Category: Martin Luther and the Reformation

The Writer and Translator Martin Luther was not a man who could remain idle. There was work to be done. He couldn’t preach, but he could write. And it was here, in the “Land of the Birds,” that he did some of his most important writing. At first he had only his Hebrew and Greek Testaments, which he managed…

When Elector Frederick saw that things were not going well at the diet, he feared for Luther’s safety. He knew that his enemies would try to seize and kill him as soon as the safe conduct was no longer in effect. He told one of his trusted knights to see to it that Luther would be taken to a…

The Edict of Worms Charles V was angry. The next day he summoned the electors and princes to ask their advice. He had already made up his mind to put Luther under the imperial ban. He said, “I wish to proceed against him as a notorious heretic, and ask you to declare yourselves as you promised me.” But the…

Both Luther and Elector Frederick had requested that the hearing take place before a committee appointed by the diet. At first the diet agreed to this, but on April 17 Luther was told that he was to make his appearance before the diet itself. He was also told to conduct himself courteously and not to speak except when answering questions.…

The Summons from the Emperor Luther had dared to defy the pope. What would happen now? On January 3, 1521, Pope Leo X announced the formal excommunication of Martin Luther and his followers. The pope thereby decreed that everyone was to consider Luther and his supporters heretics and heathen. The church had excommunicated Luther, but that was where its power…

Luther knew that he had spoken the truth, but he knew that Rome very likely would condemn him and do everything possible to destroy him. A showdown had to come between him and the pope and between him and the emperor. The church was the first to act.

Luther’s Call for Reformation Luther returned to Wittenberg with renewed determination to do all he could to combat the spiritual evils that had plagued the people for so many years. The cell in the Black Cloister was his workshop. There his mind and pen worked tirelessly to produce tracts, pamphlets, and books. In one year alone the printers published…

The Leipzig Debate Luther returned to Wittenberg and concentrated on his lectures and his study of God’s Word. He published nothing that related to his differences with the church. But his enemies did not keep silent. Before long, Luther found himself in a dispute that marked the parting of the ways between him and his followers and the Catholic Church.