About this Issue

Luther as translator continues to attract close study and wide appreciation, from his New Testament exactly 500 years ago through the Wittenberg teamwork on the entire "Luther Bible." Gordon Jensen has isolated the very few words in the latter's first printing in 1534 that were highlighted, namely, in all capital letters. This handful of short phrases, argues Jensen further, strategically reflects the heart of Luther's biblical message overall. Author of The Wittenberg Concord (LQ Books/Fortress, 2018), Jensen is the Dean and Professor of Theology at Lutheran Theological Seminary, 1121 College Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N OW3, CANADA; gordon.jensen@usask.ca.

Birgit Stolt bridged countries (Sweden and Germany) and scholarly disciplines (rhetoric, linguistics, bi-lingual literature, translation theory, and Luther studies). We at Lutheran Quarterly were honored to publish some small samples of her work. We were hoping for more, specifically regarding the 500th anniversary of Luther's German New Testament, but then learned of her death on Easter 2020. Carl Springer here summarizes her unusual and stellar career in Luther studies, especially the Reformer's "rhetoric of the heart." Springer is Professor of Modern and Classical Languages and Literature at the University of Tennessee—Chattanooga, 481 E. Jackson Rd, Webster Groves, MO 63119; carl-springer@utc.edu.

Early on, there was little scholarly need for "Luther in Danish," reports Anna Vind, since Denmark's clergy read Latin and German. Yet the Small Catechism and a few other catechetical works such as hymns were quickly translated for lay use. Debates between Pietists and the Enlightenment stimulated further translations, as did various revivals, but only recent generations have enjoyed large-scale translation projects. Vind is Head of the Church History Section of the Theology Faculty at the University of Copenhagen, Karen Blixens Plads 16, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark; av@teol.ku.dk.

Events worthy of Reformation quincentennials may seem fewer and less dramatic after Luther was excommunicated and then condemned as a criminal in 1521, but he kept writing works of momentous significance. Author of Reforming Mary (Oxford, 2004), Beth Kreitzer introduces excerpts of the Reformer's striking commentary on Mary's "Magnificat," also from 1521. Kreitzer has taught at Belmont Abbey College and Marymount California University, and can be reached at b_kreitzer@yahoo.com; 27904 Ridgebluff Ct., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275.

Several brief documents about one or two Eastern Orthodox visits to Wittenberg in 1534 were recently presented as "Texts, for the Record" in LQ 32 (2018): 428–34. Timothy J. Wengert takes a closer look at the first of these texts, a letter from Melanchthon, and concludes that there was one visitor not two, namely, an Ethiopian Deacon named Michael. Further, the letter gives a brief indication of Philip's "proto-ecumenical" perspective on the Eastern church. Associate Editor Wengert is writing his Melanchthon biography at 1029 Rockport Road, Hackettstown, NJ 07840; tjwengert@comcast.net.