Sabbatical with Pastor Curtis: End of Luther Tour in Germany

So, yesterday was the last place we visited that was impacted by Luther. In Augsburg, there were two important events involving Martin Luther. The first event was the examination of Martin Luther's teaching by Cardinal Thomas Cajetan from the Roman Catholic Church. This happened in 1518. This meeting followed he 1518 Diet of Augsburg which was a gathering of the German princes and dukes.

Luther stayed at the St. Anne's Cloister Church. Luther's interview with Cardinal Cajetan took place athe the then newly buile house of Jakob Fugger in Augsburg. The purpose of the meeting was simple. Luther was to recant all of his teachings that were contrary to the Catholic Church, especially what he said concerning indulgences, justification by faith and the authority of the Pope. Luther refused to recant . Cardinal Cajetan's instructions were that if Martin failed to recant. that he was to be arrested and sent to Rome. Well, Luther'a supporters got wind of this and helped Luther to escape. He returned to Wittenberg a hunted man.

The second event in Augsburg was also very important. Charles V convened a Diet to meet at Augsburg in 1530 to address unresolved religious issues. Phillip Melanchthon was Luther's representative at the meeting and a primary author of the Augsburg Confession (of faith) which was written at the Bishop's residence in Augsburg. The Augsburg Confession is the definitive statement of faith for Lutherans. Many of the churches in Augsburg and the surrounding area became Protestant or Lutheran.

So, we will be taking a couple of days of rest and relaxation in Frankfort beginning tomorrow as we prepare to move into the second phase of our sabbatical--Romania and the Confessional Lutheran Church that is growing there. We will not be continuing on this blog until we reach Bucharest, Romania on Friday or Saturday. Thanks for joining us through Germany. We hope you'll stay tuned as we begin our journey through Romania.

Oh yeah, we also added a pic of Leopold Mozart the father of the famous Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart. Augsburg is actually the home of Mozart and of his son.