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Hermann Sasse | |
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| Born | Hermann Otto Erich Sasse (1895-07-17)17 July 1895 |
| Died | 9 August 1976(1976-08-09) (aged 81) Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Pastor, theologian, author |
| Notable work | Here We Stand This Is My Body |
| Movement | Confessional Lutheranism |
| Spouse | Charlotte Margarete Naumann |
Hermann Otto Erich Sasse (17 July 1895 – 9 August 1976) was a GermanLutheran pastor, theologian, and author. He was considered one of the foremostconfessional Lutheran theologians of the 20th century.[1]
Sasse was born on 17 July 1895 inSonnewalde,Lower Lusatia,Germany, to Hermann Sasse, a pharmacist, and his wife Maria, née Berger. In 1913, he began reading theology and ancientphilology at theUniversity of Berlin. He was a German infantryman inWorld War I, in which he was one of only six men in his battalion to survive thetrench warfare inFlanders.[1]
Sasse began his career under the influence of thetheological liberalism of his teachers, such asAdolf Harnack. He was ordained on 13 June 1920 in St Matthew's Church inBerlin and thereafter served several parishes inBrandenburg, He took thelicentiate in theology in 1923. He spent a year (1925-1926) as an exchange student atHartford Theological Seminary in the United States, where he earned a master's degree. Sasse returned to Germany to take up a teaching position atUniversity of Erlangen.[1]
He married Charlotte Margarete Naumann on 11 September 1928 at St. Nicolai's Church inOranienburg, Germany. They had three children together. During the Depression, he was aSozialpfarrer (pastor with social duties) among factory workers in Berlin.[1]
During this period, he became an active participant in theecumenical movement. He attended the first world conference of theFaith and Order Movement inLausanne, Switzerland in 1927 as a delegate and translator. He also attended theConference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments inGeneva in 1932.[1]
In the early 1930s, he emerged as a vocal critic of theNazi Party and Germany's new chancellor,Adolf Hitler, as part of theConfessing Church Movement led byMartin Niemöller. While he did not sign the 1934Barmen Declaration, he did author, withDietrich Bonhoeffer and others, the first draft of the lesser known Bethel Confession of 1933, which addressed the treatment of Jews. However, he left the Confessing Church in 1934 because he believed it was improperly taking church authority for itself.[1]
In 1933, he became a professor of church history at theUniversity of Erlangen inBavaria. The Nazi government took away his passport in 1935, but he was able to continue working throughout the Nazi era because he was a popular lecturer and the dean of the faculty was able to protect him.[1]
In 1948, he opposed the formation of theEvangelical Church in Germany, in part because he distrusted state-supported university faculties of theology. As a result, he joined the Lutheran Free Church.[1]
In 1949, Sasse emigrated toAdelaide, South Australia, where he served on the faculty ofImmanuel Seminary of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia. He was heavily involved in the effort merging that body with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia to create theLutheran Church of Australia in 1966.[1]
Sasse remained involved in Lutheranism throughout the world. He was known in the United States as "Mr. Lutheran" and regularly corresponded with Lutheran leaders there and elsewhere. A noted conservative voice in Lutheranism, his theological research focused on Scripture as Word of God and on theEucharist. He was involved with the Australian Roman Catholic-Lutheran dialogue from its beginnings.[1]
Sasse retired from teaching in 1969. TheFederal Republic of Germany appointed him to theOrder of Merit. He died in a fire at his home in North Adelaide on 9 August 1976 and was buried inCentennial Park Cemetery.[1]
Sasse published 479 works during his lifetime.[1] Some of the more notable ones are:
