Sárospataki Füzetek 21. (2017)

2017 / 2. szám - ARTICLES-STUDIEN - INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE SINCE THE AGE OF THE REFORMATION-INTERKULTURELLER DIALOG SEIT DER REFORMATION - Gosker, Margriet: Erős vár a mi Istenünk: 500 years of protestantism in the netherlands in ecumenical perspective

Margriet Gosker

the renewal of the Church?43 I doubt it, for it was already too late. Pope Adrianus (Adriaan Floriszoon Boeyens) was not insensitive to the abuses of the past. He was well aware of the need for reform. He even composed a Confession of the sins of the hierarchy and had it read at the Imperial Diet in Nuremberg on 3 January 1523 by his legate, Chieregati.44 But the pope would not hear of any compromise. On the contrary, he wrote letters to Erasmus and Eck, asking them for their help in the battle against Luther. And he also confirmed Luther’s condemnation. Luther was furious and wrote a pamphlet against him, calling him The Antichrist and the Donkeypope of Leuven. Luther was lucky to have the strong support of the powerful Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise, who always remained faithful to the Mother Church. Nevertheless, he was Luther’s patron, and as a precaution he arranged for Luther to be kidnapped, and Luther was kept in the Wartburg Castle, under the name of Jonker Jörg. It was here that Luther had time and opportunity to translate the Bible into the vernacular German language. In eleven weeks, the New Testament was ready. Quite a performance. Luther’s opposition to the trade in indulgences was the immediate cause of the Reformation, and his protest was very effective. But also some opposing forces manifested themselves. In 1529, the Reformation was threatened to be nipped in the bud. A violent protest came up from princes and cities, who disagreed with the decision to curtail religious freedom. This is known as the Protest of Speyer. And so the word Protestant was born. Not only those following the Reformation, but also those who remained in the Roman Catholic Church had to deal with the situation. Erasmus remained a Roman Catholic, but he developed many innovative thoughts. A common saying is: “Erasmus has laid the egg of the Reformation and Martin Luther has hatched it out ”.

Luther’s spirituality

What can we say about Luther’s spirituality? His life was a big search. He was looking for God, all his life. He struggled with the big question: how do I find a merciful God? He wrote numerous spiritual songs, many of them are still in our Dutch Worship Book and are sung in our services. Luther was also a comforter.45 He wrote in July 1523 a comforting letter to fellow believers in the Netherlands. After the Imperial Diet in Worms, the Antwerp Augustinian monastery was destroyed by the Inquisition, and those who were in sympathy with the Reformation had to flee or recant. Hendrik Vos and Jan van Esschen did neither. They were burned as heretics

43 H. Berkhof: Geschiedenis der кегк, Nijkerk, Callenbach, 1950s, 197-198.T. GtuRTs:De Nederlandse paus, Adrianus van Utrecht 1459-1523, Amsterdam, Uitgeverij Balans, 2017. A. Bodar and P. van Geest also take this position.

44 H. Scott Hendrix: Luther and the Papacy: Stages in a Reformation Conflict, Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1981,142.

45 A. BAs:Troost voor wie ten zeerste aangevochten wordt, in Selderhuis: Luther Verzameld, II,

1090-1093, WA 7, 785-789. S. Hiebsch: Een kort troostbriefje voor christenen, dat zij zieh in het gebed niet van de wijs laten brengen, in Selderhuis: Luther Verzameld, II, 1094-1096, Ein kurzer Trostzettel für die Christen, dass sie sich im Gebet nicht beirren lassen, WA 51,455-456.

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