The first of these is the "Theological and Cultural History of the Church",
among which the Pabst's abominable doctrine and tyranny is harshly denounced.*)
Anno 1535.
The Holy Spirit, true GOD, supreme Lord and Gubernator of the common holy Christian Church.
1. Up to this time, for a long time, many of our dear children, who now and then live on earth and belong to our one, holy, common Christian church, have often brought to us all kinds of great and grievous complaints, heartfelt sighs, and mean and miserable cries of the wretched and poor, even to high heaven, and have repeatedly presented them to us with very earnest pleas and vehement appeals: How one, called Pope Clement, without our consent, knowledge or will, out of his own authority and thirst, has shamefully bought his way into our holy Christian church through simony with money, secret lists, all kinds of finances, 1) evil tricks and plots, without all shame, and has forced himself into pastoral care as a despiser and blasphemer of God. And although he has rummaged through the approval and votes of so many of his papal (not our) creatures, the Cardinals, with ducats and several tons of crowns, as a shameful cretinism 2): he nevertheless boasts to great unspeakable blasphemy against the Son of God, Christ, a governor of God on
1) i.e. skirmishing.
2) i.e. purchased. In the old editions: "gekromet".
Earth, a head of our holy common Christianity and Church.
2. Now that it is clear and undeniable that he, together with his cardinals, bishops, supposed prelates and false pastors, has introduced all kinds of terrible abominations to the unavoidable and unspeakable annoyance of many thousands, even countless souls and consciences through his false blasphemous teachings and their wicked, impudent, desolate nature and life: we have understood with grieved minds how, in order to preserve, protect, handle and defend by force his abominations, he has used fire and sword and all kinds of murderous and vicious tyranny against many of our dear children, pious innocent Christians, through his relatives and devoted bishops and princes 3), 3) and all kinds of murderous and evil tyranny, and thus fill our church with innocent blood, like a right armor and own servant of Satan, the father of all lies and founder of all murder.
3. although many of our dearest children, both ecclesiastical and secular, and especially our dear faithful Carl the Fifth, Roman Emperor, have requested with vehemence and great earnestness, and also with great supplication
3) Thus set by us. In the editions: "wüterische". The Latin has only: et omnig Zsusris perss61ltioi16.
*) This manuscript was published in Latin and German. A single Latin print is not known to us. In Latin it is found in the Jena edition (1603), Dom. Ill, col. 477 and in the Erlanger, opp. var. ar^., vol. VII, p. 370, and there it is dated 1534; also in Seckendorf, List. LutC., Index III ad aimura 1534. In German, a single edition is available under the title we have placed above it, without indication of the place and the printer. All German editions place the writing in the year 1585. In the collections: Wittenberger, vol. XII, p. 273; Jmaer (1568), vol. VI, p. 328 d; in the Altenburger, vol. VI, p. 499; in the Leipziger, vol. XXI, p. 139 and in the Erlanger, vol. 31, p. 411. We give the TeA according to the Jena edition.
and petitions, for God's sake, has therefore diligently and diligently suggested and had suggested, as a result of the great urgent need in matters of religion, a common, free, Christian concilium, to assemble and hold at the first possible moment, so that all kinds of factions, sects, discord, separation may be prevented and all kinds of mighty danger, which is present in these dwindling times, may be countered, sects, discord, separation, and to counter all kinds of mighty dangers, 1) great dangers of these diminished times, to take away the trouble from the kingdom of Christ, to change false doctrine and infirmities, both in heads and members.
(4) As an obdurate, blinded devil's child and enemy of all truth, he persists in his ungodly mind and ways, viciously seeking to flee all evil practices and lists, the bright light and the necessary action of religious matters. He is also not at all shy, without any cause, to refuse the common concilium upon such diligent requests, pleas and petitions of our dear Christians. All for this reason, so that his and his relatives' diabolical error, blasphemy, desperate mischievousness and malice would not be publicly exposed before the people 2) and he would be pushed to the Reformation: thus, he would much rather that our entire holy Christian church be completely destroyed, overthrown and thoroughly destroyed, than that his horrible, terrible, blasphemous nature should be prevented in part or in whole.
5. If then, according to our divine, excessive goodness and mercy, we have tolerated and borne his and his own abominations and terrible contempt of God and blasphemy, grave unheard Cainian sin, long enough, given him much space and time enough for repentance, and in hope of improvement watched him and his own to grace and salvation, held up such mighty strong, incessant cries of the poor for a long time, we note, as our dear Solomon says: That the servant, so gloriously brought up, becomes defiant against his master.
6th And after the pretended governor
1) So in all editions. Begegnen, in the meaning entgegentreten, occurs in Luther otherwise only with the dative.
2) i.e. to be brought to light. In Latin: corriAuntur --- to be punished.
God from day to day the longer the more hardened and hardened in his Cainian thirst for blood, so that no repentance nor improvement can be hoped for from him or from his own, and that he would, where his defiant presumption is not met, from heaven and the throne of our majesty (where there is little lack of ability, but rather lack of will), that he would thus, without God, without Christ, without the Holy Spirit, in the church of his blasphemous, disgraceful behavior, 4) want to do it more and more for and for with all his might.
7. Therefore we are finally moved by the persistence of our dear children, all Christians, and after having held timely counsel with the Father and the Son, in the presence of all our dear holy angels, to assist them against the above-mentioned abomination, with due comfort, divine, stately, strong salvation and help, and to promote their souls' salvation and bliss, we are, out of our divine power and authority, without means, to proclaim, appoint and assemble a common, free, Christian concilium as quickly as possible, in which we ourselves will be present in all sessions, hold the presidency, hear church and religious matters, diligently consider and act, and before the end of the concilium, bring it to a blessed and certain conclusion and decision.
Therefore, we hereby proclaim, and by virtue of this public mandate and proclamation, a common, free, Christian concilium to be celebrated and held in our true holy common Christian church. By this writing of ours, we earnestly admonish and require all our kinsmen and subjects, that is, all believers in Christ, that they should, without any outside hindrance, notwithstanding and regardless of all Roman rebukes, trickery, subterfuge, evasion, recusals, decrees, excommunications, interdicts, and all other such things, decree, ban, interdict, all other refusals, suspensions, hindrances, or all other commandments and prohibitions of the said alleged governor, which he or his own had previously set, written, ordered, would set or order in the future, to the above-mentioned General Synod.
3) This "je" is missing in the editions and is inserted by us, after the marginal gloss of the Jena edition:
4) In the editions: Apply.
and free Concilio to dispose of it obediently without delay and to assemble in an orderly manner. There to hear and listen to our certain, final resolution, sentence and judgment, and the holy free common Christian council's unchangeable decree of reformation of our church, under penalty and punishment of our severe disgrace and eternal damnation. As we then also want to consider this as a transgression and free crime of wholesome obedience to the most holy and highest authority, and so that no one, regardless of his standing, may doubt or excuse this serious command and commandment of ours, we have ordered, as we hereby also order our supreme secretary and archchancellor of the holy divine realm, Gabriel, the strong holy angel, to write out this order and common mandate of ours, to put it into ordinary form, and also to make one or more instruments about it, as much as necessity requires.
(9) And we also hereby command all and sundry, out of our own peculiar divine, supreme free power and authority, to do the same.
that this should therefore be obediently followed and completely believed everywhere. Not otherwise than as if we ourselves were present and had proclaimed and commanded the same verbally vivue VOM8 oruoulo, or, as on the first day of Pentecost with fiery tongues. Give 2c. In our divine heavenly throne, in the year 1535.
And I Gabriel, of the holy, divine, heavenly kingdom Archchancellor 2c. and from the supreme throne of God Legatus creatus. After I have been with all of them and have heard that all pieces, points, as reported above, thus commanded by God the Holy Spirit without means, I have brought such together in this present public instrument, and have commanded this to another and have it written, signed with my ordinary name and ordinary sign. In the presence of the Lords Michael, praepositi paradisi, and Raphael, medico Dei, [sc. praesente] and many other holy angels of God, and credible witnesses, hereby specially called and requested. Anno 1535.