Diet of Worms, meeting of the Diet (assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire held at Worms, Germany, in 1521, made famous by Martin Luther ’s appearance before it to respond to charges of heresy. Because of the confused political and religious situation of the time, Luther was called before the political authorities rather...
The main events of the Diet of Worms relating to Luther took place from 16 to 18 April 1521. On 16 April, Luther arrived in Worms.
Martin Luther spent 10 days traveling the 300 miles from Wittenberg (near modern Berlin) to the Diet of Worms (south of Frankfurt), where he knew his life would be in danger.
In May, after most of the rulers had left, a rump Diet headed by Emperor Charles V passed the Edict of Worms, which banned Luther’s writings and declared him a heretic and an enemy of the state. Although the Edict mandated that Luther should be captured and turned over to the emperor, it was never enforced.
Martin Luther was summoned to the Diet in order to renounce or reaffirm his views in response to a Papal bull of Pope Leo X. In answer to questioning, he defended these views and refused to recant them.
The diet issued the Edict of Worms, which basically forbade anyone to shelter Martin Luther or provide him with aid. The edict stated that Luther should be captured and punished as a heretic. The Diet of Worms in 1521 was a critical moment in the Protestant Reformation.
April 17, 1521Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms on April 17, 1521.
What happened when Luther was brought before the Diet of Worms? He refused to take back his teachings and was declared a heretic by the emperor. The emperor forbade the printing of his writings.
Martin Luther was summoned to the Diet in order to renounce or reaffirm his views in response to a Papal bull of Pope Leo X. In answer to questioning, he defended these views and refused to recant them. At the end of the Diet, the Emperor issued the Edict of Worms ( Wormser Edikt ), a decree which condemned Luther as "a notorious heretic" ...
Other imperial diets took place at Worms in the years 829, 926, 1076, 1122, 1495, and 1545, but unless plainly qualified, the term "Diet of Worms" usually refers to the assembly of 1521.
Ultimately, because of rising public support for Luther among the German people and the protection of certain German princes, the Edict of Worms was never enforced in Germany.
Edict of Worms. The Edict of Worms was a decree issued on 25 May 1521 by Emperor Charles V, de claring: For this reason we forbid anyone from this time forward to dare, either by words or by deeds, to receive, defend, sustain, or favour the said Martin Luther.
To protect the authority of the Pope and the Church, as well as to maintain the doctrine of indulgences, ecclesiastical officials convinced Charles V that Luther was a threat and persuaded him to authorize his condemnation by the Holy Roman Empire.
The Diet of Worms was also the occasion for Charles V to reform the administration of the Empire. Given the vast domains of the House of Habsburg, the Emperor was often on the road and needed deputies (such as the Governors of the Netherlands and the Regents of Spain) for the times he was absent from his territories.
Dr Jeromee Schurff, Wittenberg professor in Canon Law, was to act as Luther's lawyer before the Diet. On 17 April, the imperial marshal, Ulrich von Pappenheim, and the herald, Caspar Sturm, came for Luther. Pappenheim reminded Luther that he should speak only in answer to direct questions from the presiding officer, Johann von Eck [ de].
Luther left on April 26th, with the Diet still afraid condemning Luther would cause a rebellion. However, Charles signed an edict against Luther when he had gathered some support from those who remained, declared Luther and his supporters illegal, and ordered the writings burned. But Charles had calculated wrongly.
Luther and Cajetan argued, and after three days Cajetan issued an ultimatum; Luther returned quickly to his home of Wittenberg, because Cajetan had been sent by the Pope with orders to arrest the trouble maker if necessary.
In 1517 many people were unhappy with the way the Latin Christian Church was run in Europe, and one of those was a lecturer and theologian called Martin Luther. Whereas other opponents of the church had made grand claims and rebellions, in 1517 Luther drew up a list of points for discussion, his 95 Theses, and sent them to friends and key figures. Luther wasn’t trying to break the church or start a war, which was what would happen. He was reacting to Dominican friar called Johann Tetzel selling indulgences, meaning someone could pay to have their sins forgiven. The key figures Luther sent his theses too included the Archbishop of Mainz, who Luther asked to stop Tetzel. He might also have nailed them up in public.#N#Luther wanted an academic discussion and he wanted Tetzel stopped. What he got was a revolution. The theses proved popular enough for them to be spread around Germany and beyond by interested and / or angered thinkers, some of whom supported Luther and convinced him to write more in support of them. Some were unhappy, like Archbishop Albert of Mainz, who asked if the papacy would decide if Luther was in the wrong…The war of words began, and Luther battled by developing his ideas into a brave new theology at odds with the past, what would be Protestantism .
Luther made his first appearance on April 17th 1521 . Having been asked to accept that the books he’d been accused of writing were his (which he did so), he was asked to reject their conclusions. He asked for time to think, and the next day conceded only that his writing might have used wrong words, saying that the subject and the conclusions were genuine and he stuck by them. Luther now discussed the situation with Frederick, and with a man working for the Emperor, but no one could make him recant over even one of the 41 statements the Papacy condemned him for.#N#Luther left on April 26th, with the Diet still afraid condemning Luther would cause a rebellion. However, Charles signed an edict against Luther when he had gathered some support from those who remained, declared Luther and his supporters illegal, and ordered the writings burned. But Charles had calculated wrongly. The leaders of the empire who hadn’t been at the Diet, or who had already left, argued the edict didn’t have their support.
Elector Frederick III of Saxony, a man who helped choose the Holy Roman Emperor and a figure of great power, felt he had to defend Luther, not because of any agreement with the theology, but because he was a prince, Luther was his subject, and the Pope was claiming clashing powers . Frederick arranged for Luther to avoid Rome, and instead go to the Diet meeting in Augsburg. The papacy, not normally one to concede to secular figures, needed Frederick’s support in picking the next emperor and in helping a military expedition against the Ottomans, and agreed. At Augsburg, Luther was interrogated by Cardinal Cajetan, a Dominican and a clever and well-read supporter of the church.#N#Luther and Cajetan argued, and after three days Cajetan issued an ultimatum; Luther returned quickly to his home of Wittenberg, because Cajetan had been sent by the Pope with orders to arrest the trouble maker if necessary. The Papacy weren’t giving an inch, and in November 1518 issued a bull clarifying the rules on indulgences and saying Luther was wrong. Luther agreed to stop it.
Luther wanted an academic discussion and he wanted Tetzel stopped. What he got was a revolution. The theses proved popular enough for them to be spread around Germany and beyond by interested and / or angered thinkers, some of whom supported Luther and convinced him to write more in support of them. Some were unhappy, like Archbishop Albert of ...
Driven by Eck’s conclusions, and after several committees analysing Luther’s writings, the Papacy decided to declare Luther heretical and excommunicate him over 41 sentences. Luther has sixty days to recant; instead he wrote more and burned the bull. Normally the secular authorities would arrest and execute Luther.
It was convened to determine how authorities (both political and religious) should respond to Martin Luther's teachings. The diet was held in Worms, Germany (pronounced 'Vurmz' and hence the name).
Martin Luther, who lived from 1483 to 1546, is the central figure of the Protestant Reformation. As a German Catholic priest and professor of theology, he became concerned over what he perceived as corruption in the Catholic Church. He was particularly bothered by the selling of indulgences.
May God help me. Amen.”. As a result of Luther’s refusal to recant, the Diet of Worms issued the Edict of Worms that labeled Luther a heretic and banned the reading of his writings. The edict made Luther an outlaw, and the understanding of the Diet of Worms was that Luther would soon be arrested, punished, and likely executed.
Throughout the Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, a “diet” was an assembly of governmental and/or religious leaders called together to settle a political or religious matter. The Diet of Worms was held in 1521 in Worms (pronounced “Vermz”), Germany, to discuss the teachings of Martin Luther. In 1517, Martin Luther had posted the 95 ...
Luther’s declaration that he would not recant unless he was “convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures” is a good summary of what the Protestant Reformation was all about and serves as a good example of the place the Bible should occupy in our lives. Return to:
In 1517, Martin Luther had posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This was essentially the start of the Protestant Reformation. Between the posting of the 95 Theses and the Diet of Worms, four years later, the Protestant Reformation became a significant movement. In 1520, Pope Leo X issued a papal bull ...
Johann Eck, who was representing the Emperor, asked Martin Luther if he was ready to recant his heresies. After a one-day recess, Martin Luther responded, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred ...
In 1520, Pope Leo X issued a papal bull against Martin Luther, declaring him to be a heretic. As a result, Emperor Charles V called the Diet of Worms as a court of inquisition and ordered Luther to appear and either affirm or renounce his teachings.
So, even when Luther left the safety of the castle, the Edict of Worms was never enforced against him, and he was never arrested.
Luther went gladly to the Diet of Worms, anxious to defend his doctrines. He was all the more encouraged by the support of his friend, Philip Melancthon, a brilliant and able scholar. He told Philip that if he were put to death, he would be comforted, for he knew that Philip could defend the truth better than he.
Martin Luther spent 10 days traveling the 300 miles from Wittenberg (near modern Berlin) to the Diet of Worms (south of Frankfurt), where he knew his life would be in danger. 106 years earlier, John Huss (or Jan Hus), considered by all involved a predecessor of Luther, had been burned at the stake despite a similar promise of safe passage.
He drank out of it himself first to assure Luther that it was not poisoned.
Luther Promised Safe Passage to the Diet of Worms. Artist's rendering of the Diet of Worms. Thus, the emperor decided to talk to Luther and promise him safe passage. Even Aleander agreed not to push any punishment on Luther except excommunication if he did not recant.
He then asked for time to consider the second question because the matter involved the salvation of his soul and the truth of the Word of God. The emperor gave him a stay of one day, a day that would be one of the most famous in history. Luther had time to think and to discuss things with friends.
He was requested to repeat himself in Latin, which he did with equal candor. Because he had also added that if his works were proven to be false by Scripture, then he himself would burn his own books, Eck asked him to give a straighter answer. His views had already been refuted, Eck said, by the Council of Constance.
He reminded him of the judgments against pharaoh, the king of Babylon, and the ungodly kings of Israel. All this he said in German.
Although describing himself as "physically fearful and trembling," Luther and a small band of supporters entered Worms on the early evening of April 16 in a two-wheeled cart. A crowd of two thousand people helped escort Luther to his lodging.
Luther answering charges of heresy before the Diet of Worms in 1521. The Trial of Martin Luther: An Account. (Luther's Hearings Before the Diet at Worms on Charges of Heresy) by Douglas O. Linder (2010) Historians have described it as the trial that led to the birth of the modern world. Before the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Diet ...
A trip to Rome in 1510 caused Luther to begin to seriously question certain Catholic practices. The opportunity for the trip arose when Luther was selected as one of two Augustinian brothers to travel to the Eternal City to help resolve a dispute within the order that called for resolution by the pope.
Tetzel would follow a cross bearing the papal arms into a town's marketplace and launch into a sermon, or sales pitch, that included a jingle that Martin Luther found especially objectionable: As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, The soul from purgatory springs.
Historians have described it as the trial that led to the birth of the modern world. Before the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Diet of Worms in the spring of 1521 , as Luther biographer Roland H. Bainton noted, "the past and the future were met." Martin Luther bravely defended his written attacks on orthodox Catholic beliefs and denied the power of Rome to determine what is right and wrong in matters of faith. By holding steadfast to his interpretation of Scripture, Luther provided the impetus for the Reformation, a reform movement that would divide Europe into two regions, one Protestant and one Catholic, and that would set the scene for religious wars that would continue for more than a century, not ending until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
The soul from purgatory springs. Luther, in an angry response to the indulgence sales campaign, prepared in Latin a placard consisting of ninety-five theses for debate. The placard, in accordance with the custom of the time, was placed upon the door of Wittenberg's Castle Church .
Between the Leipzig debates and the summer of 1520 Luther wrote and published a series of tracts that are considered his primary works: The Sermon on Good Works , The Papacy in Rome, The Babylonian Captivity, and The Freedom of the Christian Man.