Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran ChurchBente, F. (Friedrich)
Religion
Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
Bente, F. (Friedrich)
Formula Concordiae -- Catechisms; Lutheran Church -- Catechisms
The Apology, as revised and published by Melanchthon, was a private
work. His name, therefore, appeared on the title-page of the edition of
1531, which was not the case with respect to the Confession and Apology
presented at Augsburg. The latter were official documents, drawn up by
order of the Lutheran princes and estates, while the revised Apology was
an undertaking for which Melanchthon had received no commission.
Accordingly, as he was not justified in publishing a work of his own
under the name of the princes, there was nothing else for him to do than
to affix his own signature. In the Preface to the Apology he says: "As
it passed through the press, I made some additions. Therefore I give my
name, so that no one can complain that the book has been published
anonymously." (100.) Melanchthon did not wish to make any one beside
himself responsible for the contents of the revised Apology.
Before long, however, the Apology received official recognition. At
Schweinfurt, 1532, in opposition to the Papists, the Lutherans appealed
to the Augustana and Apology as the confession of their faith,
designating the latter as "the defense and explanation of the
Confession." And when the Papists advanced the claim that the Lutherans
had gone farther in the Apology than in the Augustana, and, April 11,
1532, demanded that they abide by the Augustana, refrain from making the
Apology their confession, and accordingly substitute "Assertion" for the
title "Apology," the Lutherans, considering the Apology to be the
adequate expression of their faith, insisted on the original title.
April 17 they declared: "This book was called Apology because it was
presented to Caesar after the Confession; nor could they suffer its
doctrine and the Word of God to be bound and limited, or their preachers
restricted to teach nothing else than the letter of the Augsburg
Confession, thus making it impossible for them to rebuke freely and most
fully all doctrinal errors, abuses, sins, and crimes. _Nominatum fuisse
Apologiam scriptum illud, quod Caesari post Confessionem exhibitum sit,
neque se pati posse, ut doctrina sua et Verbum Dei congustetur,
imminuatur et concionatores astringantur, ut nihil aliud praedicent
quam ad litteram Augustanae Confessionis, neque libere et plenissime
adversus omnes errores doctrinae, abusus, peccata et crimina dicere
possint._" Hereupon the Romanists, on April 22, demanded that at least a
qualifying explanation be added to the title Apology. Brueck answered on
the 23d: "It is not possible to omit this word. The Apology is the
correlate of the Confession. Still the princes and their associates do
not wish any articles taught other than those which have so far begun to
be discussed. _Omitti istud verbum non posse; Apologiam esse correlatum
Confessionis; nolle tamen Principes et socios, ut alii articuli
docerentur quam huiusque tractari coepti sint_." (Koellner, 430.)
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