The Final Ascent! - Reformation Blog #11

“I am finished!”  These are said to be the words that Luther exclaimed to the gathered crowd as he left his hearing in Worms.  These are also the words for me, today.  I am finished.  I do not want to put an exclamation after my sentence though.  For me, the tour of Germany and my reformation studies here are over.  I am sad. I quickly fell in love with this country.  Besides studying Luther and enjoying the travel, the main thing I have persistently been thinking about is how to be able to come back and bring my children with me. I feel as if I have only scraped the surface of all the culture to be experienced and rich history to be studied and appreciated in this region of the world. Germany is beautiful.  Germany is picturesque. Germany is full of culture.  Germany is smart and efficient and clean and conscientious and lovely in so many ways. While in Germany, I met a young woman who came to study two years ago and ended up staying. I see why that happened. Other than the dear people I love, I have not missed many other things about home.

So, Monday was our final ascent. I have learned that many towns here are built on hills and the churches are usually placed at the highest point of the hill.  Our last two nights, we have stayed in Frankfurt. Monday, we rode the bus back to see the Wartburg Castle and the beautiful little town of Eisenach which lies nestled in the countryside below it.  This little town is where Luther went to grade school and where Johann Sebastian Bach also grew up 200 years later. They both attended the same school and sang in the same choir at St. Georgenkirche (St. George), only they did it 200 years apart. The church still stands in the center of town but now Luther’s symbol adorns the front gate of the church. Wartburg Castle still sits high above the city

Wartburg Castle

Entrance to the castle. Yes. There was a real drawbridge.

This passageway is dedicated to St. Elizabeth of Thuringia (or Hungary), a princess who married Louis IV (also known as Ludwig IV) in the 13th century and lived a very saintly life at Wartburg Castle. After her husband died unexpectedly, she regained her dowry and used it to build a hospital.  She died young at 24 years of age and was almost immediately canonized as a saint.  It was her finger encased as a relic at the exhibit at Coburg Castle.

Great Hall in the Castle.

St. George Church where Luther and Bach both sang in the choir -- 200 years apart.

St. Elizabeth on the left and her family on the right.  This was on the wall near the altar area of St. George's  Church, pictured above.  

Inside St. George

Pipe organ at St. George

Luther's symbol on the front gate of the church.

The house Luther stayed in while he attended grade school.

I couldn't resist.

The view from Wartburg Castle looking down upon Eisenach

So, here is the story of Luther & the Wartburg:

After the Diet of Worms in 1521, Luther and several of his companions quickly left town to travel back towards Wittenberg.  Wittenberg and Worms are several hours distance from each other by bus but in those days they would have traveled by foot or horse and carriage. So, it would have been a much longer journey.  Luther knew that he would be short on time.  He would have to flee or go into hiding because within a matter of days, Emporer Charles V would likely issue an act declaring him to be an outlaw.  Historical accounts tell us that Luther preached in several churches along the way and enjoyed visiting with the people.  He was still very much venerated in that area.  However, suddenly he and his companions came under a surprise attack and Luther was kidnapped. 

Though it may seem terrible for Luther to be kidnapped, this was actually a good thing.  Luther had been told in advance that if things at the Diet of Worms did not go well, he should expect an intervention. One of his attendants knew nothing about it. The other did. So, he feigned a defense against the assailants but in the end, he was captured as the other attendant ran away into the forest.  This was part of a plan that was orchestrated by Luther’s Prince, Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony.

After his capture, Luther was taken to the Wartburg Castle near Eisenach, where Luther attended grade school and still had friends.  There,  he was confined in a tower – not so much for his imprisonment as for his safety.  The only thing he had managed to bring with him was his Bible.  This he put to good use because as Luther was at the Wartburg Castle, he began to translate his Bible from Latin to High German.  Also, while Luther was in the castle, he grew out his hair and his beard and wrote several booklets and letters under the alias of Junker Jorge which in English means something like, Lord, George. During this period of time, support for Luther and the concept of a reformation continued to grow, especially among the peasants and also among some of the noblemen.  Luther was in the Wartburg for about six months. During this time he translated the New Testament into German.

The room where Luther is said to have translated scripture and written works under the surname of Junker Jorge.  

When Luther came down from the Wartburg Castle, he returned to Wittenberg and mounted the pulpit in the city church there where he continued to pastor and teach for most of his life. His prince elector, Frederick the Wise, supported him fully and made many efforts to help ensure his safety.

Now – about Coburg Castle…..the one we visited on Saturday that I said I would return to talk about later.  Here is that story:

Time continued to pass and in 1530, a Diet was held in Augsburg to discuss several issues. Emporer George V had decided that an effort needed to be made to resolve the disagreements and disputes that continued to exist regarding Christianity and to attempt to bring the fractured church back together. The “Lutheran” or “Evangelical” church was steadily growing. (Luther preferred the term, “Evangelical” because he did not like the idea of people calling themselves after his name). Monks and Nuns were revoking their vows and leaving or escaping monastic life.  Luther became a matchmaker of sorts. He took in monks and nuns and helped them find spouses.  This is how he eventually came to be married to Katharine Von Bora. She also was a former nun but no one but Luther would do for her.

Luther encouraged these newly married couples to become ministers in the new churches and to demonstrate God’s love by serving one another and caring for their own families and the churches they would be responsible for. Thus, the concept of the pastor and pastor’s wife was born. This gave women an opportunity to serve, teach, mentor and have influence in their communities. He also encouraged education and believed that girls should also be educated and that everyone should be able to read. He believed this would prevent people from drifting so far away from knowing the truth of what the Bible said again.

So, in other words, times were changing.

Luther could not attend the Diet in Augsburg because he would have to pass through hostile territory to get there.  So, to ensure his safety, he was again confined in a castle. This time, he was kept at Coburg Castle. Coburg was as close to Augsburg as he could get. He stayed there for six months as his friend, Phillip Melanchthon, helped to lead discussions and draft documents for consideration in Augsburg.  While there, he again worked on translations, correspondence, and commentaries.  The resulting document, called "The Augsburg Confession" still did not bring forth reunification of the church because those who were working on it could never reach a point of agreement about indulgences and Luther’s doctrine of justification by grace through faith. However, the Augsburg Confession became the backbone of the doctrine of the Lutheran church and the foundational beliefs of most Protestant denominations throughout the world. 

While we were in the Coburg Castle, we were able to enter the two rooms where Luther stayed.  A beautiful ornate door frame had been placed there to mark and commemorate Luther's time in the Coburg Castle. We saw several rare documents, bibles and Cranach paintings but were not allowed to photograph any of it.  However, we were allowed to take a picture of the view from his window. Unfortunately, I cannot currently locate it among the 1,000 pictures that we collectively took.  Maybe tomorrow!

If I manage to find time to blog again, I want to reflect on some of the other experiences, thoughts and impressions I have gathered from this trip that I haven't been able to address in this particular series of blogs. 

For those of you who are still reading, thanks for journeying with me!