the history of the church before the reformation in magdeburg
The original statue of Otto 1 from 1240 is housed in the Magdeburg Museum. A new one was created in 2000 which now sits in the Magdeburg Altstadt.
The first sign that something of a Reformation was coming to Magdeburg happened in a rather inauspicious manner on May 6th 1524. On that day ' a common citizen sang Lutheran hymns at the statue of Otto the Great in the Altstadt or market and asked others to join in with him'. Although Luther himself had spent some of his school years in Magdeburg with a school of the Brethren of the Common Life, he himself had not visited the city since his famous declaration of the 95 theses in 1517. While Luther had not been to Magdeburg, Johann Tetzel - the Indulgences salesman of Albert of Hohenzollern had been collecting money for indulgences in the City to help finance the building of St Peter's in Rome. His trade did not fare well in the City and most people were ignoring his efforts, suggesting the money should go towards the German church. He continued to boast about the power of indulgences when a housewife in the City publicly rebuked him for this trade. News of the incident quickly passed across the city. More then came to be known of Luther himself and his protest by the singing of his hymns and when his writings were published after the Diet of Worms. From then on Lutheran inspired sermons were given in the Monastery chapels as well as in the Cathedral. 1
1. I am indebted for much of the following commentary to the PhD thesis of 1974 of Dr Dwaine Brandt of Oregon which was kindly loaned to me by his son Tim Brandt.
1. I am indebted for much of the following commentary to the PhD thesis of 1974 of Dr Dwaine Brandt of Oregon which was kindly loaned to me by his son Tim Brandt.
how did the reformation affect the city which was 'another ROME'?
Ivory carving of Christ enthroned blessing a model of a church presented to him by Otto the Great to be placed in the new Cathedral of St Mauritius. St Peter is holding the keys. The Diocese became an Archdiocese in 968.
The City had been established as a strong ecclesisatical center since the time of Otto the Great. It had many religious houses including the aforementioned Premonstratensians of Saint Norbert who had 16 chapters in the Archdiocese, with the Headquarters based at the Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen in the Altstadt near the Elbe. The Kloster served as a Patron for St Ulrich, Saint John and the Holy Spirit churches which were the largest parishes in the City and members of the order regularly said masses at these locations. In addition to the order of St Norbert there were religious houses of the Benedictines, the Franciscans, the Carmelites and the Augustinians. The City boasted two convents for the unmarried daughters of prominent citizens which were called the convents of St Gertrud and Mary Magdelen. Various Archbishops had created collegiate churches for Canons as a part of the ecclesiatical structure of the Archdiocese. There were in addition six thriving parishes - St John's - known as the 'Council Church', St Ulrich - which was supported by prominent burghers in the City , Holy Spirit, St Catherine, St Peter and Saint Jacob. All of these contributed to Magdeburg being called a 'miniature Rome'. Brandt suggests that 'perhaps one in four or five residents wore the cloth of a priest, monk or nun in this ecclesiastical city'. (2) The presence of the Archbishop, numerous processions and celebration days and the presence of many clerics in different orders and levels of the Hierarchy gave the sense of a very orthodox center of the Roman Catholic Church. The collection of relics of famous saints was impressive. The Canons at the monumental Cathedral in addition to being highly regarded in all the parishes of the City exercised considerable political powers. This tie together with secular authority however did much to lessen the spiritual authority of the Church institutions, which became entrenched in the worldly affairs of the city. In the light of this there were several preachers who came to teach in Magdeburg who came to rekindle Gospel faith values and morality.
2. Brandt p.122
2. Brandt p.122
preachers and reformers in magdeburg before luther
Cardinal Nicholaus Kues (1401-1464) appointed by Pope Nicholas V.
One of the most notable reforming preachers coming to Magdeburg was Dr Henry Toke who was called by the Archbishop Gunther
'the Master of Theology and Lecturer at the Cathedral Church'. As Canon of the Cathedral he declared ' One God fearing pastor is worth ten Godless pastors'. (3) Good character and morals to him should be the basic requirement of all teachers of the Christian faith. Toke questioned certain popular ideas which were not consistant with the writings of the Church fathers, and followed the ideas of Emperor Sigismund at the Council of Contance of 1414 who said that that 'only when Pope, prelates and the begging orders were themselves cleansed could the lower clergy and constituency fall in line'. Toke's own efforts of reformation ended in futility and despair. He was never able to properly communicate with the common people, while all his efforts were with the leadership of the church and his writing in Latin. (4)
Another attempt at revival of faith and Gospel spirituality happened in 1451 by the visit of Nicholas of Cusa - also known as Cardinal Nicholaus Kues (1401-1464). Cusa was a polymath, an active philosopher theologian, jurist and mathematician and famous for his spiritual work called 'learned ignorance' which was a type of mysticism. However the priorities of his visit were dictated by the announcement of an Indulgence Jubilee Year of 1450 coupled with a call to the Crusades against the Turks. The question of spiritual reform was unfortunately sidelined by these major announcements . Cusa did preach and call for reform with orders to inspect and evaluate the sense of true spirituality in the Archdiocese and organised a special visitation team for this purpose.
3. Brandt p.99 4. Brandt 104
'the Master of Theology and Lecturer at the Cathedral Church'. As Canon of the Cathedral he declared ' One God fearing pastor is worth ten Godless pastors'. (3) Good character and morals to him should be the basic requirement of all teachers of the Christian faith. Toke questioned certain popular ideas which were not consistant with the writings of the Church fathers, and followed the ideas of Emperor Sigismund at the Council of Contance of 1414 who said that that 'only when Pope, prelates and the begging orders were themselves cleansed could the lower clergy and constituency fall in line'. Toke's own efforts of reformation ended in futility and despair. He was never able to properly communicate with the common people, while all his efforts were with the leadership of the church and his writing in Latin. (4)
Another attempt at revival of faith and Gospel spirituality happened in 1451 by the visit of Nicholas of Cusa - also known as Cardinal Nicholaus Kues (1401-1464). Cusa was a polymath, an active philosopher theologian, jurist and mathematician and famous for his spiritual work called 'learned ignorance' which was a type of mysticism. However the priorities of his visit were dictated by the announcement of an Indulgence Jubilee Year of 1450 coupled with a call to the Crusades against the Turks. The question of spiritual reform was unfortunately sidelined by these major announcements . Cusa did preach and call for reform with orders to inspect and evaluate the sense of true spirituality in the Archdiocese and organised a special visitation team for this purpose.
3. Brandt p.99 4. Brandt 104
COMMON SPIRITUALITY:
the miracle of wiLsnack
Door to the Holy Shrine at Wilsnack Photo Wikimedia Commons Andreas Franzkowiak alias User Bullenwächter
The 'Holy Blood of Wilsnack' was the title of three communion hosts which survived a fire of 1383 which burnt to the ground the village of Wilsnack, north-east of Magdeburg. When the Parish priest entered the church after the fire had subsized, he found three hosts which were untouched by the fire, but had on them stains of blood. The Bishop Dietrich of Havelburg decided to consecrate the hosts to avoid any accidental misuse of them when, before he managed to say the words of consecration, the main host continued to overflow with blood. News of the 'miracle' soon spread across the whole of Christendom, putting the little village firmly on the pilgrimage circuit. The hosts became objects of veneration and pilgrimages continued there for two centuries. One Pilgrimage began annually at the Marienkirche in Berlin continuing to Wilsnack, when the numbers rivalled those going to Santiago de Compostela. (5) The Pilgrimage, however, was not without controversy. The Archbishop of Magdeburg Gunther II ordered an investigation and concluded that the shrine caused some theological confusion for the pilgrims. Nicholas of Cusa discouraged the pilgrimages to Wilsnack, as did Toke, but Pope Eugene IV made a compromise by requiring the clergy to place freshly consecrated hosts alongside the 'miraculous' hosts. Pilgrimages persisted until the 16th century when - sadly - Protestant reformers destroyed the venerated objects.
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Blood_of_Wilsnack
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Blood_of_Wilsnack
the flagelLants and John de Capistrano
St John of Capistrano (1386-1456) Franciscan Evangelist
The Institutional church seemed to be out of touch with the common need for mysticism and the 'religion of the heart' such as had been taught and practiced by Mechtilde and St Norbert. In their place came the Flaggelants who wore red crosses on their clothing and taught penance and flaggelation. They practised whipping themselves with whips and calling for extreme austerity, and even for married couples to refrain from any sexual activity. Finally the common people pleaded with the Archbishop for the Flaggelants to be removed as their calls for austerity and mortification proved impossible for them.
One preacher however who did make an impact in these days was St. John of Capistrano, a famous Italian evangelical Franciscan Priest from the town of Capistrano in Italy . He was given a 'royal' welcome in 1453 when he came to Magdeburg 'with vicars, monks,clergy and students' lining the main high street of Breiter Weg, holding up crosses and flags as Capistrano entered the city and headed for the Cathedral. There a large stage had been erected which was capable of holding the Archbishop and all senior Prelates, with Church directors, Canons and officials of the City. Capistrano held his audience spellbound for three hours as he preached in Latin. This was followed immediatly by a further two hours of translation into German. The preaching was wideranging - encouraging all Magdeburgers to follow the Ten Commandments and to follow all the church festivals. In addition he preached against 'dicing [playing with dice], cards and other forms of trickery' and encourged that all such items with ornamentation used by women in their hair should be brought to the Altstadt Market and burnt in 'Savonarola' fashion. The citizens eagerly responded to the call of Capistrano. (6)
6 Brandt, 106.
One preacher however who did make an impact in these days was St. John of Capistrano, a famous Italian evangelical Franciscan Priest from the town of Capistrano in Italy . He was given a 'royal' welcome in 1453 when he came to Magdeburg 'with vicars, monks,clergy and students' lining the main high street of Breiter Weg, holding up crosses and flags as Capistrano entered the city and headed for the Cathedral. There a large stage had been erected which was capable of holding the Archbishop and all senior Prelates, with Church directors, Canons and officials of the City. Capistrano held his audience spellbound for three hours as he preached in Latin. This was followed immediatly by a further two hours of translation into German. The preaching was wideranging - encouraging all Magdeburgers to follow the Ten Commandments and to follow all the church festivals. In addition he preached against 'dicing [playing with dice], cards and other forms of trickery' and encourged that all such items with ornamentation used by women in their hair should be brought to the Altstadt Market and burnt in 'Savonarola' fashion. The citizens eagerly responded to the call of Capistrano. (6)
6 Brandt, 106.
efforts as church reform in the 15th ceNtury
Religion in Magdeburg followed the style of the Flaggelants, and the miracle of Wilsnack, and the preaching of John de Capistrano. Lacking additional intellectual and rational foundations - such as offered by Toke - it had little permanent impact on the reform of the clergy or religious life in general in Magdeburg. Reform minded clerics did speak out against ecclestistical abuse. The Provost of the Augustinians, Andreas Proles was so bold in his preaching that he received a writ of excommunication. Others such as Cathedral Canons Dr Johannis Scheyring and Andreas Kauxdorf publicly decried the level of corruption in the church. The loud cries of Kauxdorf led himself to be removed as the second Cathedral preacher in 1521.(7) What reform did happen was the result of church Synods in the 15th century . Synods were held in 1467 and 1489 with the aim of reforming clergy life and the development of spirituality in the Cloisters of the Archdiocese. Statutes were composed concerning Church administration which were published after a 1505 visitation of foundations and cloisters in the Archdiocese. A longer compilation was written and dated 1489 and subsequently distributed to every foundation,cloister and priest in the Archdiocese.
Dwaine Brandt suggests in the light of this that 'efforts of refom in church practice and clerical content were taken seriously by church authorities in Magdeburg in the 15th century'. Friedrich III (1445-1464), John of Bavaria ( 1464-1513) and Ernst of Saxony (1415-1513) all had the improvement of cloister and clergy close to their hearts. To Brandt, Magdeburg had been preparing for reform long before the first hymns were sung before the statue of Otto in the Altmarkt in 1524. (8)
7 Brandt, 130: 8 Brandt 108
Dwaine Brandt suggests in the light of this that 'efforts of refom in church practice and clerical content were taken seriously by church authorities in Magdeburg in the 15th century'. Friedrich III (1445-1464), John of Bavaria ( 1464-1513) and Ernst of Saxony (1415-1513) all had the improvement of cloister and clergy close to their hearts. To Brandt, Magdeburg had been preparing for reform long before the first hymns were sung before the statue of Otto in the Altmarkt in 1524. (8)
7 Brandt, 130: 8 Brandt 108