Lutheranism refers to the Protestant current in Christianity. This is one of the oldest trends that arose in the 16th century. Currently, Lutheranism is widespread where it came from - mainly Scandinavian countries, Germany, Estonia and Latvia.
History of Lutheranism
The history of Lutheranism began in 1517 in Germany with the Protestant movement. A Catholic theologian named Martin Luther decided to cleanse religion of dogmatic errors, and therefore was declared a heretic. He later became a reformer, but had previously been forced to hide in Wartburg Castle in Eisenach under the name Georg Junker, where he translated the New Testament into German. Later in Lutheranism, it became known as the Luther Bible. In 1529, Protestantism officially became the course of Catholicism after twenty signatures were placed under Speyer protest. It was a protest of fourteen cities of the Roman Empire and six princes. But six months later, at a dispute in the city of Marburg, disagreements arose between Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, which led to a split in the Protestant camp into Lutheranism and Calvinism.
This will be followed by the death of Martin Luther and the Schmalkalden War, in which the Lutherans will be defeated. They will receive legalization only in 1555 thanks to the Augsburg religious world. This agreement allowed representatives of the imperial estates to choose their own religion and recognized Lutheranism as a religion in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire.
Creed
Answering the question of what Lutheranism is, one cannot but describe the foundations of a creed, which, by the way, is very close to Catholicism. Lutheranism is based on faith in the Holy Trinity - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is the one power of one God.
The basis of philosophical doctrine is the equality of all before God. Priests in Lutheranism do not have any privileges, including when taking the sacrament.
Sacraments of the Lutheran current:
- Epiphany.
- Participle.
- Confession.
Baptism is a sacrament that leads a person to Christianity, communion binds man and God, and confession helps in the remission of sins.
There is no strictness in observance of the funeral service, weddings and anointing in Lutheran churches. A clergyman in Lutheranism is just a profession, and nothing more. She does not go beyond and does not raise a priest in the rank of parishioners. The highest church service - the liturgy - is accompanied by chants.
Features of Lutheranism
The principles of Lutheranism are based on the Book of Concord, written in 1580. The total number of Lutherans around the world today is approximately 85 million people. This relatively small figure is internally divided into several different directions and churches. The main feature of Lutheranism is the lack of a single church and integrity.
The difficulties in the formation of a single church were marked by geographical reasons, dogmatic and historical.
According to the Book of Concord Lutheranism recognizes three creeds:
- Nicene.
- Afanasyevsky.
- Apostolic.
However, not all Lutherans recognize the Book of Concord as a single theory. Today, liberal trends in Lutheranism are quite common, which allow you not to attend services.
Church of sweden
The largest Lutheran church is the Church of Sweden, whose parishioners are more than 60% of the country's population. In terms of numbers, it is almost 6.5 million people. Few of them attend worship services regularly, but consider themselves to be the successors of this particular religion.
Sweden's Lutheran Church is considered liberal because it is united in the World Lutheran Federation. Here the female priesthood is allowed, including from among sexual minorities, and since 2005 the church has been registering homosexual couples, in connection with which an absolutely new rite was even invented.
The split of Protestantism and its consequences
Discussing the question of what Lutheranism is, one cannot but touch on the history of Calvinism. In fact, both directions flow from the reformist movement of Martin Luther, but Calvinism has identified itself for the first time at a debate in the city of Marburg, as mentioned above. This debate split the Protestant reformers into two camps - German Protestants and Swiss Protestants.
Despite the fact that Calvinism got its name from Jean Calvin, the split was allowed thanks to the efforts of Ulrich Zwingli, who had a dispute with Martin Luther himself. The controversy lay in the formality of the communion rite, on which Zwingli insisted, which was one of the main ideas of Catholic reform. Luther insisted on maintaining the sacrament as the main sacrament.
After the death of Zwingli, his case was continued by the French theologian Jean Calvin. Calvin is considered a true reformer, from whom the true course began - Calvinism. The differences between Lutheranism and Calvinism are quite significant, if you look at these areas today, after centuries. Earlier, when the founders were driven by the ideas of reformism, the differences seemed even more serious.
Comparison of two directions
Initially, Calvinism was born as a cleansing of the church from everything that the Bible does not need. He suggested more serious church reforms. Compare Lutheranism and Calvinism. The table described below will allow a more detailed consideration of this issue.
| Distinctive feature | Lutheranism | Calvinism |
| Church Reform Principle | Remove everything that is contrary to the Bible from the church. | Remove from the church all that is not necessary according to the Bible. |
| Holy book | Bible and Book of Concord | Bible only |
| Priesthood | Officially, it is only one of the worldly professions. | Rejected as a sacrament as well as in Lutheranism. A priest is only a person who performs duties by profession. |
| Ritual | Some ceremonies are allowed, including icons, but worship is not allowed. The church building is modest, but some images of saints are acceptable. | Not allowed, there are no chants, any images on the walls, even entertainment at the state level was forbidden. Of the images in the church, only a cross is permissible. |
| Monasticism | Previously attended, today officially - no. | Rejected. |
| The total number of parishioners | 85 million people | 50 million people |
| The sacraments | The main ordinances are baptism and communion. | The sacraments are rejected and do not matter in a creed, even a symbolic one. |
| Salvation concept | It was not revealed to the end, but implied salvation in faith. | Salvation was rejected, it was believed that the fall makes a person internally evil in spite of his will. |
| Religion spread | Scandinavian countries, Germany, Latvia, Estonia. | Switzerland, Netherlands, England, USA. |
| Church and state originally | Luther insisted on the separation of church and state and religious freedom. | Calvin was a supporter of the merger of the state and the church, which was carried out during his lifetime. The church was even involved in observing residents in their homes and families. |
The similarities between Lutheranism and Calvinism lie in the fact that these movements were originally reformist and originated from Protestantism.
The main similarities of the currents
Lutheranism and Calvinism, in fact, pursued a common goal - the reform of the church. Unlike Martin Luther, Jean Calvin went much further in his reforms. Among the similarities can be noted a symbolic rejection of the sacrament of the priesthood, as well as significant steps in the rejection of ritualism, although Calvinism in this regard has a more rigid direction.
Historical contradictions, geographical prerequisites and other reasons exerted quite a lot of pressure on both directions, and therefore religion itself, whether Calvinism or Lutheranism, has not survived to this day as a single current and church. Calvinists are split into three camps:
- Presbyterianism.
- Congregationalism.
- Reformism, which originally arose and has remained in Europe today as a true trend.
The similarities between Lutheranism and Calvinism are limited by this.
The differences between the two currents
Based on what Lutheranism is, Martin Luther himself was not able to fully determine the importance and essence of the sacred ordinances and the doctrine of salvation.
As it developed, Calvinism was the result of more stringent reforms than Lutheranism. The church in Switzerland was completely cleansed of works of art, monasticism was strictly rejected, while in Lutheranism it was preserved for a long time. In Calvinism, the initial attitude towards mysticism and something unknown was negative. Burning at the stake was practiced. The comparison of Lutheranism and Calvinism today has a different character.
About Lutheranism and Calvinism today
Lutheranism today is one of the most liberal religious movements, where there is no monasticism, but there is an ordination of females. The confessional direction of Lutheranism to this day leads disputes regarding the attitude to this issue, as well as the issue of same-sex marriage, but all disputes with the liberal current are limited only to talk.
Calvinism today has remained a fairly strict religion. True believers do not honor any holidays except Sunday, perform prayers in simple churches and even on the street. Many condemn Calvinism for being too simple.
Instead of a conclusion
When discussing the question of what Lutheranism is and what is its difference from Calvinism, you suddenly realize how, over the course of centuries, insignificant disagreements between Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli gave the world two branches of Christianity that are completely different in their orientation.
Over time, they were somewhat modified, but on the whole they retained their primacy.