In the year 1519, at Leipzig, occurred the famous public disputation between Luther and Carlstadt an the one side and Eck on the other, upon the questions at issue. The result was barren. Both sides claimed the victory and the contestants parted unchanged in their respec tive attitudes. The Leipzig disputation only precipitated a long and bitter controversy, and Luther remained as determined in his opposi tion as ever. Militz tried once more to make peace, and met Luther for a second time at Liebenwerde. But the conference was again without fruit. Luther's position had now grown more and more radical, though as yet there was no formal, complete and definite rup ture with Rome. The controversy by this time had spread throughout all Germany, and princes and people were arrayed in hitter fac tions over the issue. Early in 1520 Luther ap pealed to Charles V, who had succeeded the Emperor Maximilian. He also addressed let ters to the bishops of Mainz and Merseburg to enlist them in his cause. The bishop of Mainz. in his reply, treated the questions at issue as of a trivial and frivolous character, and the bishop of Merseburg repudiates Luther's posi tion and exhorts him to submit. Among his friends at this time were Willibad Pirkheimer and Albrecht Muer, though they did not follow him when the formal break with Rome came. Ulrich Von Hutten encouraged and urged him forward. Franz von Sickingen and Sylvester von Schaumberg declared their readiness to put a number of armed knights in the field for him, should it be necessary. Two notable books now appeared from Luther's pen defining his attitude: To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation,' and the 'Babylonian Captiv ity.) In the former he proclaims the universal priesthood and declares against any especially instituted priestly order. He also contests the right of the Pope to interpret the Bible, which he declares to be free to everybody. He like wise inveighs against the Pope's exclusive right to summon a general council. In the 'Baby lonian Captivity' he altogether repudiates the doctrine of indulgences, holds that the papacy is nothing but Babylon, and reduces the sacra ments to three only — °Baptism, Penance, and The latter work was in preparation when the bull of excommunication against Luther arrived in Germany.
The attitude of Luther was more and more one of outspoken opposition to the Pope and to the doctrines of the Church itself, and so far had his opposition now advanced that the Ro man authorities decided to proceed to extreme measures to crush it. In October 1520, there fore, the memorable bull excommunicating Luther and his friends was published at Leip zig. His writings were burned at Rome, Co logne and Louvain. The answer to the papal bull was characteristic of Luther. At Witten berg, 10 Dec. 1520, he burned the bull of ex communication and the decretals of the papal canon. By this act he dissolved all connection with the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Frederick, the elector of Saxony, doubted whether he should protect him. But the Ger man noblemen, Hutten, Sickingen, Schaum burg, whom he called upon to defend the new opinions, hailed him as the champion of reli gious liberty and offered him the protection of their fortresses and their arms. On 28 January Charles V opened the Diet of Worms and com manded Frederick to bring Luther with him to appear before that body to answer for his con duct. Frederick demurred, on the plea of his fear for the safety of his protégé. When, how ever, Luther's opinion was asked, he declared that he was ready to appear, and that not even illness would hold him back. In the meantime Charles had revoked his command in order to allow the 60 days to pass granted by the bull of excommunication. Another papal bull was issued, however, after the burning of the first, in which Luther was definitely declared a here tic, and an interdict put upon all places har boring him. Summoned a second time, before the Diet, he expressed his willingness, if he were granted a safe conduct, which was ac corded him by the emperor. He was met by
about 2,000 persons on foot and on horseback at the distance of a league from Worms. When the palatine sent a messenger to warn him of his danger he answered, "If there were as many devils in Worms as there are tiles upon the roofs of its houses I would go Before the emperor, the Archduke Ferdinand, 6 elec tors, 24 dukes, 7 margraves, 30 bishops and prelates and many princes, counts, lords and ambassadors, Luther appeared, 17 April, in the Imperial Diet, acknowledged all his writings, and on the following day made his defense be fore the assembly. The conclusion of his speech has been transmitted from generation to generation as follows: °Let me then be re futed and convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by the clearest arguments, other wise I cannot and will not recant, for it is neither safe nor expedient to act against con science. Here I take my stand; I can do no otherwise, so help me God! Amen?) Whether or not this is historically correct (and its form is certainly very doubtful) makes little differ ence: the fact is beyond that he did stand firm and refuse to yield or recant. Fred erick the Wise conveyed him privately to the Wartburg to save his life. Luther took advan tage of this retirement to translate the New Testament into German. But this seclusion con tinued only 10 months. When informed of the disturbances excited by Carlstadt on the sub ject of images he could no longer endure re straint, notwithstanding the new outlawry which the emperor had issued against him at Nuremberg; and at the risk of provoking the displeasure of the elector he hastened to Wit tenberg through the territory of George, Duke of Saxony, who was one of his most bitter enemies. The sermons which he delivered for eight successive days after his return (in March 1522) to quell the violence of the en raged insurgents in Wittenberg are patterns of vigorous and popular eloquence.
Amidst these disputes and attacks his plans for a total reformation of the Church were matured. In 1523 at Wittenberg he began to revise the liturgy, and in 1524 laid aside his cowl. In 1525 Luther married Katharina von Bora, who some years previously had left the cloister and joined the reformed religion. He prepared, from 1526 to 1529, a new church serv ice, corresponding to his ideas of the doctrines of the gospel, under the patronage of the elec tor and with the aid of Melanchthon (q.v.) and other members of the Saxony Church. His larger and smaller catechisms, to be used in schools, were also of great service. An unsuc cessful effort was made in 1529 at Marburg, in a conference between Luther and Zwingli, the Swiss reformer, to bring the German and Swiss movements into harmony. But Luther's per emptory refusal to accept Zwingli's views upon the question of the Lord's Supper precluded any possibility of agreement. The !Reforma tion (q.v.) spread rapidly, and the Augsburg Confession, the earliest symbol of Lutheran Protestantism, was drafted by Melanchthon from articles prepared by Luther. During all these years he waged a ceaseless polemic against Rome, and made strenuous efforts to establish harmony among German Protestants. The in tolerance which he manifested toward the Swiss reformers, because their views differed from his own in regard to the Lord's Supper, shows that he was not yet ready to grant that liberty to others which he demanded for him self. He was in this matter the chief cause of the separation which took place between the Calvinists and the Lutherans. The rapidity with which the Reformation advanced after the Confession of Augsburg in 1530 rendered the papal hulls and the imperial edicts againSt Luther ineffectual. In 1537 Luther wrote the Schmalkaldic articles; he gave no heed to the ambassadors of Brandenburg and Anhalt, who were sent in 1541 by the Diet pf Ratishon to make him more submissive to the Church, and in 1545 he refused to participate in the Coun cil of Trent.