[This is taken from Rev. James A. MacCaffrey's History of the Catholic Church.]
Whatever hopes there might have been of restoring unity to the Christian world
during the early years of the Reformation movement, the prospects of a reunion
became more and more remote according as the practical results of the principle
of private judgment made themselves felt. It was no longer with Luther, or
Calvin, or Zwingli that Catholic theologians were called upon to negotiate, nor
was it sufficient for them to concentrate their attention upon the refutation of
the Confessio Augustana or the Confessio Tetrapolitana. The leading followers of
the early Reformers found themselves justified in questioning the teaching of
their masters, for reasons exactly similar to those that had been alleged by
their masters in defense of their attack on the Catholic Church. The principle
of religious authority having been rejected, individuals felt free to frame
their own standard of orthodoxy, and were it not for the civil rulers, who
interfered to preserve their states from the temporal dangers of religious
anarchy, and to supply by their own power some organization to take the place of
the Catholic hierarchy, Calvinism and Lutheranism would have assumed almost as
many forms as there were individuals who professed to accept these religious
systems. As it was, despite the religious formularies, drawn up for the most
part at the instigation and on the advice of the civil rulers, it proved
impossible for man to replace the old bulwarks established by Christ to
safeguard the deposit of faith. As a consequence new sects made their appearance
in every country that accepted the reformed doctrine.
In France some attempts were made by Cardinal Richelieu to bring about
a reunion between the Catholics and the Calvinists. In taking these
steps he was influenced more by considerations of state than by zeal
for the welfare of the Church, but the gulf separating the two parties
was too wide to be bridged over even by French patriotism. In Poland,
where unity was particularly required and where the disastrous
consequences of religious strife were only too apparent, Ladislaus V.
determined to summon a conference at Thorn in 1645 to discuss the
religious differences, but though it was attended by representatives
from several states of Germany it produced no good results.
In Germany the work, that had proved too great for the theologians,
was undertaken by the princes in 1644, with no better results. Later
on, at the instigation of the Emperor, Christopher Royas de Spinola,
an Austrian bishop, spent the last twenty years of his life (1675-1695) in a vain effort to put an end to the religious dispute.
Heedless of repeated rebuffs, he passed from court to court in Germany
till at last at Hanover he saw some prospect of success. Duke Ernest
August assembled a conference of Lutheran theologians (1679), the
principal of whom was Molanus, a Protestant abbot of Loccum. The
Lutheran theologians were willing to agree that all Christians should
return immediately to their obedience to the Pope, on condition,
however, that the decrees of the Council of Trent should be suspended,
and that a new General Council composed of representatives of all
parties should be assembled to discuss the principal points in
dispute. On his side Royas was inclined to yield a good deal in regard
to clerical celibacy and the authority of secular princes in
ecclesiastical affairs. Innocent XI., while not approving of what had
been done, praised the bishop for the efforts he had made to bring
about a reunion.
Leibniz, the librarian and archivist of the Duke of Brunswick, having
taken already some part in the work of bringing about a
reconciliation, entered into a correspondence with Bossuet, the Bishop
of Meaux. He favored a compromise on the basis of acceptance of the
beliefs of the first five centuries, and published his Systema
Theologicum as a means of bringing the Catholic standpoint before the
minds of his co-religionists. Bossuet and the French historian
Pellisson reciprocated his efforts, but the schemes of Louis XIV. and
the hopes of the English succession entertained by the House of
Brunswick out an end to all chances of success.
From the beginning, though Luther and Zwingli were at one in their
opposition to Rome, they were unable to agree upon a common religious
platform. The Sacramentarian controversy, confined at first to Luther
and Carlstadt, grew more embittered after Zwingli had espoused openly
the side of the latter. Several German princes having embraced the
views of Zwingli, it was felt necessary to preserve some kind of unity
amongst the Reformers, especially in view of the threatening attitude
assumed by Charles V. A conference was called at Marburg (1529), at
which Luther, Melanchthon, Osiander, and Agricola agreed to meet
Zwingli, Oecolampadius, Butzer, and the other Swiss leaders. The
conference failed to arrive at a satisfactory agreement, but in 1536
the Concord of Wittenberg was concluded, whereby it was hoped that
peace might be restored by the adoption of a very ambiguous formula.
Luther, however, refused to allow himself to be bound by the
agreement, and the controversy went on as violently as before.
In the meantime Calvin had undertaken to preach doctrines on the
Eucharist entirely different from those put forward by either Zwingli
or Luther, with the result that Zurich found itself in conflict with
Geneva as it had found itself previously in conflict with Wittenberg.
To restore some semblance of unity among the Swiss Reformers
Bullinger, the recognized head of the Zurich party, entered into
communication with Calvin, and a doctrinal agreement was arrived at
known as the Consensus Tigurinus (The Zurich Concord) in 1549. Later
on this was confirmed by the Confessio Helvetica (1564).
After the death of Luther in 1545 Melanchthon became the acknowledged
head of the Lutheran party. On many questions he was inclined to
disagree with the doctrine of his master. His teaching in regard to
the Eucharist began to approximate more closely to the views of
Calvin, so that the Impanation and Companation theories of Luther lost
favor in Germany. The Philippists or Crypto-Calvinists gained ground
rapidly in the country, with the result that the German Protestants
were split up into hostile sections. A conference was held at Naumburg
in 1561, but it broke up without having done anything to restore
religious unity. At last in 1576 the Elector August of Saxony summoned
an assembly of theologians to meet at Torgau, for the discussion of
the differences that had arisen between the orthodox followers of
Luther and the Crypto-Calvinists or followers of Melanchthon. Jacob
Andrea, chancellor of the University of Tubingen, was the life and
soul of the reunion movement. Taking the plan of agreement that had
been formulated by him as a basis for discussion the conference drew
up the Book of Torgau, copies of which were dispatched to the
Lutheran princes and theologians for an expression of their opinion.
When this had been received the Book of Torgau was revised (1577)
and a Formula of Concord (Formula Concordiae) was compiled,
embodying the Confession of Augsburg, Melanchthon's Apology for this
Confession, the Articles of Schmalkald and the two Catechisms issued
by Luther (1577). But as there was no authority to enforce this
Formula several of the states refused to accept it.
In Saxony under Christian I. (1586-91) the Philippists in favor at
court triumphed over their adversaries, but on the death of Christian
the orthodox Lutherans secured the upper hand, and Nicholas Crell, the
prime minister and chancellor of Saxony during the previous reign, was
thrown into prison, and later on he was put to death (1601). Calvinism
continued to make steady progress in Germany. It was introduced into
the Palatinate during the reign of Frederick III. (1583), and though
suppressed by his son and successor, it gained the upper hand.
Similarly in Hesse-Cassel, in Lippe, Brandenburg, and Anhalt, it
gained many new adherents. All attempts at peace amongst the warring
sects having failed, Calvinism was recognized formally at the Peace of
Westphalia (1648).
Violent controversies broke out among the Lutheran party in Germany on
many other matters besides the Eucharist. One of the early followers
of Luther named Agricola, afterwards a professor of Wittenberg
(1539), in his efforts to emphasize the teaching of his master on good
works proclaimed that the spirit of fear so characteristic of the Old
Testament had given way to the mildness and love of the New, and that,
therefore, Christians who had received justification were no longer
under the obligations of the law. This is what was known as
Antinomism, a form of error not unknown amongst the early Gnostics
and amongst some of the heretical sects of the Middle Ages. Agricola
was assailed violently by Luther (1538-40), fled to Berlin (1540), and
returned at a later period to make his submission, but Luther refused
all his attempts at reconciliation. Melanchthon, however, adopted a
more friendly attitude. The controversy continued for years, and
Antinomism of a much more exaggerated form spread into other
countries, particularly into England, where Parliament was obliged to
legislate against its supporters during the reign of Charles I.
Closely associated with the Antinomist controversy was another known
as the Osiandrist, from the name of one of its principal
participants, Andrew Osiander. The latter, a professor of Hebrew at
Nurnberg, perceiving the dangerous results of Luther's teaching on
good works sought to introduce some modifications that would obviate
the danger involved in the latter's apparent contempt for good works.
For this reason he condemned the general absolution that had been
introduced to replace auricular confession, and insisted upon the
elevation of the Host as a profession of belief in the doctrine of the
Real Presence. Having become involved in a sharp dispute with his
colleagues at Nurnberg he left the university, and accepted a
professorship at Konigsberg in Prussia (1549), where he was supported
by the ruler Duke Albert. In regard to Justification he taught that
forgiveness of sin and satisfaction should not be confounded with
Justification, that the latter is effected by the indwelling of God in
the person of the justified, that though the human nature of Christ is
a necessary condition for redemption it is by the divine nature that
the indwelling of God in man is effected, and that on account of this
indwelling the holiness of God is imputed to the creature. This
teaching aroused considerable opposition. Osiander was denounced by
Morlin and others as Anti-Christ. Duke Albert sought the views of
leading theologians only to find that as they were divided themselves
they could lay down no certain rules for his guidance. Osiander died
in 1552, but the quarrel continued and for a time it seemed as if it
would lead to rebellion. Finally the adversaries of Osiander
triumphed, when they secured the insertion of their views in the
Prussian Corpus Doctrinae (1567) and the execution of Funk the
leading supporter of Osiandrism (1601). Another professor of
Konigsberg at this period, Stancarus, maintained that Redemption is to
be attributed to the human nature rather than to the divine nature of
Christ, but he was expelled from the university, and denounced on all
sides as a Nestorian.
On this question of good works a violent controversy broke out after
the Leipzig Interim (1548). Luther had depreciated entirely the
value of good works as a means to salvation. On this point, however,
Melanchthon was willing to make considerable concessions to the
Catholics, as indeed he did in 1535 and 1548, when he admitted that
good works were necessary for acquiring eternal happiness. This view
was supported warmly by Major, a professor at Wittenberg, who was
denounced by Amsdorf as an opponent of Luther's doctrine of
Justification (1551). Amsdorf, Flacius, and others maintained that
good works were a hindrance rather than an aid to salvation, while
Major clung tenaciously to the position that good works were
meritorious. Majorism, as the new heresy was called, was denounced
in the most violent terms because it involved a return to the doctrine
of the Papists. Major was suspended from his office as preacher (1556)
and was obliged to make a recantation (1558).
The Adiaphorist controversy broke out in connection with the Leipzig
Interim (1548). In this attempt at reconciliation Melanchthon was
not unwilling to yield in many points to the Catholic representatives,
and to agree that several of the doctrines and practices of the Church
that had been assailed by Luther were at least indifferent and might
be admitted. For this he was attacked by Matthias Flacius, surnamed
Illyricus on account of the place of his birth, a professor of
Hebrew at Wittenberg since 1544. The latter protested against the
concessions made by Melanchthon, denounced as impious the union of
Christ with Belial, and returned to Magdeburg, where he was joined by
Amsdorf and others who supported his contention. He was driven from
the city and at last died at Frankfurt in 1575.
The question of man's co-operation in his conversion gave rise to what
was known as the Synergist controversy. Luther had laid it down as a
first principle that man contributed nothing to the work of his own
conversion, but though Melanchthon agreed with this view in the
beginning, he was disposed at a later period to attribute some
activity to the human will, at least in the sense that it must
struggle against its own weakness. This view was strengthened and
developed by John Pfeffinger, a professor at Leipzig, who taught
publicly the necessity of man's co-operation (1550), and published a
treatise in defense of this position (1555). Pfeffinger's doctrine
aroused the opposition of Amsdorf, Flacius, and the other leaders of
the orthodox Lutheran party. Leipzig and Wittenberg joined hands to
support the doctrine of co-operation, while the majority of the
professors at Jena took the opposite side. One of the latter however,
Strigel, supported Pfeffinger, and a public disputation was held at
Gotha under the presidency of Duke John Frederick. The Lutheran party
demanded the punishment of Strigel and his supporters so vigorously
that the Duke was obliged to arrest them, but, annoyed by the attempt
of the Lutherans to set up a religious dictatorship to the detriment
of the supremacy of the civil ruler, he established a consistory
composed of lawyers and officials whose duty it was to superintend the
religious teaching in his territory. The anti-Synergists, having
protested against this measure as an infringement of the rights of the
spiritual authority, were expelled, and Jena entered into line with
Wittenberg and Leipzig for the defense of Synergism. With the change
of rulers came once more a change of doctrine. The princes, alarmed by
the violence of the controversy, assembled a conference at Alternburg
in 1568 which lasted four months without arriving at any agreement. On
the accession of the Elector August the leading opponents of the
Synergists, including a large number of the superintendents and
preachers, were deprived of their offices.
By his lectures and teaching at the University of Hemstadt George
Calixt gave rise to a new and prolonged discussion known as the
Syncretist controversy. The Duke of Brunswick having refused to
accept the Formula of Concord, the professors at the university
which he had founded felt themselves much more free in their teaching
than those in other centers of Lutheranism. Calixt denied the ubiquity
of Christ's body and the attribution of divine qualities to Christ's
human nature. Though a strong opponent of several distinctly Catholic
or Calvinist beliefs he saw much that was good in both, and he longed
for a reunion of Christendom on the basis of an acceptance of the
beliefs and practices of the first six centuries. He was charged with
aiming at a confusion of all religions, and in proof of this charge it
was alleged that he rejected the Lutheran teaching on Original Sin and
on man's natural powers of doing good even before justification, that
he defended the meritorious character of good works, the supremacy of
the Pope, at least de jure ecclesiastico, and the sacrifice of the
Mass (1639). In 1643 a disputation was held, in which Hornejus, a
colleague of Calixt, supported his doctrine especially on the
meritoriousness of good works. The appearance of Calixt at the
conference summoned by the King of Poland in Thorn (1645) to promote a
reunion with Rome, and the friendly attitude which he had adopted
towards the Catholics and the Calvinists helped to increase the
suspicions of his adversaries. Calixt died in 1656, but for years
after his death the spirit of toleration, that he had done so much to
foster, was one of the distinguishing features of the University of
Helmstadt. It was during this controversy that the Branch Theory,
namely, that Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism formed three
divisions of the one true Church, was formulated clearly for the first
time.
Amongst the Calvinists the extremely crude doctrine on Predestination
taught by Calvin soon proved too much for the faith of many of his
followers. Several of them, holding fast by Calvin's teaching,
contended that regardless of Original Sin God had created some for
glory and others for damnation, that Christ had died only to save the
elect, and that to these alone is given the grace necessary for
salvation (Supralapsarians). Others, horrified by the cruelty of such
a doctrine, maintained that the decree predestining some to hell
followed the prevision of Original Sin (Infralapsarians). This view
had been put forward by Theodore Koonhort, and had found considerable
support, but it was attacked by the majority of the Calvinist
ministers, and a bitter controversy ensued. The orthodox party
summoned to their assistance Arminius (Hermanzoon), a distinguished
young Calvinist preacher, who had attended the lectures of Beza in
Geneva, but whose strict views were modified considerably by a sojourn
in Italy. Instead of supporting the Supralapsarians, his sympathies
were entirely on the side of the milder doctrine, and after his
appointment to a professorship at Leyden (1603) he became the
recognized head of the Infralapsarians. His chief opponent was Gomar,
also a professor at Leyden, who accused Arminius of Semi-Pelagianism.
Arminius, while repudiating such a charge as groundless, rejoined by
pointing out that according to his adversaries God was the author of
sin. Both appeared before an Assembly of the States in 1608 to defend
their views, and though the majority were inclined to favor Arminius,
silence was imposed upon the two principals and upon their followers.
In the next year Arminius himself died (1609), but his doctrines were
upheld by Episcopius supported by the learned jurist, Oldenbarneveld,
and the Humanist, Grotius. In replying to the charge of heresy brought
against them the followers of Arminius presented to the States a
Remonstrance embodying their doctrines (1610) and on this account they
were styled Remonstrants. The States adopted a neutral attitude at
first, but, as the Gomarists or anti-Remonstrants violated the
injunction of silence by founding separate communities, the
authorities were inclined not merely to tolerate but to support the
Remonstrants.
Maurice, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, anxious to
strengthen his position by allying himself with the orthodox
Calvinists, began a bitter campaign against the Arminians.
Oldenbarneveld and Grotius were arrested and brought before the synod
of Dordrecht (1617), at which the former was condemned to death, while
Grotius was imprisoned for life though he succeeded in escaping after
two years. Another Synod was held at Dordrecht (Nov. 1618-April 1619)
to which representatives came from all parts of Holland, the
Palatinate, England, and Scotland. From the beginning the followers of
Arminius were admitted only as accused persons, and were called upon
to defend themselves against the charge of heresy. Against them the
authority of Calvin was urged as if it were infallible. As the
Arminians were suspected of republican principles William of Orange
and his supporters were decidedly hostile. The Remonstrants,
despairing of getting an impartial hearing, left the Synod. The five
Articles contained in the Remonstrance were discussed, and decrees
were issued regarding those portions of Calvin's doctrine that had
been called in question. It was agreed that faith is the pure gift of
God to be given by God to those whom He has predestined by His own
mercy and without any reference to their merits for election; that Christ died
only for the elect; that man's will does not cooperate in
the work of his conversion; and that the elect are exempted from the
dominion of sin, so that although they may be guilty of serious crimes
they can never become enemies of God or forfeit the glory to which
they were predestined. The decrees of the Synod of Dordrecht were
received generally in Holland, Switzerland, France, in the territory
of the Elector of Brandenburg, and in Hesse, but in the other portions
of Calvinist Germany and in the greater part of England they met with
serious opposition.
Anabaptists.--The belief that baptism could not be conferred
validly on infants who have not arrived at the use of reason was held
by many of the Middle Age sectaries, and was revived at the time of
the Reformation. Its supporters, claiming for themselves the liberty
of interpreting the Scriptures according to their own judgment,
maintained that they had divine sanction for their teaching. The
leaders of the sect in Saxony and Thuringia were Thomas Munzer and
Nicholas Storch. They represented the extreme left of the Lutheran
party maintaining the equality of men and the community of property.
In Zwickau, where the movement originated, violent disturbances broke
out, and the leaders retired to Wittenberg where they were joined by
Carlstadt. It required the presence of Luther himself to prevent the
city from falling completely into their hands. Owing to the dangerous
character of the radical principles defended by the Anabaptists
several princes of Germany joined hands for their suppression. They
were defeated at the battle of Frankenberg (1525) and Munzer was
arrested and put to death. Before his execution he returned to the
Catholic Church.
Despite this defeat the party made considerable progress in West
Germany and in the Netherlands, where the people were so disgusted
with their political and social conditions that they were ready to
listen to semi-religious, semi-social reformers like the Anabaptists.
They took possession of the city of Munster in Westphalia. The two
principal leaders were John of Leyden (a tailor) and John Matthyas or
Matthieson (a baker), the former of whom was appointed king. The city
was besieged and captured in 1535, and the principal Anabaptists were
put to death. In Switzerland the movement made considerable progress.
From Switzerland it spread into southern Germany, but the triumph of
the princes during the Peasants' War destroyed the hopes of the
extreme Anabaptists, and forced the sect to discard most of its
fanatical tendencies. The leader of the more modern Anabaptist sect
was Menno Simonis, a priest who joined the Society in 1535, and after
whom the Anabaptists are called frequently Mennonites. The latter
rejected infant baptism and Luther's doctrine of Justification by
faith alone. They protested against oaths even in courts of law and
capital punishment.
Schwenkfeldians.--This sect owes its origin to Caspar von
Schwenkfeld (1489-1561), a native of Silesia, who, though attached to
many of the doctrines of Luther, believed that Luther was inclined to
lay too much stress on faith and external organization to the
exclusion of real religion. He thought that more attention should be
paid to the mystical and devotional element, in other words to the
personal union of the individual soul with God. According to him, this
should be the beginning and end of all religion, and if it could be
accomplished organization and dogma were to be treated as of secondary
importance. He rejected infant baptism, regarded the sacraments as
mere symbols, denied the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and
maintained that in the Incarnation the human nature of Christ was in a
sense deified. Schwenkfeld held several interviews with Luther in the
hope of winning him over to his opinions but without success. Owing to
his quarrel with the master, Schwenkfeld was banished from Strassburg
in 1533, and condemned by a Lutheran assembly at Schmalkald in 1540.
His doctrines found considerable support in Silesia and in the states
of several German princes, though it was only after Schwenkfeld's
death that his followers began to organize themselves into separate
communities. Owing to persecution many of them fled to America where
they settled in Pennsylvania (1634). In 1742 the sect was tolerated in
Prussia.
Socinianism --The doctrine of the Blessed Trinity found many
opponents in Latin countries about the time of the Reformation.
Michael Servetus, Gentilis, Campanus, and Blandrata, attacked the
Trinity from different points of view, but by far the most dangerous
adversaries of the doctrine were Laelius Socinus (1525-1562) and his
nephew Faustus Socinus (1539-1604). The former of these became a
member of a secret society founded at Vicenza (1546) for the
discussion and propagation of anti-Trinitarian views (1546). The
principal members of this body were Gentilis, Blandrata, Alciatus, and
Laelius Socinus, a priest of Siena and a man who stood in close
relationship with some of the leading Lutherans and Calvinists. When
the society at Vicenza was suppressed several of the prominent members
fled to Poland for asylum. Laelius Socinus, though he remained at
Zurich, was looked up to as the guiding spirit of the party till his
death in 1562. His nephew Faustus Socinus then stepped into the place
vacated by his uncle. The anti-Trinitarians in Poland, who had begun
to style themselves Unitarians since 1563, had established themselves
at Racow. In 1579 Faustus Socinus arrived in Poland, at a time when
the anti-Trinitarians were divided into opposing factions, but in a
short while he succeeded in winning most of them over to his own
views. The doctrines of Socinus and of his principal disciples were
explained in the Catechism of Racow (first published in 1605) and in
the numerous theological works of Socinus. In 1638 the Socinians were
banished from Poland, and violent measures were taken against them by
most of the Catholic and Protestant princes of Europe.
Though Socinus professed the greatest respect for the Sacred
Scriptures as the one and only source of all religion, he claimed the
right of free interpretation even to the extent of rejecting anything
in them that surpassed the powers of human understanding. In this
respect he was as much a rationalist as any of the extreme
rationalists who fought against Christianity in the eighteenth
century. God, he maintained, was absolutely simple and therefore there
could be no Trinity; He was infinite, and therefore could not unite
Himself with human nature, as was assumed in the doctrine of the
Incarnation; the Holy Ghost was not a person distinct from the Father,
but only the energy and power of the Father as manifested in the
sanctification of souls. Christ was not God; He was merely the Logos
born miraculously and deputed by God to be a mediator for men. He
ascended into Heaven, where He was in some sense deified and endowed
with supreme dominion over the universe. Hence in opposition to the
Unitarians Socinus maintained that Christ should be worshipped as God.
He died on the cross according to the command of the Father, but it
was by His example of obedience and by His preaching rather than by
the vicarious sacrifice of His life that man's redemption was
effected. The work of redemption which Christ began on earth is
continued in Heaven through His intercession with the Father. From
this notion of the redemption it followed as a logical consequence
that the sacraments could not be regarded as channels of grace or as
anything more than external signs of union with the Christian body.
The Socinian doctrine was condemned by Paul IV. (1555) and by
Clement VIII. (1603).
Pietism.--This movement among the Lutherans resembled closely
some of the developments of Mysticism in the Catholic Church during
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Its object was to direct
attention to the spiritual and ethical side of religion regardless of
dogma and external organization. One of its greatest leaders was
Spener, a student at Geneva, and later on a preacher at Frankfurt.
In his endeavors to bring religion to bear on the daily lives of the
people and to awaken in them a sense of their personal relations to
God he founded the Collegia Pietatis, private assemblies for the
study of the Scriptures, for the discussion of the means of
redemption, and for a general revival of religious zeal. With the same
object in view he wrote the Pia Desideria (1567), which was much
prized as a spiritual reading book by the devout Lutherans of Germany.
He emphasized the idea of a universal priesthood, which he thought had
been somewhat neglected by the leaders of the Lutherans, advocated for
those who were destined for the ministry a training in spiritual life
rather than in theological lore, encouraged good works as the best
means of securing eternal bliss, objected to polemical discussions,
and welcomed the establishments of private societies for the promotion
of Christian perfection. About the same time Franke and Anton
undertook a similar work in Leipzig by founding the Collegium
Philobiblicum principally for students and members of the university.
This society was suppressed at the instigation of the Lutheran faculty
of theology, and the two founders of it were dismissed. In a short
time Spener was appointed to an office in Berlin and was received with
great favor at the court. By his influence three of his leading
disciples, Franke, Anton, and Breithaupt were appointed professors in
the University of Halle, which from that time became the leading
centre of Pietism in Germany. Students flocked to Halle from all parts
of Germany, from Denmark, and from Switzerland. An attempt was made to
explain away Luther's teaching on good works, and to insist on the
practical as distinct from the intellectual aspect of Christianity.
This relegation of dogma to a secondary place, and the establishment
of private assemblies to supplant the ecclesiastical organization and
the established liturgy, led to the development of separatist
tendencies and ultimately to the promotion of dogmatic indifference.
It is a noteworthy fact that Semler was one of the students most
sincerely attached to Pietism at Halle.
Herrnhuters.--This sect was only a development of the Moravian
Brothers founded in 1457 by one of the Hussite leaders. It owes its
development in the eighteenth century to Count Zinzendorf (1700-1760),
a wealthy nobleman and a Pietist of the school of Spener. A number of
the Moravian or Bohemian Brethren having appealed to him for a
suitable place to establish a settlement, he offered them portion of
his estate at Hutberg (1722). As they were inclined to quarrel amongst
themselves he undertook in person the work of organization. He
appointed a college of elders to control the spiritual and temporal
affairs of the community, together with a college of deacons to
superintend specially the temporal wants of the brethren. Like the
Pietists generally he paid little attention to dogmatic differences,
allowing the Lutherans, Calvinists, and Moravians to have their own
separate elders. As he was anxious to undertake missionary work he
received Holy Orders, and wished to preach in Bohemia, but the
Austrian government refused to allow him to continue his work in that
province, and even secured his banishment from Saxony. He went through
Europe visiting Holland and England and established some of his
communities in both these countries, after which he returned to
Herrnhut in 1755. During his lifetime Zinzendorf was looked upon as
the head of the whole community, but after his death it was much more
difficult to preserve unity. The Herrnhuters made some progress in
Germany, but their greatest strength at the present day is to be found
in England and the United States.
Swedenborgians.--The founder of this sect was Emanuel Swedenborg
(1688-1772), who was born at Stockholm, and educated at the University
of Upsala. He was a very distinguished student especially in the
department of mathematics and physical science, and after an extended
tour through Germany, France, Holland, and England he returned and
settled down in Sweden, where he was offered and refused a chair at
Upsala. From 1734 he began to turn to the study of philosophy and
religion. After 1743, when he declared that Our Lord had appeared to
him in a vision, had taught him the real spiritual sense of Scripture,
and had commanded him to instruct others, he abandoned his
mathematical pursuits and turned entirely to religion. As Judaism had
been supplanted by Christianity, so too, he maintained, the revelation
given by Christ was to be perfected by that granted to himself. He
rejected the Justification theory of Luther, the Predestination
teaching of Calvin, the doctrines of the Trinity, of Original Sin, and
of the Resurrection of the body. The one God, according to him, took
to Himself human flesh, and the name, Son of God, was applied properly
to the humanity assumed by God the Father, while the Holy Ghost was
but the energy and operation of the God Man. The new Jerusalem, that
was to take the place of the Christian Church, was to be initiated on
the day he completed his great work Vera Christiana Religio (1770).
He claimed that the last Judgment took place in his presence in 1757.
During his own life he did little to organize his followers except by
establishing small societies for the study of the Bible, but after his
death the organization of the new Jerusalem was pushed on rapidly.
From Sweden the sect spread into England, where the first community
was established in Lancashire in 1787, and into America and Germany.
For a long time the Swedenborgians were persecuted as heretics in
Sweden.
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