This historical dictionary examines the development of Lutheranism from its inception in the 16th century to its place as one of the largest and most influential Protestant denominations in the modern world. This book explores Lutheranism's middle position between Roman Catholicism/ Eastern Orthodoxy and the Reformed Presbyterian and other Protestant Churches. It is well-suited to the religious scholar and those with a historical interest in church development.

The Reformation of the 16th century was a complex and multifaceted political, social, cultural, and religious process. Most historians agree, however, that in the framework of this process it was the religious and theological efforts to reform and renew the late medieval church—decadent and irrelevant in many ways—that were the initiating forces that set a broad historical movement in motion. Among these reforming religious and theological forces, the Lutheran reform movement was the most important and influential one. It was the historical impact of the theological genius of the Wittenberg professor Martin Luther (1483-1546) that profoundly changed and shaped the face of Europe and beyond. Today, Lutheranism has become a worldwide communion of churches that stretches from Germany to Siberia, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, and Surinam. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism presents information on major theological issues, historical developments of Lutheranism worldwide, Lutheran ecumenical and missionary involvement and activities, worship and liturgy, spirituality, social ethics, inter-religious and Jewish relations, Lutheranism and the arts, theology, and important representatives of Lutheranism. This is done through a detailed chronology, an introductory essay, an appendix of Lutheran Churches, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Lutheranism.

In the five hundred years since the publication of Martin Luther's Ninety- Five Theses, a rich set of traditions have grown up around that action and the subsequent events of the Reformation. This up-to-date dictionary by leading theologians and church historians covers Luther's life and thought, key figures of his time, and the various traditions he continues to influence. Prominent scholars of the history of Lutheran traditions have brought together experts in church history representing a variety of Christian perspectives to offer a major, cutting-edge reference work. Containing nearly six hundred articles, this dictionary provides a comprehensive overview of Luther's life and work and the traditions emanating from the Wittenberg Reformation. It traces the history, theology, and practices of the global Lutheran movement, covering significant figures, events, theological writings and ideas, denominational subgroups, and congregational practices that have constituted the Lutheran tradition from the Reformation to the present day.

The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century has traditionally been viewed as marking the onset of modernity in Europe. It finally broke up the federal Christendom of the middle ages, under the leadership of the papacy and substituted for it a continent of autonomous and national states, independent of Rome. The Historical Dictionary of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation provides a comprehensive account of two chains of events_the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation_that have left an enduring imprint on Europe, America, and the world at large. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on persons, places, countries, institutions, doctrines, ideas, and events.

The Reformation of the 16th century has always been seen as one of the pivotal events in European history. Lord Acton, the famous 19th-century British historian, compared the importance of Martin Luther's speech at the diet at Worms in 1521 with Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1813. Lord Acton's may or may not be an extravagant claim, but it is certainly true that the events of the 16th and 17th centuries, now called the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, changed forever the religious and political history of the West. The Historical Dictionary of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation provides a one-volume, balanced, alternative to the overwhelming amounts of literature on the events of the time and the theological and political debates that spawned those events.

This is a regional history. The "Southeastern States" are those states lying south of the Mason-Dixon Line and east of the Mississippi River which held an appreciable number of Lutherans in 1860. They would include Virginia and the present West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The dates 1860-1886 are determined by the natural divisions of southern Lutheran history. 1860 is an ideal beginning date since it affords an opportunity to consider southern Lutheranism while it was still a part of an undivided nation. The following years trace the history of ecclesiastical division caused by the war, and then the slow formation of a regional consciousness expressed in synodical cooperation and union. This process culminates in the establishment of the United Synod of the South in 1886. - Preface.

There are several eras in the history of Christianity radical forms of the tradition are obvious: the early church of the first five centuries, the medieval era, the age of reform, the early modern era, and the contemporary era. Radical Christian activity and experience may reflect either a primary or a derived level of spirituality. New converts may join a sect or movement with radical characteristics; or they may become dissatisfied with their initial Christian experiences and desire a different or deeper Christian spirituality, usually closely parallel to that seen in the New Testament. The Historical Dictionary of Radical Christianity covers the history of this movement and includes an introductory essay and a bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries. The dictionary entries selected reflect the leading groups, movements, and sects from each major era of Christian history. Especially in the contemporary period, the great proliferation of radical thinkers and groups has necessitated a selection process with those selected exhibiting sustained group activity, possessing an identifiable following, and demonstrating a significant cultural impact. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Radical Christianity.

Calvinism is named after 16th century Reformer, John Calvin whose overall theology is contained in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559). Calvin's theology and ecclesiology provided the foundation upon which the Reformed Churches of Europewere built. It was a comprehensive and carefully expounded alternative to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church and was designed to expose their weaknesses and present a view of the Christian Faith that was a reformed version of the old faith. TheHistorical Dictionary of Calvinism relates the history of its founder John Calvin, the Reformed Church, and the impact that Calvinism has had in the modern world along with an account of modern and contemporary developments within the religious, political, and social culture it has created. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on concepts, significant figures, places, activities, and periods. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Calvinism.

A unique resource: from the Reformation to PietismThis unique collection of excerpts from Lutheran historical and theological documents - many translated here for the first time - presents readers with a full picture of how the Lutheran movement developed in its thought and practice. The volume proceeds chronologically from Luther's lifetime to the beginnings of the Enlightenment. Each chapter begins with a summary essay and proceeds thematically.Covering not only theology but also church life, popular piety, and influential historical events, the more than 200 primary documents excerpted here show not only the evolution and development of Lutheran doctrine but also its devotional writings, hymns, liturgical texts, letters and diaries, satire, political documents, woodcuts, and pamphlet literature. Lund's judicious selection, careful translation, and helpful introductions acquaint readers with the turbulence and fervor of this revolutionary Christian movement, its struggles for survival and consolidation, its flowering in the age of orthodoxy and pietism, always with an eye to how it affected and was experienced by ordinary people.

As its name implies, the Reformed tradition grew out of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The Reformed churches consider themselves to be the Catholic Church reformed. The movement originated in the reform efforts of Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) of Zurich and John Calvin (1509-1564) of Geneva. Although the Reformed movement was dependent upon many Protestant leaders, it was Calvin's tireless work as a writer, preacher, teacher, and social and ecclesiastical reformer that provided a substantial body of literature and an ethos from which the Reformed tradition grew. Today, the Reformed churches are a multicultural, multiethnic, and multinational phenomenon. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Reformed Churches contains information on the major personalities, events, facts, movements, and beliefs of the Reformed churches. This is done through a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, a bibliography, and over 800 cross-referenced dictionary entries on leaders, personalities, events, facts, movements, and beliefs of the Reformed churches.