Martin Chemnitz, Pastor and Confessor
November 9
Today the Church commemorates Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran pastor and confessor. Known as “The Second Martin,” Chemnitz saved the Lutheran Church from its near certain demise. He was born in Treuenbrietzen in Brandenburg to Paul and Euphemia Chemnitz, the last of three children. His father, a successful merchant, died when Chemnitz was eleven. He later matriculated in Magdeburg, and became a weaver’s apprentice upon the completion of his studies.
At age 20, he resumed his coursework at the University of Frankfurt, and took a teaching job in Wriezen when his finances were exhausted. In 1545 Chemnitz accompanied his cousin Georg Sabinus to school at the University of Wittenberg from 1545–1547, where he studied under Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon.
Chemnitz moved back to Wittenberg in 1553 as a guest of Melanchthon, and in January 1554 joined the Wittenberg University faculty. He lectured on Melanchthon's Loci Communes, from which lectures he compiled his own Loci Theologici. Chemnitz was ordained to the ministry on 26 November 1554 by Johannes Bugenhagen and became co-adjutor of Joachim Mörlin , who was the ecclesiastical superintendent for the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Upon Mörlin’s resignation in 1567, Chemnitz became his successor, holding the post for the rest of his life.
Following Luther’s death in 1546, Lutherans were plunged into division and doctrinal disagreement. The Schmalkaldic War broke out between two Lutheran princes, but the Holy Roman Empire joined the fray and defeated the Schmalkaldic armies, exiling them and forcing them to readopt Catholic beliefs and practices via the Augsburg Interim, a decree by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
What seemed to be a lost cause soon became one of the most important moments in the history of the Lutheran Church. In 1577, Chemnitz and other Lutheran theologians, all of whom bore the incredible mantle of Luther and the original Reformers, compiled several major doctrinal documents which they published as the Book of Concord. It was concluded by the Formula of Concord, which is broken up into two parts: the Epitome, or summary of twelve major doctrinal articles, and the Solid Declaration, or detailed exposition of each article.
Chemnitz, alongside Jakob Andreä, were largely responsible for the authorship of the Formula of Concord. It became one of the most foundational documents contained in the Book of Concord, settling the doctrinal disputes that ravaged the Lutheran Church and unifying once again Lutherans in their confession of the Gospel.
Besides the Formula of Concord, one of Chemnitz’s best-known work is the Examination of the Council of Trent, a large, four-volume theological exposition refuting the claims of the Council of Trent. The Roman Catholic Church convened this controversial council between 1545 and 1563 as a condemnation of Luther and the Reformation, and sought to suppress the doctrinal confession of the Lutheran Church.
Chemnitz’s Examination soon became a great foundational text of the Lutheranism, solidifying his place among the greatest Lutheran theologians and cementing his incredible impact on unification and preservation the Lutheran Church.
Concerning Martin Chemnitz, many have said, “Had it not been for Martin [Chemnitz], Luther would hardly have survived.” He is rightly commemorated in the Calendar of Saints on November 9, the day of his birth, as one of the most important Lutheran confessors to have served the Church.
Chemnitz possessed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Scripture and the Church Fathers. His Examination is laden with quotes from and references to the Fathers, and many more from the Scriptures. His understanding of the Scriptures is even more impressive. Chemnitz was one of the Church’s greatest catechists and Scriptural interpreters, disproving many of the lies of the Roman Catholic Church and retaining within the Lutheran Church doctrinal and biblical purity.
Much more can be said regarding the great and renowned Martin Chemnitz, but his commemoration is best kept with the conclusion of the Formula of Concord:
Since now, in the sight of God and of all Christendom [the entire Church of Christ], we wish to testify to those now living and those who shall come after us that this declaration herewith presented concerning all the controverted articles aforementioned and explained, and no other, is our faith, doctrine, and confession, in which we are also willing, by God’s grace, to appear with intrepid hearts before the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, and give an account of it; and that we will neither privately nor publicly speak or write anything contrary to it, but, by the help of God’s grace, intend to abide thereby: therefore, after mature deliberation, we have, in God’s fear and with the invocation of His name, attached our signatures with our own hands.
Formula of Concord: Solid Declaration, Article XII:40.
Good knowledge! I am interested in hearing more about Germany's brief and disastrous experimentation with polygamy, if you can find unbiased sources on it.
I have a small book of Jakob Andrea's writings. Good dude!