Der “Unterricht der Visitatoren” und die Durchsetzung der Reformation in Kursachsen ed. by Joachim Bauer and Stefan Michel (review)

The electoral Saxon government’s visitation of parishes in 1527 and 1528 not only officially introduced Reformation practice to Luther’s homeland. It also constituted a series of experiments to test how evangelical visitation and promotion of reform might take place. Furthermore, through the Instruction for the Visitors published in 1528, those responsible for the visitation explored how evangelical church ordinances might be formulated. Not intended to take on permanent significance, the document nonetheless marks a critical stage in the development of ecclesiastical and social life under the impact of Luther’s and Melanchthon’s teaching. Yet it has commanded relatively little scholarly attention in recent years. This volume provides valuable micro-studies of aspects of the Instruction, the document’s context and contents. Its fourteen essays are arranged under two topics: “Political, Theological, and Juridical Presuppositions of the Electoral Saxon Visitation,” and “The Implementation of Reformational Concerns” in the Instruction. Not all essays can be mentioned here, but the following provide invitations to explore the whole of this most helpful collection.

Eike Wolgast’s survey and analysis of the introduction of the Reformation in the German-speaking lands describes the relationships of the church and territorial governments in the late Middle Ages and then assesses the dominant concerns and the normal methods for the advance of reforms under governmental guidance, with the aid of the preachers and other local leaders. Wolgast details six impacts of the Reformation, including the changes in social structure that resulted from the creation of a new social standing for married clergy and the need for noble families to divert children from monastic careers into other callings.

Joachim Bauer provides an overview of the historical context of the document, sketching the relationship of the Saxon government to the church in the decades leading up to the Reformation. The personnel who planned and managed the visitation and those involved indirectly and directly in fashioning the text of the Instruction occupy Dagmar Blaha, who assesses the secular visitors and their personalities, agendas, and contributions to the effort, and Stefan Michel, whose perceptive appraisal of the theologians not only illuminates an important aspect of the visitations and the Instruction but also the nature and functioning of the inner core of the Wittenberg circle in general. Konrad Amann analyzes particularly the legal memoranda from the pen of Hieronymus Schurff that informed the visitors’ decision-making regarding the legal aspects of their task.

Christopher Spehr focuses on Luther’s treatment of the role of the prince in ecclesiastical affairs, ascribing to him a “quasi-episcopal office” as an “emergency bishop,” which for him, like every leadership function in the church, was bound to serve the gospel.

Most significant are the findings of Siegrid Westphal, who poses the question whether the Instruction served as an instrument for princely control of the church and thus as a program for princely-pastoral social disciplining. She demonstrates that the general search for and longing for peace in the land (Landesfrieden) permeated public discussion and the public consciousness of late-medieval German society. She details the involvement of nobles, towns, and other political entities in this search for peace and order. Seeking that peace and order was not at all simply a means for enhancing the power of the prince. Thus, the Instruction was written as a program for establishing and insuring the public peace.

Volker Leppin’s examination of the Instruction as a program for cultivating evangelical piety highlights the concern for practical implementation of the distinction of law and gospel through a life of repentance that took seriously living according to the Decalogue on the basis of the gospel conveyed in the proclaimed Word of God and the sacraments. Ernst Koch analyzes specifically how Johann Agricola’s challenge to Luther’s distinguishing law and gospel played a role in the deliberations...