Organising the church Church orders, Mecklenburg 1650 By 1526, Luther found himself increasingly occupied in organising a new church. His Biblical ideal of congregations choosing their own ministers had proved unworkable.[102] According to Bainton: Luthers dilemma was that he wanted both a confessional church based on personal faith and experience and a territorial church including all in a given locality. If he were forced to choose, he would take his stand with the masses, and this was the direction in which he moved.[103] From 1525 to 1529, he established a supervisory church body, laid down a new form of worship service, and wrote a clear summary of the new faith in the form of two catechisms. Luthers thought is revolutionary to the extent that it is a theology of the cross, the negation of every affirmation: as long as the cross is at the center, the system building tendency of reason is held in check, and system building does not degenerate into System.[104] To avoid confusing or upsetting the people, Luther avoided extreme change. He also did not wish to replace one controlling system with another. He concentrated on the church in the Electorate of Saxony, acting only as an adviser to churches in new territories, many of which followed his Saxon model. 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.[105] For Luthers biographer Martin Brecht, this partnership was the beginning of a questionable and originally unintended development towards a church government under the temporal sovereign.[106] The elector authorised a visitation of the church, a power formerly exercised by bishops.[107] At times, Luthers practical reforms fell short of his earlier radical pronouncements. For example, the Instructions for the Visitors of Parish Pastors in Electoral Saxony (1528), drafted by Melanchthon with Luthers approval, stressed the role of repentance in the forgiveness of sins, despite Luthers position that faith alone ensures justification.[108] The Eisleben reformer Johannes Agricola challenged this compromise, and Luther condemned him for teaching that faith is separate from works.[109] The Instruction is a problematic document for those seeking a consistent evolution in Luthers thought and practice.[110] Evangelical Lutheran church liturgy and sacraments In response to demands for a German liturgy, Luther wrote a German Mass, which he published in early 1526.[111] He did not intend it as a replacement for his 1523 adaptation of the Latin Mass but as an alternative for the simple people, a public stimulation for people to believe and become Christians.[112] Luther based his order on the Catholic service but omitted everything that smacks of sacrifice; and the Mass became a celebration where everyone received the wine as well as the bread.[113] 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.[114] Some reformers, including followers of Huldrych Zwingli, considered Luthers service too papistic; and modern scholars note the conservatism of his alternative to the Catholic mass.[115] Luthers service, however, included congregational singing of hymns and psalms in German, as well as of parts of the liturgy, including Luthers unison setting of the Creed.[116] To reach the simple people and the young, Luther incorporated religious instruction into the weekday services in the form of the catechism.[117] He also provided simplified versions of the baptism and marriage services.[118] Luther and his colleagues introduced the new order of worship during their visitation of the Electorate of Saxony, which began in 1527.[119] They also assessed the standard of pastoral care and Christian education in the territory. Merciful God, what misery I have seen, Luther wrote, the common people knowing nothing at all of Christian doctrine ... and unfortunately many pastors are well-nigh unskilled and incapable of teaching.[
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 04:04:42 +0000
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