(Regest.)
Injured by Luther's writings, especially by the one that had just gone out "from the last words of David", in which he is called a heretic, he seeks to justify his Christology by referring to the false doctrine of the Swiss, and asks Luther to read his last writings sent to him enclosed together with the Confession sent to Melanchthon a year ago and to examine his teaching, and not to condemn him any longer without reason etc.
Printed in Schwenkfeld's Epistolar, 1570, vol. II, 701 ff. Above regest in Kolde, Analecta p. 393.
No. 3054.
Faculty certificate for Hieronymus Nopus.
From the Thomass collection in Halle (now in the library in Munich as cod. in 4to , no. 89, no. VI, pag. 99) in Schütze, vol. I, p. 278; in De Wette, vol. V, p. 592 and in Corp. Ref., vol.V, 199. -Although Luther's name is at the top as Decan, Melanchthon wrote this testimony.
The Dean of the Collegium of the Theological Faculty at the Academy of Wittenberg, Martin Luther, Doctor, sends his greetings to all who will read this letter.
It has the highly venerable man, gifted with excellent godliness and erudition,
Doctor Hieronymus Nopus, requested from us a certificate about his studies, manners and his [doctoral] degree, which we granted him with the highest willingness. Since he has lived a most praiseworthy life in these lands and in this academy, we have recognized that he has an honorable, chaste, quiet and godly way of life, and that he takes great pains in the study of the sciences. Although he, as he is naturally gifted for all arts, has happily learned a large part of philosophy, he has nevertheless, because he truly and wholeheartedly believes that the human race did not come into being by chance, but was created by God, and that God has revealed Himself through certain testimonies in this One kind of teaching, which has been handed down to the Church through the prophets, Christ and the apostles from the beginning until now through a known succession, he has directed his studies primarily to learning about the heavenly teaching. In order to be able to hear the words of the prophets and apostles, he learned the Hebrew and Greek languages, and also studied the history of all times, which is contained in Hebrew, Greek and Latin writings, the knowledge of which contributes a great deal to informing the minds and strengthening the right opinions. He has diligently listened to the exegetes of the prophets and the apostles at this school, and compared the ancient Greek and Latin writers on the teachings of the church and the decrees of the godly conciliarities, so that he could record what the church of the apostles had held in the purer times, and he could call upon God with firm faith and teach others rightly. Since he was appointed by the honorable council of Regensburg to teach the Gospel, and since we requested that he be recommended by the testimony commonly used in the schools, we have gladly decorated this Hieronymus Nopus with the degree of Doctor of Theology because of his very good conduct and his excellent scholarship, and testify to this by this letter, and ask the eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he has drawn him into the light of the Gospel and given him the will that he may desire
Letters from the year 1543. No. 3054. 3055.
to serve the church in a godly manner, that He may assist him, that his service may be happy and beneficial, as it is written [Phil. 2:13]: "It is God who causes us to desire good and helps us to accomplish it according to His good pleasure, that is, so that something pleasing to Him may happen. For the greatest part of the human race, which senselessly despises God, proceeds in deeds of shame, by which God is terribly angered. But lest the whole human race perish, God snatches out some and places them in His Church, through which good and salvific things are done, through which the light of the Gospel is spread far and wide and many are called to the knowledge of God and to eternal life, for whose sake the world regiments are preserved, which provide hostels for the Church. We hope that Jerome Nopus will be in the number of these, and we pray from the bottom of our hearts that God will always assist him, always govern him with the Holy Spirit. Finally, we also exhort the church at Regensburg to strive to maintain the purity of the Gospel, and to nurture the church servants who teach rightly, so that they may show their gratitude to God for the renewed light of the Gospel. For it is said that in these regions, immediately after the apostles, the seed of the Gospel was scattered by Lucius of Cyrene, who is mentioned in Acts Cap. 13, 1. He is said to have followed the Roman armies to the Danube and preached the name and doctrine of Christ in Augusta Tiberina 1). So soon God gathered a church among these peoples. But now, too, the godly may rejoice that the light of the Gospel is once again kindled, and they should take care to keep it by right service, so that the eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, may be rightly called and praised. Given at Wittenberg, the 15th of October, Anno 1543.
1) This is said to have been the name of the city on whose site, after it had been destroyed, Regensburg was built.
No. 3055.