Martin Luther - short biography. Martin Luther Biography Martin Luther Dates

The beginning of the Reformation is October 31, 1517

Martin Luther passed away February 18, 1546

Writings of Martin Luther

Berleburg bible


Letter to Mülpfort (1520)


Letter of transfer (1530)
Of the Jews and Their Lies (1543)
Table Talk (1544)

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. The boy grew up in the family of a former miner who became one of the owners of smelters and copper mines. After graduating from the University of Erfurt in 1505 with a master's degree, the young man entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. Once, after another visit to the university library, a Bible fell into Luther's hands, reading which turned his inner world upside down. After graduating from university, Martin Luther decided on a high deed that no one expected from him. The philosopher went to the monastery to serve God, refusing worldly life. One of the reasons was the sudden death of a close friend of Luther and his consciousness of his own sinfulness.

In the holy place, the young theologian was engaged in various duties: he served the elders, performed the work of a gatekeeper, wound the tower clock, swept the churchyard, and so on. Wanting to save the guy from the feeling of human pride, the monks sent Martin to the city to collect alms. Luther followed every instruction, used austerities in food and clothing. In 1506 he became a monk, and a year later the priesthood, becoming brother Augustine.

Dinner to the Lord and the status of a priest did not become a limitation for Martin in further training and development. In 1508 Luther was recommended by the vicar general as a lecturer at the University of Wittenberg. where he taught young students dialectics and physics. Soon he received a biblical bachelor's degree, which allowed him to teach theology to students. Luther had the right to interpret biblical writings, and in order to better understand their meaning, he began to study foreign languages.

In 1511, Luther visited Rome on the direction of a holy order. It was here that Martin encountered contradictory facts regarding Catholicism. Since 1512, he held the position of professor of theology, read sermons, and acted as caretaker in eleven monasteries. Despite visual closeness to God, Luther felt some complexes, considered himself sinful and weak in his actions before the Almighty. The mental crisis became the beginning of the rethinking of the theologian of the spiritual world and the path to the reformations.

The beginning of the Reformation is October 31, 1517, when the Augustinian monk Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses to the doors of the temple in Wittenberg, where solemn university ceremonies were usually held. So far they have neither denied the supreme authority of the Roman pope, let alone declared him the Antichrist, nor generally denied church organization and church sacraments as necessary mediators between God and man. The theses challenged the practice of indulgences, which at that time was especially widespread in order to cover the costs of building St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome.

According to Luther's innovation, the state should not depend on the clergy, and the latter should not act as an intermediary between man and the Lord of all things. Martin did not accept the sayings and requirements regarding the celibacy of spiritual representatives, and destroyed the authority of the Pope's decrees. Similar reforming actions were observed in history before, but Luther's position turned out to be quite shocking and bold. Luther's theses turned out to be perceived by the opposition strata of the population as a signal to speak out against the Catholic Church and the social system sanctified by it, and the reformation movement went beyond the boundaries that Martin set for it.

Relying on the social movement in Germany, Luther refused to appear at a church court in Rome, and at the Leipzig dispute with Catholic theologians in 1519, he openly declared that he considered the positions put forward by the Czech reformer Jan Hus to be correct in many respects. In 1520, Martin publicly burned a papal bull excommunicating him from the church in the courtyard of the University of Wittenberg.

According to the Edict of Worms on May 26, 1521, Martin received a serious accusation of heresy, but numerous supporters of the main ideas of Lutheranism helped their master escape by staging his abduction. In fact, Luther was hidden in the Wartburg castle, where the theologian began translating the Bible into German.

In 1529, the Protestantism of Martin Luther received official acceptance by society, being considered one of the currents of Catholicism, but a few years later a split occurred in his "camp" into two more currents: Lutheranism and Calvinism. John Calvin became the second reformer after Luther, whose main idea was the predestination of the fate of man by God.

Martin Luther's attitude towards Jews changed throughout his life. Initially, he condemned the persecution of representatives of this nationality, recommended treating them with tolerance. Martin sincerely believed that a Jew who heard his sermons would definitely decide to be baptized. Later, the reformer became convinced that the Jews did not intend to follow his teachings, and at some point became hostile to them. The books “On the Jews and Their Lies” and “Table Talk” by Luther, written in such a state, had an anti-Jewish character.

The German philosopher disappointed the Jewish people, who turned their backs on the reformations proposed by Luther. Subsequently, the Lutheran Church became a source of inspiration for anti-Semites, and its positions served to create propaganda against the Jews in Germany, harassing them. Luther condemned the Jews, as bearers of Judaism, for denying the Trinity. Therefore, he called for expelling them and destroying the synagogues, which aroused the sympathy of Hitler and his supporters. Even the so-called "Kristallnacht", during which hundreds of Jews were killed, the Nazis called the celebration of Luther's birthday.

Martin Luther entered the history of German social thought as a cultural figure, as a reformer of education, language, and music. Of great importance was Luther's translation into German of the Bible, in which he succeeded in establishing the norms of the national language.

Martin Luther passed away February 18, 1546 in the German city of Eisleben. His body was solemnly buried in the courtyard of the palace church, where 95 theses were once nailed to it.

Writings of Martin Luther

Berleburg bible
Lectures on the Epistle to the Romans (1515-1516)
95 Theses on Indulgences (1517)
To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520)
On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520)
Letter to Mülpfort (1520)
Open letter to Pope Leo X (1520)
On the freedom of a Christian Against the cursed bull of the Antichrist Speech at the Reichstag of Worms on April 18, 1521 On the slavery of the will (1525)
Large and Small Catechism (1529)
Letter of transfer (1530)
Praise of Music (German translation) (1538)
Of the Jews and Their Lies (1543)
Table Talk (1544)

Name: Martin Luther

Age: 62 years old

Place of Birth: Eisleben, Saxony, Germany

A place of death: Eisleben, Saxony

Activity: theologian, politician, translator, reformer

Family status: was married

Martin Luther - Biography

He managed to crush the power of the Catholic Church and create a new religion - Protestantism. At the same time, he considered himself a very sinful person.

The parents of the future reformer were peasants who, in search of a better life, moved to Eisleben, in Saxony. And soon after the birth of Martin, the family moved to Mansfeld. My father got a job in a copper mine. After some time, he was able to acquire a stake in the mining business. He also gained influence - he sat in the city magistrate.

“My parents,” Luther later wrote, “took me harshly, which is why I became timid.” However, he understood that this was not a consequence of the callousness of their souls: “Their motives were beautiful; but they did not know how to distinguish between the features of character, with which punishments must always be proportionate.

The father, by all means, wanted to see his son as a doctor of jurisprudence. At the age of 7, the boy was enrolled in a school, where he learned to write, read, sing and basic prayers. The same ideas about education reigned there as at home, and a sense of his own sinfulness settled in Martin.

Education

By the age of 14, Luther Jr. became a student of the Franciscan school of Magdeburg. Alas, it turned out to be no better. He would later compare these years to purgatory and hell. But the school in Eisenach, where Martin then went, pleasantly surprised him: they began to treat him like a human being. Living there 3 years gave him much more than all the previous ones.

Pupils who lived in poverty often earned money by singing under the windows of the townspeople. And then one day Ursula Kott, the wife of a wealthy merchant, noticed Martin and invited him into the house - first to relax and warm up, and then to live. Luther was not only able to get out of aching poverty, but also gained faith in people. Then came the love of music, which he will carry through his whole life.

And then there was the University of Erfurt - one of the best in Germany - which, however, Luther will remember only as a "beer house and a brothel." Fortunately, the assiduous young man managed to concentrate on his studies: scholastics and ancient classics, debates and writings, and most importantly, the works of Blessed Augustine ... In 1505, Luther became a bachelor of liberal arts and began to study legal sciences.

During that period, he read the entire Bible for the first time. It is hard to believe, but Luther, who was constantly in a monastic environment, had previously seen only fragments of Scripture - it was believed that it was not necessary for the laity to read it completely and even harmful. This made a strong impression on him. As well as a random remark of one of the comrades, who decided to cheer up Luther when he fell ill: “Don't worry, dear bachelor! You will become a great husband!”

And the future great man suffered immeasurably from the fear of God. Then he will remember that he lost his connection with the Savior then. And yet theology seemed to Luther a more weighty science than jurisprudence. And, having received a master's degree, Martin, to the horror of his parents, became an Augustinian monk. They say that it was prompted by a promise that accidentally escaped during a lightning strike. But in fact, Luther was led to this by his destiny. The father, who was already making plans for the wedding of his eldest son, could not forgive him for this choice for a long time.

Luther's theology

After becoming a doctor of science, Luther lectured at the University of Wittenberg. In 1511 he went to Rome on business of the order. The rampant luxury of the papal court he saw there unpleasantly struck him.

By 1512, Martin was already a professor of theology and a monk, living by the charter. But old fears did not leave him: "I repented again and again ... The more I tried to heal, the more confusion and anxiety seized me." Relief came through close, meditative study of the Bible.

Comparing Luther's lectures over several years, one can clearly see how much his understanding of Scripture deepened. It was then that the main principle was finally formed in him: salvation through faith, and not through rites. Luther soon noticed with pride that within the walls of the university "his theology" was supplanting Aristotle and the scholastics.

Martin Luther - Reformation

At the same time, the sale of papal indulgences, documents that granted absolution for sins, unfolded. Luther protested against this practice: salvation can only be acquired by personal repentance, not by coin! He compiled (by Luther's own admission, the idea came to him while visiting the restroom) the famous 95 theses, which he sent to the Archbishop of Mainz. The story that he nailed them to church doors has long been questioned by historians. It has only recently been confirmed.

It should be noted that initially there was no opposition to the pope in the protest. Moreover, Luther did not like being seen as the leader of the anti-papal movement. But the process could no longer be stopped - it was supported by influential German princes who sought to free themselves from the influence of the Vatican. Yes, and the people began to spread unrest. In Rome, everyone looked more strictly at the Wittenberg theologian.

Monasticism

The growing pressure from church hierarchs forced Luther to defend himself. He began to search in Scripture for grounds for doubting the extent of papal authority. But the main impetus for radicalization was the acquaintance with Professor Johann Eck, a brilliant polemicist. It was in disputes with him that Luther first spoke positively about Jan Hus, the burned heretic. Realizing that the Pope would not forgive this, Martin began to make speeches and print pamphlets in a much bolder tone.

In 1520, Luther was excommunicated from the Church - but he was already indifferent to this. He publicly burned the papal bull of his excommunication, along with the decrees and books of canon law. A serious threat hung over Martin. And then his patron, Elector of Saxony Friedrich the Wise, organized a false abduction - Luther was secretly transported to the Wartburg, to Friedrich's castle.

In the castle, due to long nightly prayers, Luther experienced a breakdown and a surge of doubt, he was haunted by obsessive visions. According to legend, in his hearts he threw an inkwell at the devil, who appeared to him in the form of a pig or wandering lights, but only stained the wall. However, he found the strength to gather his courage and soon again wrote pamphlets, composed hymns and even translated the Bible into German.

Meanwhile, in Wittenberg, liturgies were simplified, church revenues were redistributed, and altars were destroyed. Luther condemned violence, but it was no longer possible to stop the turmoil. The princes sought to acquire as much power as possible, which was convenient to do under the slogans of a national-religious association. And the peasants revolted.

Martin Luther - biography of personal life

Everything that happened undermined Luther's faith in his own cause. But he continued, his - he was engaged in church reform: he "liberated" the monks, translated the liturgy into German, formed a large and small catechisms for ordinary people.

One of the disrobed nuns became his wife - rather domineering, but ardently loving. Luther of that period is a happy father of a family, who does not yet know that in three generations the bloody Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants will begin ...

Death of a theologian

Martin Luther died in his native Eisleben in 1546, at the age of 62. On the one hand, religious wars became his legacy, on the other hand, the traditions of literacy and diligence. And the image of a strong and passionate, but good-natured theologian, who managed to defend his ideals, will forever remain in history.

There are several explanations for this unexpected decision. One refers to the oppressed state of Luther as a result of "consciousness of his sinfulness." According to another, one day Luther was caught in a severe thunderstorm and was so frightened that he took a vow of monasticism. The third refers to the excessive severity of parental education, which Luther could not stand. The reason must be sought, apparently, in Luther's entourage and in the fermentation of minds that existed then in the burgher environment. Apparently, Luther's decision was to be influenced by his acquaintance with the members of the humanist circle.

Luther later wrote that his monastic life was very difficult. Nevertheless, he was an exemplary monk and carefully followed all the instructions. Luther entered the Augustinian Order in Erfurt. The year before, John Staupitz, later a friend of Martin, had received the position of vicar of the Order.

Luther made numerous appearances at Jena. It is known that in March 1532 he stayed incognito at the Black Bear Hotel. Two years later he preached in the city church of St. Michael against staunch opponents of the reformation. After the founding of "Salan" in 1537, which later became a university, Luther received ample opportunities here for preaching and calling for the renewal of the church.

Luther's follower Georg Röhrer (1492-1557) edited Luther's works during his visits to the University and the library. As a result, Luther's Jena Bible was published, which is currently in the city's museum.

In 1546 Johann Friedrich I commissioned the master Heinrich Ziegler of Erfurt to make a statue for Luther's tomb in Wittenberg. The wooden statue created by Lucas Cranach the Elder was supposed to be used as the original. The existing bronze plaque ended up in storage at the Weimar castle for two decades. In 1571, the middle son of Johann Friedrich donated it to the university.

The last years of Luther's life were overshadowed by chronic ailments. He died at Eisleben on 18 February 1546.

Luther's Theological Views

Luther's founding principles for attaining salvation: sola fide, sola gratia et sola scriptura (only faith, only grace, and only scripture). Luther declared untenable the Catholic dogma that the church and the clergy are necessary mediators between God and man. The only way to save a soul for a Christian is faith given to him directly by God (Gal. “The righteous shall live by faith”, and also Eph. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you, God's gift”). Luther declared his rejection of the authority of papal decrees and epistles and called for the Bible, rather than the institutional church, to be regarded as the main source of Christian truth. The anthropological component of the teaching Luther formulated as "Christian freedom": the freedom of the soul does not depend on external circumstances, but solely on the will of God.

One of the central and popular provisions of Luther's views is the concept of "calling" (Ger. Berufung). In contrast to the Catholic doctrine of the opposition of the worldly and the spiritual, Luther believed that God's grace is also realized in the professional field in worldly life. God predestines people for this or that kind of activity, investing in them various talents or abilities, and it is the duty of a person to work diligently, fulfilling his calling. In the eyes of God there is no work noble or contemptible.

The labors of monks and priests, no matter how hard and holy they may be, are not one iota different in the eyes of God from the labors of a peasant in the field or a woman working on the farm.

The concept of "calling" appears in Luther in the process of translating a fragment of the Bible into German (Sirah 11:20-21): "keep in your work (calling)"

The main purpose of the theses was to show that priests are not mediators between God and man, they should only guide the flock and be an example of true Christians. “Man saves his soul not through the Church, but through faith,” wrote Luther. He opposed the dogma of the divinity of the person of the pope, which was vividly demonstrated in Luther's discussion with the famous theologian Johann Eck in 1519. Refuting the divinity of the pope, Luther referred to the Greek, that is, Orthodox, church, which is also considered Christian and dispenses with the pope and his unlimited powers. Luther affirmed the inerrancy of Holy Scripture, and questioned the authority of Holy Tradition and councils.

According to Luther, "the dead know nothing" (Eccl. 9:5). Calvin counters this in his first theological work, The Dream of Souls (1534).

The Historical Significance of Luther's Activities

Luther and antisemitism

Postage stamp of the GDR

Luther condemned the Jews as carriers of Judaism for their denial of the Trinity, so he called for their expulsion and destruction of the synagogues, which subsequently aroused the sympathy of Hitler and his supporters. It is no coincidence that the Nazis designated the so-called Kristallnacht as a celebration of Luther's birthday.

Luther and music

Luther knew the history and theory of music well; his favorite composers were Josquin Despres and L. Saenfl. In his writings and letters, he quoted medieval and renaissance treatises on music (the treatises of John Tinktoris almost verbatim).

Luther is the author of the preface (in Latin) to the collection of motets (by various composers) "Pleasant consonances ... for 4 voices" [* 1], released in 1538 by the German publisher Georg Rau. In this text, repeatedly reprinted in the 16th century (including in German translation) and (later) called “Praise to Music” (“Encomion musices”), Luther gives an enthusiastic assessment of imitative-polyphonic music based on cantus firmus [* 2 ] . Whoever is unable to appreciate the divine beauty of such exquisite polyphony, “he is not worthy to be called a man, and let him listen to the donkey screaming and the pig grunting” [* 3] . In addition, Luther wrote a preface (in German) in verse "Frau Musica" to a short poem by Johann Walther (1496-1570) "Lob und Preis der löblichen Kunst Musica" (Wittenberg, 1538), as well as a number of prefaces to songbooks of various publishers, published in 1524, 1528, 1542 and 1545, where he expounded his views on music as an extremely important, integral component of the renewed cult.

As part of the liturgical reform, he introduced the communal singing of strophic songs in German, later called the general Protestant chorale:

I also want us to have as many songs in their native language as possible for people to sing during Mass, immediately after the Gradual and after the Sanctus and Agnus Dei. For it is certain that in the beginning all men sang that which now only the choir [of clergy] sings.

formula missae

Presumably, since 1523, Luther took a direct part in compiling a new everyday repertoire, he himself composed poems (more often he recomposed church Latin and secular prototypes) and selected “decent” melodies for them, both authorial and anonymous, including from the repertoire of the Roman Catholic Church . For example, in the preface to a collection of songs for the burial of the dead (1542), he wrote:

For the sake of a good example, we have selected beautiful melodies and songs used under the papacy for all-night vigils, funeral masses and burials, and printed some of them in this little book, but provided them with other texts to sing the article about the resurrection, and not purgatory with its torment and satisfaction for sins, in which the dead cannot rest and find peace. The chants and notes themselves [of the Catholics] are worth a lot, and it would be a pity if all this was wasted. However, non-Christian and absurd texts or words should go away.

Preface by Martin Luther to the first collection of Protestant chant, the so-called "Wittenberg Songbook" (1524)

The question of how great Luther's personal contribution to the music of the Protestant church has been repeatedly revised over the centuries and remains debatable. Some church songs written by Luther with the active participation of Johann Walther were included in the first collection of four-voice choral arrangements, The Book of Spiritual Chants (Wittenberg, 1524) [* 4] . In the preface to it (see the facsimile quoted) [* 5] Luther wrote:

The fact that the singing of spiritual songs is a good and charitable deed is obvious to every Christian, because not only the example of the prophets and kings of the Old Testament (who glorified God with songs and instrumental music, poems and all kinds of stringed instruments), but also the special custom of psalmody was known to all Christianity from the very beginning. So to begin with, to encourage those who can do it better, I, along with a few others [authors], have compiled some spiritual songs. They are set to four votes

Was born renowned Christian theologian and reformer November 10, 1483 in a peasant family, Hans Luther, in Eisleben, Saxony. His father worked hard in the copper mines to feed his family, but after the birth of his first child, he moved his relatives to Mansfeld, where he became a truly prosperous burgher (city dweller).

Martin Luther starts his education at the age of 14(in 1497), enrolling in Franciscan school in Magdeburg. He earned money by singing under the windows of pious nobles. In 1501 enters the University of Erfurt at the direction of their parents - in those days, the generation of burghers tried to give children a better education. In 1505, Martin Luther received his Master of Liberal Arts degree., which would open the way for him to study law at the request of his father, however, disobeying his will, went to the Augustinian monastery.

The founder of Lutheranism (German Protestantism) was a talented person from a young age, but he described the choice of a career path as an awareness of his sinfulness, from which the Augustinian Order helped him get rid of. In 1506 he took a monastic vow, and a year later he became a priest. In 1508, in the direction of the order, he began teaching at the University of Wittenberg. Studied the works of Saint Augustine. In parallel, he received a doctorate in theology. In 1511 he went on an errand to Rome, after which his views changed dramatically. Seeing the depravity of the Catholic clergy, he thought about the feeling of sin, he is going through a spiritual crisis. Work and internal searches led to the views of Martin Luther that took shape later.

Reads a course of lectures:

• o About the "Sentences" of Peter Lombarsky (1509);
• o On the Psalms (153-1515);
• o The Epistle to the Romans (1515-1516);
• o On the Epistles to the Galatians and Hebrews (1516-1518);

A detailed study of the Bible gave Martin Luther the opportunity to revise the letter of the apostle Paul, after which formed almost the mission of the Reformation: “I understood that we receive divine righteousness through faith in God and the fact that the Lord justifies us through faith itself.”

In 1517, after the issuance of the bull of absolution and the sale of indulgences by Pope Leo X, sharply criticizes the Catholic Church. Rejects the Church's doctrine of grace, the worship of saints, relics, icons. Perhaps it was the beggarly Augustinian order and hostility to the innovations of Rome that were synthesized into the simplicity of worship.

In 1517, he issued 95 public theses, accusing the Pope of heresy.: “Priests are only mediators between man and God. They should guide, set the example of true Christians. A person is saved not through the church, but through faith.” He receives a bull of excommunication from the Church, which he publicly burned at the same stake with a pile of indulgences in 1520. In 1519 voiced agreement with the theses of Jan Hus, Czech reformer. In 1520, he calls on the public to fight against papal authority. In subsequent years, the Reformation of Martin Luther was not active due to changes in the political situation, but remained on the ideas of Christian freedom as spiritual freedom.

Persecuted by Rome- hiding in the Saxan castle in the Wartburg. In 1525 he marries a nun who later bore him 6 children. In 1530, the theologian Melanchthon, a figure close to the people of the revival, joined the movement. The movement quickly spread, new centers arose under the leadership of J. Calvin, W. Zwingli, T. Müntzer, whom Martin Luther did not recognize and turned to the allied princes, calling for crackdown on unbelievers who raised mass uprisings.

In 1534, a serious struggle began with the Reformation after the accession to the throne of Pope Paul III with the assistance of King Charles. Martin Luther died on February 18, 1546 in his native city. Despite the heterogeneity of the Reformation, according to researchers (Max Weber), it was she who served as the impetus for the emergence of capitalism, defining the New Time. Lutheran preaching and the spirit of the Renaissance, harmoniously combined in cultural figures, Marten Luther, expanding education, music, public interests after centuries of "papism" and rude Catholicism.

(1 rated, rating: 5,00 out of 5)