Leipzig Debate
The Leipzig Debate (
95 Theses and so challenged Johann Eck, a professor of theology at the University of Ingolstadt, to a public debate concerning the doctrines of free will and grace. The Leipzig Debate took place in June and July 1519 at Pleissenburg Castle in Leipzig, Germany. Its purpose was to discuss Martin Luther's teachings and was initiated and conducted in the presence of George, Duke of Saxony, an opponent of Luther. Eck, considered the master debater in the Holy Roman Empire, was concerned about clerical abuses, but his life's work had been dedicated to the defence of Catholic teachings and combating heresy.[1]
Eck invited Luther to join the debate, and when Luther arrived in July, he and Eck expanded the terms of the debate to include matters such as the existence of
papal authority.[2]
Also, Luther's position (also supported by Erasmus) on burning heretics was later summarized as one of the positions (or errors) specifically censured in Exsurge Domine "Haereticos comburi est contra voluntatem Spiritus" (It is contrary to the Spirit to burn heretics).[3][4]
The debate led Pope Leo X to censor Luther and threaten him with excommunication from the Catholic Church in his June 1520 papal bull, Exsurge Domine, which banned Luther's views from being preached or written.
Participants
- Representatives from Wittenberg
-
-
Andreas Karlstadt -
Philipp Melanchthon -
Nikolaus von Amsdorf
- Representative from Ingolstadt
-
Johannes Eck
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-7487-8266-6.
- ISBN 978-0199208944.
- ^ Fredericq, Paul (1900). Corpus Documentorum Inquisitionis Haereticae Pravitatis Neerlandicae: Verzameling Van Stukken Pauselijke en Bisschoppelijke Inquisitie in de Nederlanden (in Dutch). Vuylsteke.
- ^ Bainton, Roland H. (1950). Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Abingdon-Cokesbury Press., pp. 145–147.
