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

non, but a sign of joy and gratitude.34 35 We are not righteous or holy from ourselves as we are, but in Christ we are made righteous and holy. We were poor sinners. Christ was righteous. Christ took our sins upon himself and brought salvation and freedom for all believers: the wonderful exchange.^ This is our faith, and thanks to God’s grace, we bring glory to God (soli Deo gloria). The five solas are seen as the crown jewels of the Reformation.36 Luther himself did not say or write it that way, but it is certainly derived from his mental legacy.37 In 1517, Luther decided to write his name in the future as Luther. Luther is similar to the Greek éleuqério , which means: freed.38 From now on Martin Luther was a free and freed man, living by grace alone. But at the same time always in temptation (tentatio) and standing under the Cross.39

Luther not the first one to reform the Church

Of course, there were in Europe many predecessors of the Reformation who also wanted to reform the church. The Reformation is not a date. It is a process of renewal that had already started well before 31 October 1517, and is still going on.40 In Italy, Francis of Assisi wanted a church without great pomp and circumstance like Petrus Valdes in North of Italy. In Bohemia, Johannes Hus fought against abuses, such as the trade in church posts, relics and indulgences. The English reformer John Wycliff wanted to go back to the Bible and the Church Fathers. It is interesting that in our country, Geert Groote and Thomas ä Kempis were pioneers of an important spiritual movement (Devotio Moderna), which pursued Church renewal and personal sanctification. This Modern Devotion movement has actually been the real Reformation movement in Netherlands, you could say, with far more influence than Luther ever had in our country. Luther fought against the trade in indulgences, but Geert Groote protested in 1374 against the construction of the famous Domtower in

34 R. den Hertog-van ,t Spijker: Over de goede werken (1520), in Selderhuis: Luther Verzameld, I, 126-210. Von den guten Werken, WA 6, 204-250. C. P. Burger: Over de goede werken, in J. T. Bakker - K. Zwanepol (eds.), „Door het donkere venstervan hetgeloof, Zoetermeer, Meinema, 1993,115-124.

35 R. Schwager: Der wunderbare Tausch: Zur Geschichte und Deutung der Erlösungslehre, München, Kösel, 1986. J.T. Bakker: Beeid dat blijft spreken: De vrolijke ruil, in K. Zwanepol (ed.): Luthers erfe- nis, Teksten van het Luthercongres 22 Februári 1996 te Kämpen, Zoetermeer, Boekencentrum, 19962, 88-106.

36 H. Zorgdrager, Lecture at the Reformation Event of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, held on 4 March 2017, in Appingedam.

37 But it is also said, that they are exclusive (Exklusivpartikel) and their sharpness needs to be softened. It should be: Christ with the Church, Grace with Freedom, the Word with the Sacraments, the Holy Scriptures with the tradition and Faith with Love. C. Link: Umstrittene Reformation -Thesen zum Jubiläum 2017, in Link - Sattler (eds.): Zeit der Versöhnung, (15-20), 19.

38 Link: Umstrittene Reformation, 17.

39 T. Karttunen: Die Luther-Lektüre Bonhoeffers, in K. Grünwald- C.Tierz - U. Hahn (eds.): Bonhoef- fer und Luther, Zentrale Themen ihrer Theologie, Hannover, VELKD, 2017, (9-31), 13-14.

40 It is often forgotten that also a reform movement at the Roman Catholic side came under the inspiring leadership of Carolus Borromeus (1538-1584) and later Franciscus de Sales (1567— 1622).

38 Sárospataki Füzetek 21, 2017-2