THE RELIGIOUS CONFERENCE AT WORMS.
In the spring of 1557, he would have had an excellent opportunity to get
rid of the Flacians, for the Elector of the Palatinate called him to the
University of Heidelberg. "However, I have not yet come to any
conclusion in regard to my removal," he wrote to Languentius from
Leipzig, "because I must first learn the sentiments of the Court." He
wrote to Camerarius: "I wrote this letter on the 31st of March, on which
day, 420 years after Christ, Jerome died in his 91st year, in the town
of Bethlehem, whither he had fled from the rage of his intriguing
enemies. I would already have fled to those solitudes, if I had no
family." But the Court would not permit him to go, and he remained. He
was very much afraid of a journey to Denmark, whither the Elector wished
to take him, because the king intended to assemble a number of
Theologians, to discuss the sacramental controversy. Some one had told
his father, 60 years before, that Philip would be shipwrecked on the
Baltic Sea, and this sea he was now to cross. But no doubt he also
dreaded a Conference where the subject of the Lord's Supper was to be
discussed. A pastor of that place had spilt some wine, of which
Melanchthon sarcastically remarked, "What a misfortune!" However, this
journey was not undertaken; but another took its place. He wrote to
Camerarius: "The Court would now prefer it, if I should go to the Rhine.
But we shall remain here until new letters from Court order us to go,
which is not at all disagreeable to me, because I look upon my stay here
as a blessing." At last the orders arrived. He bade his hearers farewell
on the 14th of August, in the following words: "I will not deliver any
lectures to-day, because many poor students ask for letters of
recommendation about the time of our departure. But I beseech the Son of
God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who has said, 'I am the vine, ye are the
branches,' that he would guide us. And I also conjure you, for the
Lord's sake, to commend yourselves and us to him in devout prayers, and
that you may become an ornament of the Church by your becoming conduct."
Accompanied by his son-in-law Peucer, by Eber, and several others, he
departed for Worms. They travelled by way of Schulpforte and Erfurt, to
Frankfort. They arrived there on the 26th of August, and here learned,
to their great sorrow, that Schnepf, Strigel, Stoessel, and the
Counsellor Monner, of Weimar, were earnestly engaged in Worms, in urging
a condemnation of all the errors which had been introduced. They
intended this for Melanchthon particularly. He at this time wrote to
Camerarius: "Many sorrows are troubling me, partly the cruelty of my
foes, and also the misfortunes of my son, who, although he is still
alive, is suffering great bodily and mental debility." On the 28th of
August, they arrived in Worms. The Theologians were filled with joy when
they again beheld the countenance of the aged and venerable Melanchthon.
One of his enemies, the before-mentioned Monner, thus wrote to Flacius
about this: "All our Theologians here received him in the most honorable
manner, and adore him almost like a deity. When we came out of Church
three days ago, all greeted him as their instructor, but I stood aloof.
When he saw me, he said, rather coldly, 'Doctor!' and slightly touched
my hand. He immediately turned away from me, and departed to his
lodgings, accompanied by a large number of persons. I and Martin Stoessel
immediately went to our own. His heart seems to be entirely estranged
from me. But I do not care the least for this, and I believe that we
should not seek the friendship of persons who pollute the pure doctrine,
yea, I rather believe we should fly from them, in obedience to the
passage: 'If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.'"
This Basilius Monner, together with his Weimarian friends, endeavored to
persuade the Theologians to condemn Adiaphorism, Maiorism, Osiandrism,
and Zwinglianism, before the opening of the Religious Conference. "For,"
as Eber wrote, "these, in their judgment, are the only heresies in
Europe which ought to be destroyed root and branch." Flacius, by his
letters, also incited his Weimarian friends to insist upon this. Besides
this, their instructions required the same. On the 5th of September, the
Theologians of the Augsburg Confession met, for the first time, in the
town-hall. Here Monner rose up, and declared that their instructions
enjoined it upon him and his colleagues to insist, first of all, upon a
condemnation of errors, so that they could then oppose the Papists even
as one man. Schnepf also arose, and declared that if this should not be
done, they would not have anything further to do with the Conference.
But let us hear what Melanchthon says of this, in a letter to Prince
Joachim, of Anhalt, of September 6th: "The first act was an accusation
against myself, taken almost word for word from the libels of Flacius,
and brought forward by Schnepf. I briefly replied to them, that we all
agreed in doctrine, because we all adopted the Augsburg Confession,
together with its Apology, and Luther's Confession, which he wrote prior
to the Council of Mantua. I also spoke a little of my views, that I
believed it would be better to retain the order of festivals, and other
usages, which were not sinful in themselves, than to leave the churches;
I appealed to the opinions of the other persons who were present, and
added, that it would give me very great pleasure if I would be entirely
excluded from the deliberations of this Conference. The envoys of the
princes fully agreed with me, and admonished the accusers to lay their
private disputes to one side, and to unite in a general deliberation how
the enemy should be refuted. This was done yesterday. I do not know, as
yet, what my accusers propose to do further. I bear these calumnies with
equanimity. I wrote the Confession and the Apology, which they
constantly quote; and now they are debating how they shall get rid of
their author. However, I trust that, with God's help, I have been able
to be of some use to students. I would much rather always engage in this
work, than quarrel in such conferences, in which I have witnessed and
experienced many deplorable conflicts."
The majority insisted upon leaving particular condemnations for the
present, until the articles referred to should come up during the
regular course of debate. The protestation of the Weimarians was not
entered upon the minutes, but they succeeded in having it received as
their personal conviction, by the envoys of the princes. JULIUS VON
PFLUG was elected President of the Conference, and called the speakers
of both sides together on the 11th of September, to open the discussion.
Melanchthon wrote: "According to the custom of orators, he spoke of the
evils produced by discord, in his address. Sidonius replied, and I
succeeded him. I mentioned some reasons why we were obliged to differ
from our opponents. Our friends are all one in their Confession. The
Weimarians, and they alone, had demanded some condemnations."
But soon violent contentions arose, especially in regard to the source
of knowledge. The Catholics insisted upon the continual agreement of the
Church, but the Protestants would not suffer any other authority than
the Bible and the most ancient confessions. Original Sin elicited a
still more excited debate. The cunning Bishop Sidonius of Merseburg made
these contentions a desirable excuse for breaking up the conference. He
knew the two Protestant parties, and imitated those, as Melanchthon
says, who wish to drive the bees from their hives: smoke is blown in for
this purpose. "So they are seeking plans to divide us, and to break up
the conference. I have observed all along that our opponents neither
desire the truth nor union." This was written to Matthesius, September
29th.
On the 2d of October, he made the following report to the Elector
Augustus: "By the grace of God, our side made a very good beginning. But
afterwards the cunning Papists insisted upon knowing whether we were all
of one and the same opinion. I replied repeatedly in the public
assemblies, that we all agreed in the Confession. But now the Weimarians
presented their condemnations, and because they saw that they could not
keep pace with the other Protestants, they departed in the beginning of
October, declaring that they had been excluded from the Conference. The
other Theologians wished to continue, while the Catholics rejoiced at
this rupture, and said that they did not know who were the true
adherents of the Augsburg Confession. The President Pflug postponed the
sessions until the King should decide the matter." He wrote to
Matthesius, October 3d: "I very much doubt whether this debate, which
has been commenced between us and our opponents, will be continued.
Everything seems to be arranged in such a manner on both sides, that the
whole matter will be brought to a conclusion. I earnestly long for the
society of my family, and would rather repeat prayers with my beloved
sons and daughters than continue to contend with these venomous
sophists. However, I shall not leave here until we are officially
dismissed."
While Melanchthon was thus expressing so great a desire to behold his
family, a change was about to take place in his house at Wittenberg,
which caused him great sorrow and many bitter tears. His wife was taken
ill on the 27th of September. She had a presentiment of her approaching
end, received the Lord's Supper, and as she was now confined to her bed,
prayed to God that he might grant her patience. And this her prayer was
heard. Not a word of impatience passed her lips, and it was easy to see
that she was perfectly prepared to die. An old account says: "In such
obedience to God, and with frequent prayer to the Son of God, she fell
asleep in Christ; and so peacefully, that those present could scarcely
perceive the moment of her death." She died at three o'clock in the
morning of the 11th of October. At the time of her death, Melanchthon
was in Heidelberg, whither he had been called by the Elector Otto Henry,
in order to assist Micyllus in improving the University of that place.
He spent some very happy days here, as he was not only receiving
honorable attentions from the Prince and the learned, but also enjoyed
the opportunity of embracing his beloved brother George. And now his
friend Camerarius also arrived. He saw his happiness, but had come to
disturb it; for he had been commissioned by the University of
Wittenberg to bear the sad tidings to Melanchthon. While they were
walking in the garden of the Elector on the following morning,
Camerarius discharged this melancholy duty. Melanchthon heard him
calmly, raised his eyes to heaven, and exclaimed: "Fare thee well, I
will soon follow thee!" And he then began to speak of the troubles of
the Church, and the troubled times that were to be expected; but his
sorrow for the loss of his wife would still return. He wrote an
affectionate letter to his nephew Sigismund, who was staying at
Wittenberg at the time, in which he expresses his anguish at the
departure of his beloved wife, and calls upon him to act the part of a
father in his family. To the letter of sympathy from the University,
which Camerarius had brought, he replied on the 31st of October: "That
he was seeking all possible grounds for consolation; but notwithstanding
all this, my love to her and her daughters always comes upon me again
with such force that I am almost overcome." He returns his hearty thanks
for the attentions of the University, and closes thus: "If I am to live
any longer, I would not wish to live in any place but with you, whose
virtues, sincerity, and faithfulness I value so highly. And I also love
our well-deserving University, which God has hitherto protected against
wicked attacks and the rage of cunning men. I call upon him to guide and
protect it for ever."
He returned to Worms, and remained through the greater part of November,
without being particularly engaged. He wrote to Hardenberg on the 14th
of November that he had very little to write about, "because, after our
colleagues departed, leaving their condemnations behind them, our
enemies felt themselves obliged to embrace this opportunity for
breaking off the conferences. On this account there are no meetings at
the present time. You no doubt hear that the whole of Saxony is
celebrating triumphs, because of the beautiful condemnations which
emanate from the judgment-seat of Amsdorf. I pray God to deliver me from
those sophists." He also wrote to his friend Mordeisen: "If you will
permit me to live in another place, I shall reply truly and effectually
to those ignorant intriguers, and for the good of the church. If the
discussion of doctrine is to be continued, I hope that a truly Christian
harmony will prevail among our colleagues who are still present."
During this time, and at the instance of the Elector Frederick and Duke
Christopher, he prepared a formula, in which he shows himself to be very
yielding. He in this expresses himself against the fanatics, Servetus,
Schwenkfeld, and the Anabaptists, in the strongest terms. In the article
on justification he adhered to the word "_alone_," in retaining the
proposition: "That we are justified before God by Faith _alone_." Faith
must always be founded upon the merits of the Mediator. Against the
Antinomians, (enemies of the law,) he insists upon the proposition: "New
obedience is necessary, because the rational creature must obey God." He
rejects the proposition that good works are necessary unto salvation,
because this implied merit, and obscures the consolation of the Gospel;
and he only retains the expression: "Good works are necessary, because
man owes obedience according to the commandment of God." He adheres to
the Augsburg Confession and the Apology, in the doctrine of the _Lord's
Supper_. He rejects transubstantiation, and the local inclusion of the
body and the blood, which was unknown to the ancients; he also rejects
Zwinglianism, which merely recognizes signs, and says, that "Christ is
truly and essentially present, making us members of his body, applying
his grace to us, and will prove himself powerful in us." In regard to
_indifferent things_, he appeals to the Confessions, and does not wish
to see the churches, who have the Gospel, disturbed by any new changes.
But if others discover other misdeeds under this name, we will leave it
to the decision of a Synod.
This form of agreement met with the approbation of the Theologians; the
Wirtembergers being the only ones who made some objections on account of
Osiander's position in the doctrine of Justification. Melanchthon was in
the meantime awaiting the royal decision as to the Conference, in order
to discuss the various points at the proper place. At last Ferdinand
decided that the Conference, already commenced, should be continued. The
Catholics now urged the recall of the Saxon Theologians, which was
opposed by the others. Therefore the President adjourned the Conference,
with the intention that it should be continued at the next diet.
Melanchthon and his friends presented a declaration, in which they
stated that they were not to blame in this matter, and were true
adherents of the Augsburg Confession. This declaration was prepared on
the 1st of December. On the 6th of December, he departed with his
companions, filled with the saddest feelings, which he thus expresses in
a letter to Hardenberg, December 26th: "Although many friends, prudent
men on the banks of the Rhine, dissuaded me from returning to the Elbe,
I have nevertheless returned; perhaps it is my destiny, and perhaps it
is because I must bestow the little I possess upon my heirs, after the
death of my wife. But I expect a new banishment.... As soon as the
times become more propitious, I have resolved to consult with you,
unless I am forced to leave before that time. Perhaps death will soon
conduct me to a more peaceful church.... And truly! I feel an earnest
longing for the wisdom of that heavenly school, and hope for that, when
we shall see those things we particularly desire to understand, with our
own eyes. My enemies have already circulated the report that they will
drive me out of entire Germany. They believe that they have so much
power. If it pleases God, I am willing not only to leave Germany, but
even this life."
The Conference therefore did not terminate well. The strict Lutherans
blamed Melanchthon and his adherents for this, and called them "holy
Pharisees;" the moderate Protestants charged the breaking up of the
Conference upon the Catholics; while the Catholics, full of delight at
the misfortunes of their enemies, labored to convince the whole world of
the state of discord in the Protestant camp, and showed that it must of
necessity come to this.