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing, 1972), p. 206. The enforcement of the ban on the Ninety-five Theses fell to the secular authorities. In a collaboration with Paul Speratus, this and seven other hymns were published in the Achtliederbuch, the first Lutheran hymnal. Andreas Karlstadt, supported by the ex-Augustinian Gabriel Zwilling, embarked on a radical programme of reform there in June 1521, exceeding anything envisaged by Luther. [144] That is, Luther depicts the Trinity not as a doctrine to be learned, but as persons to be known. Lutheranism | Definition, Beliefs, Sacraments, History, & Facts [117] Luther confided to Michael Stiefel on 11 August 1526: "My Katie is in all things so obliging and pleasing to me that I would not exchange my poverty for the riches of Croesus. [107] In 1526 Luther wrote: "I, Martin Luther, have during the rebellion slain all the peasants, for it was I who ordered them to be struck dead."[108]. He worked closely with the new elector, John the Steadfast, to whom he turned for secular leadership and funds on behalf of a church largely shorn of its assets and income after the break with Rome. Martin Luther was a German elder who began the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth 100. I cannot and will not recant anything since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. [180] Agreement was achieved on fourteen points out of fifteen, the exception being the nature of the Eucharistthe sacrament of the Lord's Supperan issue crucial to Luther. ): Warren Washburn Florer, Ph.D. (1912, 2012). His "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ") became the main hymn for Christmas.