Augsburg – What Does This Mean?

The Night Ride of Martin Luther

One year after Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses, Martin Luther settled back into his quarters at the Black Cloister in Wittenberg. The past two weeks had been filled with anxiety and much uncertainty. While far from settled, Luther was temporarily safe under the protection of his prince.

On October 14, the interview of Luther with Cardinal Cajetan had clarified matters, but solved nothing. The Cardinal had underestimated Luther’s knowledge and skill. Rather than finding something Luther could recant of, Cajetan found a scholar looking to be convinced he was wrong and willing to accept only the authority of Scripture. Rather than finding a fellow scholar willing to dialogue with him and bring matters to a resolution, Luther had found a bishop insisting on unconditional obedience and willing to threaten punishment to achieve compliance. True to his word, the Cardinal Legate intended to honor his safe conduct. Yet neither the Saxon counselors nor Luther and his superior Staupitz trusted him. After all, 100 years earlier, an emperor did not feel compelled to keep his word to a heretic and burned Jan Hus at the stake.

To protect both the Augustinian Order and Luther, Staupitz released Luther from his monastic vows. Luther’s mentor had tried to raise money to finance the monk a possible escape to France, but was unable to. So Luther’s former monastic brothers quietly left Augsburg. Luther formally appealed from the Cardinal to the Pope to buy some time. Luther wrote Cajetan to see if promising to stay silent about the disputed matters would resolve things. After waiting a few days to see if Cajetan would reply, Luther and his friends concluded it was too risky for him to stay in Augsburg.

At night on October 20, Luther’s friends opened an obscure gate in the city wall and he quietly slipped out of Augsburg. Riding on a horse supplied by friends, he galloped non-stop to Monheim. He reached Nuremberg on the 22nd, where friends helped him make the rest of the journey home. On October 31, he was back in Electoral Saxony. Relieved, yet not secure, he returned to his duties while beginning to make plans for a sudden escape should Wittenberg prove to be unsafe for him to stay — for his sake or for his protector.

Showdown at Augsburg: Luther and Cardinal Cajetan

On October 7, 1518, Martin Luther arrived in the city of Augsburg, in obedience to the summons of his prince, Frederick the Wise. The Elector, nearing the hight of his power and influence, had arranged a hearing between his popular theologian and Thomas Cardinal Cajetan, the legate (Ambassador) of Pope Leo X. With Emperor Maximillian I dying, the Pope wanted to see Frederick crowned as the next Holy Roman Emperor to deny Charles Hapsburg, king of Spain, Austria, Hungary and territories in the Netherlands greater power. Frederick valued Luther and the prestige in brought to the University. He was determined that Luther receive a fair hearing. The Cardinal was under orders to pressure Luther to take back his challenge to the authority of the pope.

The Elector had the Legate’s word that the hearing would be fair and that Luther would not be arrested. Luther traveled on foot with brothers from his monastic order. At each stop, friends tried to convince Luther he was in danger of execution and not to go to Augsburg. Unaware of the secret arrangements, friends secured an imperial safe conduct, to the irritation of Cajetan. In Augsburg, the Carmelite monastery provided lodging, with a Wittenberg University doctoral student, the prior, as host. Two of the Elector’s counselors were present to advise him and his friend and superior, Johann Staupitz, was on his way. The city of Augsburg, a self-ruling territory, was already partial to Luther and provided subtle support and intellegence. Luther sent notice to the Cardinal and delicate negotiations began. Although there was good will on both sides, everyone knew that the aims of Luther, his prince and growing list of allies were at odds with the Cardinal’s commission and commitments.

Luther was looking for a debate. He would not give up his teachings unless convinced from Scripture he was wrong. He was not at this time opposed to the authority of the pope, but saw that popes had made mistakes in the past. He was coming to the conclusion that people could be sure of salvation when they have faith in God’s Grace given in the Lord’s Supper. The Cardinal was the chief defender of Papal authority and convinced that a believer must contribute good works to be saved, and, since you could never know it was good enough, a Christian could never be sure they are saved. A collision was inevitable and everyone knew it.

Meet Thomas Cardinal Cajetan

In the weeks following Luther’s summons to Rome, Elector Frederick played his cards carefully — and well. The German princes and territories were highly irritated with the way Emperor Maximillian and Rome had handled funds sent to them to counter the Turks. Now Pope and Emperor were asking for more funds to raise troops, but the Germans suspected that their cash would not go to the intended purpose. They resonated with Luther’s call to end the abuse of indulgences and their Humanist education and sympathies liked his call to return to the Christian sources — to the Bible. They were in no mood to send a fellow German to Italy.

Pope Leo sent a legate — an ambassador — of the highest integrity, Thomas Cardinal de Vio Cajetan, Archbishop of Palermo. Cajetan was a humanist scholar of the highest caliber, to the imperial diet at Augsburg to calm their fears and assess the health of the emperor. He was a well-respected theologian, an expert on the work of Thomas Aquinas still cited today. He was Master of the Dominican order and thus superior to all of Luther’s early opponents. He was a steadfast guardian of the power of the papacy, yet known to be a very reasonable, even-handed man, and a trustworthy, skilled diplomat. He was initially sympathic to Luther’s concerns, but also determined to convince him to trust the papacy to correct abuses. The pope had chosen well.

Since it was widely suspected that Emperor Maximillian would soon die, Pope Leo wanted Elector Frederick to be on his side. Frederick was the Imperial Vicar and would be the Emperor Regent until a new Emperor was chosen. Maximillian’s grandson Charles was his crown prince, and would rule Netherlands, Spain, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, portions of Italy and Spain’s new world holdings. The pope’s anyone-but-Charles campaign favored convincing Elector Frederick to take the crown.

So it was Elector Frederick’s campaign to move the inquiry into Luther’s theology to German soil was successful. Five Hundred years ago this week, Cardinal Cajetan was commissioned to settle the matter at the Diet in the imperial city of Augsburg. The Elector and the Cardinal began negotiations for the interview, soon to be scheduled for early October 1519.