Gnesio-Lutherans (from Greek γνήσιος [gnesios]: genuine, authentic)[1] is a modern name for a theological party in theLutheran churches,[2] in opposition to thePhilippists[3] after the death ofMartin Luther and before theFormula of Concord. In their own day they were calledFlacians by their opponents and simply Lutherans by themselves. LaterFlacian became to mean an adherent ofMatthias Flacius' view of original sin, rejected by theFormula of Concord. In a broader meaning, the termGnesio-Lutheran is associated mostly with the defence of the doctrine ofReal Presence, along with the practice Eucharistic adoration.[4]
The centres of Gnesio-Lutherans wereMagdeburg and theUniversity of Jena.
Other notable Gnesio-Lutherans includeCaspar Aquila,Joachim Westphal,Johann Wigand, Matthäus Judex,Joachim Mörlin,Erasmus Sarcerius, andAegidius Hunnius.
After the death ofMartin Luther, several theological controversies arose amongLutherans due mostly to the teachings ofPhilip Melanchthon. Gnesio-Lutherans were profiled by defending Martin Luther's doctrine, led initially byMatthias Flacius. The Gnesio-Lutherans exercised strict doctrinal discipline, but they also opposed with equal determination what they considered to be the errors of their fellow combatants like von Amsdorf (Amsdorfians), Flacius (Flacians),Andreas Poach, and others.
Gnesio-Lutherans were involved in:
The Crypto-Calvinistic controversy was the largest of the controversies of the second generation of the Lutheran Reformation. Since it was far more fundamental to the Lutheran Church, Lutherans outside of the Flacian party took the Gnesio-Lutheran position against Philippism and Crypto-Calvinism. In the middle between thePhilippists and the Gnesio-Lutherans, the Centrist Party includedJohannes Brenz,Jakob Andreae,Martin Chemnitz,Nikolaus Selnecker,David Chytraeus,Andreas Musculus, and others.
Unlike the Gnesio-Lutherans, members of the centre party were opposed to any unnecessary controversies involving no doctrinal differences, and careful not to fall into any extreme position themselves. The Gnesio-LutheranJoachim Westphal was first to write to defend theReal Presence against theCalvinists, and Melanchthon stigmatized his and other Gnesio-Lutherans' doctrine as "bread worship".[5] The Gnesio-Lutherans practiceEucharistic adoration, following Martin Luther's treatise titledThe Adoration of the Sacrament, in which he defended the practice of Eucharistic adoration.[4]
Authority control databases: National |
|---|
