Encore Post: Most people think of October 31st, 1517 as the anniversary of the Lutheran Church. However, Martin Luther and most Lutheran historians disagree. On the day that Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses, he was very much a Catholic. In fact, Luther on this day was upset that people did not have to suffer enough for their sins, and were being let off the hook way too easy. You could say he was more Catholic than the Pope. Considering the nature of Pope Leo X, he was.
On the first Reformation day, the Reformation was just beginning. We only first begin to recognize Luther’s complete theology in his writings in 1520. And it really wasn’t until 1529 that the reformers and their princes began to think of the Lutheran tradition as a separate faith.
Emperor Charles V had many problems in 1529. The Turkish Empire of Suleiman the Great had invaded Austria and laid siege to Vienna. France and the Pope were constantly challenging his Authority in southern Europe. He very badly wanted to unify his German territories under Roman Catholic control. So he called all the territories together at Augsburg for a meeting of the Holy Roman Empire.
Elector John of Saxony, Luther’s Prince, commissioned Luther and his friends to create a unified statement of the disputes between the Pope and the Lutheran territories. The result was a document called the Augsburg confession. All of the Lutheran princes who attended the diet of Augsburg sign the document as their own faith.
On June 25th 1530, the Augsburg confession was presented to Charles V by the Lutheran princes. To this day, June 25th is known as the birthday of Lutheran Church.
As Time passed, the Augsburg Confession gained acceptance by Lutheran territories and theologians. It became the standard for what we believe and confess and remained so. Today, every Lutheran Pastor pledges to teach according to the Augsburg Confession and the other documents contained in the book of Concord 1580.
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