Aardvark Alley

Lutheran Aardvark

Confessional Lutheran theology, hagiography, philosophy, music, culture, sports, education, and whatever else is on the fevered mind of Orycteropus Afer

09 November 2014
  + Martin Chemnitz, Pastor and Theologian +
9 November AD 1522 – 8 April AD 1586

Martin ChemnitzToday marks the birthday of Martin Chemnitz, Pastor and Confessor. We regard him as, after Martin Luther, the Lutheran Church's most important theologian. He possessed a penetrating intellect and an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Scripture and the Church Fathers combined with a genuine love for the Church.

Doctrinal quarrels after Luther's death in 1546 led Chemnitz to give himself fully to the restoration of unity in the Lutheran Church. He became the leading spirit and a principal author of the 1577 Formula of Concord, which settled the doctrinal disputes on the basis of the Scriptures and largely succeeded in restoring unity among Lutherans. Work on the Formula led Chemnitz and others to gather all the normative doctrinal statements confessed by the Lutherans, from the ancient creeds through the Evangelical writings of the 16th Century, into one volume, the Book of Concord.

Chemnitz also authored the four volume Examination of the Council of Trent (1565-1573). This monumental work saw him rigorously subjecting the pronouncements of this Roman Catholic Council to judgment by Scripture and the Church Fathers. The Examination is the definitive Lutheran answer to the Concilium Tridentinum and an outstanding exposition of the faith of the Augsburg Confession.

WittenbergWhile he was an outstanding academic, Chemnitz also ably served in church administration. He joined the Wittenberg University faculty in January 1554 and was ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry by Johannes Bugenhagen in November of that same year. Then, after several years as co-adjutor of the churches in the region of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, he became Superintendent (ecclesiastical supervisor), holding the post until his death. In this capacity, he worked diligently to balance the congregations' autonomy, particularly in calling pastors, with input and oversight by the the area ministerium.

As theologian and a churchman, "the Second Martin" was truly a gift of God to the Church. This is why the expression was coined, Si Martinus non fuisset, Martinus vix stetisset. ("If Martin [Chemnitz] had not come along, Martin [Luther] would hardly have survived.")

For a thorough yet highly readable biography, I recommend The Second Martin by J. A. O. Preus. And even though it spans four thick volumes, I found myself sailing through Fred Kramer's translation of the Examination of the Council of Trent. Believe it or not, Dr. Kramer caught Chemnitz's sense of humor to such a degree that I regularly chuckled to myself — and even laughed aloud a few times. I also recommend Two Natures in Christ and just about anything else he wrote.

As sometimes happens with other noted Christians, Chemnitz's commemoration was transferred from his death date to that of his birth in order to move it away from Holy Week and Eastertide. This also puts him in proximity with Luther's birthday and with the commemoration of Saint Martin of Tours, for whom Luther and Chemnitz both were named. Their shared names illustrates the practice of naming people for saints commemorated on their baptismal days.

Tags: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 
Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home
Aurous Effluence
Golden Nuggets from the Aardchives
Fresh Spoor
Recent Posts

Dried Droppings
Complete Archives

2005.06 / 2005.07 / 2005.08 / 2005.09 / 2005.10 / 2005.11 / 2005.12 / 2006.01 / 2006.02 / 2006.03 / 2006.04 / 2006.05 / 2006.06 / 2006.07 / 2006.08 / 2006.09 / 2006.10 / 2006.11 / 2006.12 / 2007.01 / 2007.02 / 2007.03 / 2007.04 / 2007.05 / 2007.06 / 2007.07 / 2007.08 / 2007.09 / 2007.10 / 2007.11 / 2007.12 / 2008.01 / 2008.02 / 2008.03 / 2008.04 / 2008.05 / 2008.06 / 2008.07 / 2008.08 / 2008.09 / 2008.10 / 2008.11 / 2008.12 / 2009.01 / 2009.02 / 2009.03 / 2009.04 / 2009.05 / 2009.06 / 2009.07 / 2010.01 / 2010.10 / 2010.11 / 2011.01 / 2011.02 / 2011.03 / 2011.04 / 2011.05 / 2011.06 / 2011.07 / 2011.08 / 2011.09 / 2011.10 / 2011.11 / 2011.12 / 2012.01 / 2012.02 / 2012.03 / 2012.04 / 2012.05 / 2012.06 / 2012.07 / 2012.08 / 2012.09 / 2012.10 / 2012.11 / 2012.12 / 2013.01 / 2013.02 / 2013.03 / 2013.04 / 2013.05 / 2013.06 / 2013.07 / 2013.08 / 2013.09 / 2013.10 / 2013.11 / 2013.12 / 2014.01 / 2014.02 / 2014.03 / 2014.04 / 2014.05 / 2014.06 / 2014.07 / 2014.08 / 2014.09 / 2014.10 / 2014.11 / 2014.12 / 2015.01 / 2015.02 / 2015.03 / 2015.04 / 2015.05 / 2015.06 / 2015.07 / 2015.08 / 2015.09 / 2015.10 / 2015.11 / 2015.12 / 2016.01 / 2016.02 / 2016.03 / 2016.04 / 2016.05 / 2016.06 / 2016.07 / 2016.08 / 2016.09 / 2016.10 / 2016.11 / 2016.12 / 2017.01 / 2017.02 / 2017.03 / 2017.04 / 2017.05 / 2017.06 / 2017.07 / 2017.08 /

Home of the Aardie
Aardie: The Golden Aardvark Aaward
The Golden Aardvark Aaward

Why the Aardvark?
My Raison d’être
The aardvark is a "down & dirty" critter that spends its life rooting yucky things out of their dark haunts and feasting on their carcasses. Nuff said?

Stay in Touch
Send an E-mail

or
visit aardie on

Create Your Badge

The Big Blogroll O' Vark
& Other Links

Odds 'n' Ends

Site Feed Feedburner
Subscribe in NewsGator Online Add Yahoo News Feed
http://www.wikio.com

eXTReMe Tracker


Aardvark Alley BBOV
CAT-41 Xrysostom
Ask the Pastor Luther Library
Lutheran Confessions The Wittenberg Trail
Cyberbrethren Cranach
Lutheran Blog Directory The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Old Lutheran WorldMag.com
Blogdom of God The G.O.P.
StL Cards Kansas University Jayhawks
Dallas Cowboys KC Chiefs
Wikipedia Bloggernity Search Directory
Spam Poison Blog Universe
Globe of Blogs Blogarama - The Blog Directory
Blogdigger Get Firefox
Blogz Pro-Life Blogs
Listed in LS Blogs Blog Directory & Search engine
PLAZOO Blurt It!
Boing Boing Lileks.com
Coffee Sage January
Luther at the Movies


Lutheran Tidbit of the Day @ www.oldlutheran.com




Terror Alert Level
Terror Alert Level

My Bloginality is ENTP

Add to Technorati Favorites

Technorati search

My Photo
Name:

Ask not what blogging can do for you but what you can do for blogging.


Powered by Blogger