Welker / Beintker / de Lange Europa reformata (English Edition)

Reformationsstädte Europas und ihre Reformatoren
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-3-374-04800-7
Verlag: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 512 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 150 mm x 210 mm

This beautifully illustrated, compact volume traces the profile of 48 European cities in early Reformation times. It transports readers across Europe from Spain to Estonia, from Scotland to Romania, passing through many fascinating cities in the Reformation heartland of this continent.
With finely drawn historical portraits and abundant pictorial material, the articles by different scholars also feature the most prominent Reformers who lived and worked in each city (including six dynamic women).
Supplemented by an illustrated map of Europe, local websites and reading lists, Europa Reformata will serve as a guide for visitors and armchair travelers alike. By highlighting so many cities and pioneers of the Reformation, it makes a timely and unique contribution to the 500th anniversary of this groundbreaking movement.

Der prächtige und doch handliche Band zeichnet die reformatorischen Profile von etwa vierzig europäischen Städten nach. Die Leser werden von Spanien über Zentraleuropa bis Estland und Finnland geführt, von Schottland und England bis nach Rumänien. Profilierte Texte und reiches Bildmaterial veranschaulichen das Wirken der berühmtesten Reformatoren – sowie der fünf Reformatorinnen – und stellen die Städte mit ihren Bauten und Zeugnissen aus der Reformationszeit vor Augen. Ergänzt durch eine bebilderte Europakarte und die Angabe von kirchlichen Adressen und Tourismusbüros, eignet sich der Band auch als Reiseführer auf den Spuren der Reformation in Europa. An diesem perfekten Geschenk zum 500. Reformationsjubiläum sollte niemand achtlos vorübergehen.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Welker, Michael

Beintker, Michael

De Lange, Albert

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Kirchengeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Sport | Tourismus | Freizeit Tourismus & Reise Reise & Urlaub: Führer, Landkarten, Pläne
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte Europäische Regional- & Stadtgeschichte

Leseproben

Introduction
by Michael Welker I. The spiritual heart of the Reformation: trust in God’s revelation The Reformation message is characterized by profound trust in God and by fearlessness in the face of human power. The alternatives it articulates are quite clear: God’s word before human words, if necessary even against human words Biblical witnesses before human doctrines God’s truth before human certainties or opinions Faith in redemption that cannot be attained through one’s own actions, but solely through God, not trusting in indulgences and one’s own works (cf. Berndt Hamm’s article on Nuremberg) The Reformation emphasizes that God has turned compassionately toward human beings, and that precisely this action on God’s part is revealed in Jesus Christ and grasped in faith (cf. Christoph Strohm’s article on Heidelberg). God, God’s Word and God’s truth draw near to human beings, seeking to comfort, encourage and uplift them. God reveals himself in the compassionate, suffering human being Jesus Christ, who was executed on the cross. Jesus Christ takes hold of his witnesses in the power of the Holy Spirit and draws them into his life and authority – even against the power of pope and emperor. The Reformation’s stirring theological insights and life-changing energy are today associated especially with the towns of Wittenberg (Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon), Zurich (Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger), and Geneva (John Calvin and Théodore de Bèze), on the one hand, and with the developments commencing after 1517 (Luther posts his theses in Wittenberg), on the other. And yet more than a century earlier than the Reformation in Germany, Switzerland, and other European countries, reform initiatives and the articulation of several key Reformation insights prompted the demand for corresponding reforms, especially from circles near the universities of Oxford (John Wycliffe) and Prague (Jan Hus), and indeed even earlier from Waldes of Lyon and the Waldensians. Such Reformation forerunners were already emphasizing that God’s grace alone constitutes the foundation of human salvation, and that the status of Scripture was higher than any church doctrine. For just that reason, they argued, not only should the Bible be made accessible to all people, it should also be preached and its teachings communicated in the country’s native language. Emphasis was on human maturity, on human beings having come of age in spiritual matters, and accordingly on the bread and wine in the Eucharist being distributed to all congregation members. Even before later Reformation figures, several of these “pre-Reformers” were publicly executed for having disseminated these liberating, but also heretical notions. II. The importance of the printing press and education for the Reformation One simply cannot overestimate the importance of what at the time was the still relatively new technology of moveable-type printing for the success of the Reformation, especially with regard to the production of pamphlets and books in the vernacular. Between 1518 and 1530, no fewer than 457 printings of Luther’s writings – with an overall print run of a half million copies! — appeared in Augsburg alone. Publishers and printing shops were enormously successful in Basel, Emden, Hamburg, Herborn, Hermannstadt, Kronstadt, Leiden, Nuremberg, Speyer, Stockholm, Ulm, Urach, Vienna, Worms, and other cities. Pamphlets, often with gripping illustrations, shook people up. Printed sermons and treatises made it possible to disseminate the Reformation message directly among the people. Catechisms summarized the most important elements of faith and were disseminated far and wide — some globally. Translations of the Bible into the language of the people swiftly appeared in many countries. New congregational hymns and even entire hymnals were printed. III. Reformation advocacy of education and liberation At the time, enthusiasm for the Reformation was borne largely by an educated middle class with a pronounced emancipatory disposition. Yet even before the Reformation, larger towns as centers of both news and communication were already providing the backdrop for educational movements – about forty percent of the population in Nuremberg, for example, could read. In some towns, circles of educated persons met who not only were attracted by the humanist ideals of Erasmus of Rotterdam but were also open to the Reformation. To put it simply: “Without humanism, no Reformation!” (Bernd Moeller). These circles, often with a broad network of correspondents, both disseminated and otherwise promoted Reformation doctrine. But it was not just in larger towns that the Reformation was able to gain a foothold. Devout rulers also joined and began supporting it in their own territories. Ultimately the Reformation spread to every class in the population. IV. Reformation and the sharing of power: the involvement of city councils, guilds and kings Even prior to the Reformation, secular authorities were becoming increasingly interested in expanding their oversight and control of ecclesiastical spheres and concerns. Indeed, in some cities councils even received papal support or at least tolerance in this regard, the pope granting the council in Bern, for example, the right to appoint ecclesiastical officeholders before the Reformation. In many places, however, politicians simply exploited Reformation successes to expand the scope of their own power. In Augsburg, for example, where ninety percent of the citizens quickly became Protestant, the town council and laypersons took over the task of appointing ecclesiastical officeholders, adjudicating disputes in matters of faith, and ensuring that sermons adhered to Scripture and were of an acceptably Protestant orientation. V. Public theology: the importance of sermons and disputations The Reformation was “a reading and preaching movement” (Berndt Hamm). Even the worship service was now to serve spiritual, ethical, and political education. Questions of faith and church policy were to be stated and discussed freely and openly. Town councils in many places embraced the Reformation message and accordingly promoted theologically and biblically informed “sermons according to God’s word”. Public reaction to these developments was strong and positive. VI. Catechisms — church ordinances — innovations in ordinary life In many cities, adopting the Reformation was accompanied by the emergence of church ordinances (the first, by Johannes Aepinus in Stralsund, appearing in 1525) and catechisms designed to provide reliable orientation in both life and doctrine. Over time, Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms (1528/?29), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer (1549) all became perennial spiritual bestsellers throughout the world. Yet even catechisms that today remain relatively unknown often exerted enormous influence. The most important of the three catechisms by Johannes Brenz from Schwäbisch Hall (1535) went through five hundred printings. VII. Princesses, female Reformers, and young theologians and jurists in leading roles Theologically and spiritually engaged princesses and educated women from the upper classes of the citizenry made important contributions to the Reformation. Marguerite of Angoulême, Queen of Navarre, and her daughter Jeanne d’Albret, the Duchess of Albret in the principality of Béarn, promoted “simultaneous churches”, that is, churches that opened Roman Catholic church buildings to Protestant preachers. In contact with Reformers in Geneva, they assisted in reforming church institutions and the principality itself as well as in efforts to purify “Roman idol worship”. In cosmopolitan Emden, Countess Anna of East Frisia appointed as senior spiritual administrator the Polish humanist and Reformation theologian John a Lasco, charging him with reorganizing the entire church and its institutions in East Frisia. New synodical leadership committees were created, and in Emden itself leaders organized religious colloquies with those who were still adherents of the “old faith” and with peaceable Anabaptists. VIII. European internationality The small town of Wittenberg became the “center of the civilized world” from which a new religious culture radiated out in all directions. The only recently founded university (1502), with its renowned teachers Luther and Melanchthon, attracted more than forty-seven hundred students from all over Europe between 1535 and 1545, making it the most populous university in the empire. Distinguished artists as well, especially from the school of Lucas Cranach, extended the Reformation’s aura far beyond Germany. Other institutions of higher learning where Reformation doctrine was represented similarly attracted students and scholars from all over Europe. Heidelberg, Marburg, Herborn, and also Cambridge were especially successful in this regard. IX. Thematic conflicts with the Church of...

Über Autor(innen)

Michael Welker, Dr. Dr. Dres. h.c., Jahrgang 1947, ist Seniorprofessor und Direktor des Forschungszentrums Internationale und Interdisziplinäre Theologie (FIIT) an der Universität von Heidelberg.