Page 204 - Stati inu obstati, revija za vprašanja protestantizma, letnik XVII (2021), številka 33, ISSN 2590-9754
P. 204
povzetki, SYNOPSES, ZUSAMMENFASSUNGEN
num Pontificem excommunicating Luther, which also meant death sentence and exile
from the state.
According to the established doctrine and practice the execution of the sentence
would follow automatically. This doctrine was rejected by Frederick the Wise, Elector of
Saxony, who was not convinced by the arguments about Luther’s “heresy” and demand-
ed judgement by domestic experts and authorities. He had his University of Wittenberg
in mind, which firmly defended Luther’s views. Frederick the Wise reached the agree-
ment with Emperor Charles that “the case of Luther” would be discussed at the Diet,
and that Luther was guaranteed safe arrival in Worms and return to Wittenberg. Lu-
ther appeared before the Diet on April 17 and 18. The party representing Luther’s con-
viction gave him only the option of renouncing the convicted theses, which is why he
requested more time for reconsideration and was granted the emperor’s personal per-
mission. The next day, on April 18, Luther performed brilliantly, to which the emperor
personally responded on April 19. Thus, Emperor Charles and the monk Luther literally
stood opposite each other at the Diet, in front of the highest representatives of the state,
which was previously completely unimaginable. Both presented their religious percep-
tions and understandings, referring to their own conscience. They were in a very une-
qual position not only as emperor and monk; it was a much more sensitive matter, since
the emperor was religiously “free” while Luther was a validly convicted and excommu-
nicated “heretic”.
The case of Luther at the Diet was far from solely religious in nature, but rather a re-
flection of the broader socio-religious situation at the turning point in history. The con-
flict culminated in the contradictions between “cultural” Rome and barbaric “German-
ism”, as perfectly illustrated by the correspondence of the papal nuncio, Girolamo Ale-
andro the elder. The great understanding for Luther’s resistance to Rome was support-
ed at the Diet by decades-old German complaints (gravamina) debated at Diets, which
were not taken seriously in Rome.
The most notable figures in the case of Luther (causa Lutheri) at the Diet were: Mar-
tin Luther, Emperor Charles V, Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise, and the papal nun-
cio Girolamo Aleandro the elder. Although at the end of the Diet each of them was “vic-
torious” in one way or another, the actual winner was Martin Luther, who achieved un-
precedented success only by appearing before the Diet, not renouncing the convicted
theses and being able to return to Wittenberg under the emperor’s protection. It is true
that he published his fundamental reform writings as early as 1520, but the door for the
Reformation has only now opened. After Luther was “abducted” on his way back, he un-
dertook the translation of the Bible into German, which became the only recognized re-
ligious basis, and he incorporated his theology into the translation. He used his native,
German language to communicate the faith. This was already demonstrated at the Diet,
where he spoke first in German and only then in Latin for those who did not under-
stand German, e.g. the emperor and the papal nuncio Aleandro. Pamphlets (Flugschrif-
ten) handed out in the streets also reported about the events at the Diet in German.
202
num Pontificem excommunicating Luther, which also meant death sentence and exile
from the state.
According to the established doctrine and practice the execution of the sentence
would follow automatically. This doctrine was rejected by Frederick the Wise, Elector of
Saxony, who was not convinced by the arguments about Luther’s “heresy” and demand-
ed judgement by domestic experts and authorities. He had his University of Wittenberg
in mind, which firmly defended Luther’s views. Frederick the Wise reached the agree-
ment with Emperor Charles that “the case of Luther” would be discussed at the Diet,
and that Luther was guaranteed safe arrival in Worms and return to Wittenberg. Lu-
ther appeared before the Diet on April 17 and 18. The party representing Luther’s con-
viction gave him only the option of renouncing the convicted theses, which is why he
requested more time for reconsideration and was granted the emperor’s personal per-
mission. The next day, on April 18, Luther performed brilliantly, to which the emperor
personally responded on April 19. Thus, Emperor Charles and the monk Luther literally
stood opposite each other at the Diet, in front of the highest representatives of the state,
which was previously completely unimaginable. Both presented their religious percep-
tions and understandings, referring to their own conscience. They were in a very une-
qual position not only as emperor and monk; it was a much more sensitive matter, since
the emperor was religiously “free” while Luther was a validly convicted and excommu-
nicated “heretic”.
The case of Luther at the Diet was far from solely religious in nature, but rather a re-
flection of the broader socio-religious situation at the turning point in history. The con-
flict culminated in the contradictions between “cultural” Rome and barbaric “German-
ism”, as perfectly illustrated by the correspondence of the papal nuncio, Girolamo Ale-
andro the elder. The great understanding for Luther’s resistance to Rome was support-
ed at the Diet by decades-old German complaints (gravamina) debated at Diets, which
were not taken seriously in Rome.
The most notable figures in the case of Luther (causa Lutheri) at the Diet were: Mar-
tin Luther, Emperor Charles V, Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise, and the papal nun-
cio Girolamo Aleandro the elder. Although at the end of the Diet each of them was “vic-
torious” in one way or another, the actual winner was Martin Luther, who achieved un-
precedented success only by appearing before the Diet, not renouncing the convicted
theses and being able to return to Wittenberg under the emperor’s protection. It is true
that he published his fundamental reform writings as early as 1520, but the door for the
Reformation has only now opened. After Luther was “abducted” on his way back, he un-
dertook the translation of the Bible into German, which became the only recognized re-
ligious basis, and he incorporated his theology into the translation. He used his native,
German language to communicate the faith. This was already demonstrated at the Diet,
where he spoke first in German and only then in Latin for those who did not under-
stand German, e.g. the emperor and the papal nuncio Aleandro. Pamphlets (Flugschrif-
ten) handed out in the streets also reported about the events at the Diet in German.
202
