The Quincentenary of the Protestant Reformation in Germany

In Germany, preparations for the celebration of the quincentenary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017 began already before 2008. At that time, organizers made several important decisions. The Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) and the Federal Government, along with the governments of the states with sites where Luther had lived and the magistrates of several cities with close ties to Luther’s legacy (like Worms and Augsburg), all agreed to commemorate the quincentenary together. Church and state organizers set up joint bodies in charge of the quincentenary, including a Governing Board, a Supervising Agency, and an Academic Advisory Council. The years from 2008 until 2017 were designated as a special decade leading up to the quincentennial year. Beginning in 2008 each year highlighted a special aspect of the legacy of the Reformation, such as confession, education, politics, the arts, music, tolerance, and the Bible. In 2008 the organizers made the decision to place Martin Luther at center stage. Therefore the span of ten years leading up to 2017 was named the Luther decade, not the Reformation decade. The logo for the event showed Martin Luther, and in the following years most activities concentrated on Martin Luther’s life and works. Also in 2008, Wolfgang Huber, then chair of the council of the EKD called the Lutherdekade a decade of liberty: Dekade der Freiheit.

By now, in the last year of the Luther decade, preparations for 2017 are almost complete. The official program consists of the following elements. Events are planned in no less than sixty European cities that had a special connection with the Protestant Reformation, for example, Strasbourg and Geneva. In 2017 no fewer than six regional church congresses will take place in cities in eastern Germany, to be followed by one large national Evangelical church congress to be held in Berlin and Wittenberg. A festive church service, Festgottesdienst, will be held on May 28, 2017, the Sunday before Pentecost. Four national exhibitions will be shown: in Torgau, on the Wartburg, in Wittenberg, and in Berlin. The largest of these exhibitions, the one in Wittenberg with the title “Gateways to Liberty,” will be on display from May until September 2017. Camps for young people about to celebrate confirmation will be organized, also in Wittenberg, in the summer of 2017.

By now (the beginning of 2016), much has been achieved. For example, with the help of federal funds, the restoration of the original sites of the Reformation in Wittenberg, Eisleben, and other places, has achieved stunning results. Also, during the Luther decade, some excellent local exhibitions have been shown, and some wonderful concerts were given, thus giving Germans much to enjoy. In my view, however, some of the problems that an event like the quincentenary of the Protestant Reformation implies, have not been addressed as they should have been, and have not been solved as they should have been solved, and I am not alone with this opinion. Let me give some examples.

To some, the date of the major church service, to be held on May 28, 2017, may seem like a minor matter. In my view, it is not. Why not hold this service on the day which everyone connects with the beginning of the Reformation, and that is October 31st? Although there is no public statement concerning this matter by the organizers, the reason for choosing the date in May seems clear. 2017 is a year in which federal elections will be held in Germany. These elections must be held sometime between late August and early October. By moving the national Evangelical church congress and the Festgottesdienst into May, the organizers hope to avoid a conflict between the Reformation festivities and the final weeks of the election campaign as well as the beginning of negotiations for a new coalition. Is it too harsh to say that the organizers of the quincentennial commemoration have here shown some faint-heartedness? Why let politics determine the agenda of the quincentenary? Why not commemorate on October 31st? That is exactly the day when Martin Luther, even though he was demanding some reforms, was still an...