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Johnson Hindin Genealogy
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 1497 - 1560
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| Born |
16 Feb 1497 |
Bretten, Germany  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
19 Apr 1560 |
Wittenberg, Germany |
| Person ID |
I6410 |
Johnson Hindin Tree |
| Last Modified |
29 Oct 2008 |
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| Notes |
- Philipp Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerd) (February 16, 1497- April 19, 1560) was a German professor and theologian, a key leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and a friend and associate of Martin Luther.
Early Life and Education
Melanchthon was born sometime in 1497, at Bretten, near Karlsruhe, where his father, Georg Schwarzerd, was armorer to Count Palatine Phillip.
In 1507 he was sent to the Latin school at Pforzheim, the rector of which, Georg Simler of Wimpfen, introduced him to the study of the Latin and Greek poets and of the philosophy of Aristotle. But he was chiefly influenced by his great-uncle, Johann Reuchlin, the great representative of humanism, who advised him to change his family name, Schwarzerd (literally Black-earth), into the Greek equivalent Melanchthon. Not yet thirteen years old, he entered in 1509 the University of Heidelberg where he studied philosophy, rhetoric, and astronomy, and was known as a good Greek scholar. Being refused the degree of master in 1512 on account of his youth, he went to Tübingen, where he pursued humanistic and philosophical studies, but devoted himself also to the study of jurisprudence, mathematics, astronomy, and even of medicine.
When, having completed his philosophical course, he had taken the degree of master in 1516, he began to study theology. Under the influence of men like Reuchlin and Erasmus he became convinced that true Christianity was something quite different from scholastic theology as it was taught at the university.
Professor at Wittenberg
The more strongly he felt the opposition of the scholastic party to the reforms instituted by him at the University of Tübingen, the more willingly he followed a call to Wittenberg as professor of Greek. He was highly esteemed by Luther, whose influence brought him to the study of Scripture and so to a more living knowledge of the Evangelical doctrine of salvation.
He was present at the disputation of Leipzig (1519) as a spectator, but influenced the discussion by his comments and suggestions, so that he gave Johann Eck an excuse for an attack. On account of the interest and accomplishments in theology, he was granted the degree of bachelor of theology, and was transferred to the theological faculty. Soon he was bound closer than ever to Wittenberg by his marriage to Katharina Krapp, the mayor's daughter, a marriage contracted at his friends' urgent request, and especially Luther's (Nov. 25, 1520).
Theological disputes
In the beginning of 1532, he defended Luther by proving that Luther rejected only papal practices which were at variance with Scripture, but not true philosophy and true Christianity.
In 1521, in close adherence to Luther, Melanchthon presented the new doctrine of Christianity. His purpose was not to give a systematic exposition of Christian faith, but a key to the right understanding of Scripture. Nevertheless, he continued to lecture on the classics, and might have given up his theological work altogether, if it had not been for Luther's urging. On a journey in 1524 to his native town, he was led to engage in negotiations with the papal legate who tried to draw him from Luther's cause, but without success either at that time or afterward. In 1528, without any direct attack upon the errors of the Roman Church, he presented clearly the Evangelical doctrine of salvation.
In 1529 he accompanied the elector to the Diet of Speyer to represent the Evangelical cause. His hopes of inducing the imperial party to a peaceable recognition of the Reformation were not fulfilled. He later repented of the friendly attitude shown by him toward the Swiss at the diet, calling Zwingli's doctrine of the Lord's Supper "an impious dogma" and confirming Luther in his attitude of non-acceptance.
The composition now known as the Augsburg Confession was laid before the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, and would come to be considered perhaps the most significant document of the Protestant Reformation. While the confession was based on Luther's Marburgand and Schwabach articles, it was mainly the work of Melanchthon. Although commonly thought of as a unified statement of doctrine by the two reformers, Luther did not conceal the fact his dissatisfaction with ironic tone of the confession. Melanchthon's subsequent Apology of the Augsburg Confession reveals further doctrinal strains with Luther.
Relations with Luther
The personal relation of the two great Reformers had to stand many a test in those years, for many tried to stir up Luther against Melanchthon, so that his stay at Wittenberg seemed to Melanchthon at times almost unbearable, and he compared himself to "Prometheus chained to the Caucasus."
In October 1540, Melanchthon took an important part in the religious colloquy of Worms, where he defended clearly and firmly the doctrines of the Augsburg Confession.
His views concerning the Lord's Supper aroused severe criticism on the part of Luther who wished a clear statement as to "whether the true body and blood were received physically." Luther gave free vent to his displeasure from the pulpit, and Melanchthon expected to be banished from Wittenberg. Further outbreaks of his anger were warded off by the efforts of others; but from that time Melanchthon had to suffer from the ill-temper of Luther, and was besides afflicted by various domestic troubles. The death of Luther, on February 18, 1546, affected him in the most painful manner, not only because of the common course of their lives and struggles, but also because of the great loss that he believed was suffered by the Protestant Church.
Phillip's caution and reservation did not hinder his opponents from continually working against him, accusing him of synergism and Zwinglianism. Nevertheless, Melanchthon persevered in his efforts for the peace of the Church.
More than anything else the controversies on the Lord's Supper embittered the last years of his life. The renewal of this dispute was due to the victory in the Reformed Church of the Calvinistic doctrine and its influence upon Germany. To its tenets Melanchthon never gave his assent, nor did he use its characteristic formulas. The personal presence and self-impartation of Christ in the Lord's Supper were especially important for Melanchthon; but he did not definitely state how body and blood are related to this. Although rejecting the physical act of mastication, he nevertheless assumed the real presence of the body of Christ and therefore also a real self-impartation. Melanchthon differed from Calvin also in emphasizing the relation of the Lord's Supper to justification.
Death
In the midst of numerous theological dissensions, Philip died. The immediate cause of death was a severe cold which he had contracted on a journey to Leipzig in March, 1560, followed by a fever that consumed his strength, weakened by many sufferings. The only care that occupied him until his last moment was the desolate condition of the Church. He strengthened himself in almost uninterrupted prayer, and in listening to passages of Scripture. His body was laid beside Luther's in Wittenberg.
Melanchthon's importance for the Reformation lay essentially in the fact that he systematized Luther's ideas, defended them in public, and made them the basis of a religious education. These two, by complementing each other, could be said to have harmoniously achieved the results of the Reformation. Melanchthon was impelled by Luther to work for the Reformation; his own inclinations would have kept him a student. Without Luther's influence Melanchthon would have been "a second Erasmus," although his heart was filled with a deep religious interest in the Reformation. While Luther scattered the sparks among the people, Melanchthon by his humanistic studies won the sympathy of educated people and scholars for the Reformation. Aside Luther's strength of faith, Melanchthon's many sidedness and calmness, his temperance and love of peace, had a share in the success of the movement.
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