Reformation and printing led to emancipation

Reformation and printing led to emancipation

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) at the roundtable discussion at Berlin’s Gorki Theater © Jorg Carstensen

Angela Merkel will attend the festive service in Wittenberg on Reformation Day and deliver the keynote address at the state ceremony. In the run-up to the event, she emphasized the importance of the Reformation for history.

Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has celebrated the 500th anniversary of the. Reformation anniversary next Tuesday recognized as important day. The Reformation set many sociopolitical things in motion, but it would have been unthinkable without the invention of printing, Merkel said in her video podcast distributed Saturday. The translation of the Bible into German by Martin Luther (1483-1546) and the printing of books had "led to a spread of Christian doctrine, but with it also to emancipation," Merkel said. It is worthwhile to reflect on the changes of that time in order to better understand today’s world.

According to Merkel, the Reformation celebrations showed Luther from different sides, who, like every human being, had incredible strengths, but also weaknesses. It is important, for example, to report very critically on his statements about Judaism: "For me, that is the complete, historical reception that we need."Nevertheless, Luther has always been an encouragement to her personally," said Merkel, who grew up in a Protestant parsonage.

Reformation shaped relationship between church and state

The chancellor praised Luther as a down-to-earth and irrepressible worker who had "a very clear picture regarding God and the world". From his point of view, man should not simply resign himself to his fate, but has the freedom to take responsibility for others. "That’s what I think is significant about Luther," Merkel emphasized.

In Germany, the chancellor spoke of a "very interesting relationship between church and state" that was also very much shaped by the Reformation. The separation of church and state was not as complete as, for example, in France through laicism, Merkel said. She referred to the treaties between church and state and to the reference to God in the preamble to the Basic Law.

Review of the Luther Year

As the Reformation year draws to a close, the makers of the three national special exhibitions on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation are slowly taking stock. Reformation anniversary largely satisfied. In total, well over half a million guests had been counted by the weekend. In the coming days, the 300th anniversary of Luther’s death will be celebrated at Wartburg Castle near Eisenach.000. Visitors expected at the show "Luther and the Germans.

In the Augusteum in Wittenberg, the mark of 200.000 visitors to the "Luther" exhibition during the past week! 95 Treasures – 95 People" exceeded. The outcome of "The Luther Effect" was somewhat weaker. 500 Years of Protestantism in the World" at Berlin’s Martin Gropius Bau with about 60.000 visitors from.

Many visitors probably last week

The Protestant Church celebrates 500 years of Reformation until the end of the month. In 1517, Luther published his 95 Theses against the abuses of the church of his time, which, according to tradition, he read on 31 December. October nailed to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. The posting of the theses is considered the starting point of the worldwide Reformation, which resulted in the division between the Protestant and Catholic churches.

At Wartburg Castle, organizers expect visitor interest to increase once again in the coming week. For the exhibition in Wittenberg, the director of the Luther Memorials Foundation in Saxony-Anhalt, Stefan Rhein, summed up in an interview with the Evangelical Press Service , Luther exerts a fascination on people. Many visitors came from the USA and South Korea, but also from Scandinavian countries.

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