Gnesio-Lutherans (from Greek γνήσιος nesios genuine, authentic) is a modern name for a theological party in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches, in opposition to the

Philippists The Philippists formed a party in early Lutheranism. Their opponents were called Gnesio-Lutherans. Before Luther's death ''Philippists'' was the designation usually applied in the latter half of the sixteenth century to the followers of Phili ...

after the death of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

and before the

Formula of Concord Formula of Concord (1577) (German, ''Konkordienformel''; Latin, ''Formula concordiae''; also the "''Bergic Book''" or the "''Bergen Book''") is an authoritative Lutheran statement of faith (called a confession, creed, or "symbol") that, in its tw ...

. In their own day they were called ''Flacians'' by their opponents and simply Lutherans by themselves. Later ''Flacian'' became to mean an adherent of

Matthias Flacius Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; hr, Matija Vlačić Ilirik) or Francovich ( hr, Franković) (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting strong ...

' view of original sin, rejected by the

. In a broader meaning, the term ''Gnesio-Lutheran'' is associated mostly with the defence of the doctrine of

Real Presence The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. There are a number of Christian denomin ...

Locations

The centres of Gnesio-Lutherans were

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

and the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The ...

Notable proponents

Other Gnesio-Lutherans were

Caspar Aquila Caspar Aquila (sometimes Kaspar or Gaspar Aquila; 7 August 148812 November 1560), born Johann Kaspar Adler, was a German Lutheran theologian and reformer. Biography He was born at Augsburg, and educated there, at Ulm (1502), in Italy (he met Era ...

, Joachim Westphal,

Johann Wigand Johann Wigand (Latin: Jo(h)annes Wigandus; c. 1523 – 21 October 1587) was a German Lutheran cleric, Protestant reformer and theologian. He served as Bishop of Pomesania. Johann Wigand was born at Mansfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. He was ...

, Matthäus Judex,

Joachim Mörlin Joachim Mörlin (5 April 1514, Wittenberg, Electorate of Saxony – 29 May 1571, Königsberg, Duchy of Prussia (now Kaliningrad in Russia) - 1945) was an Evangelical Lutheran theologian and an important figure in the controversies followin ...

Tilemann Heshusius Tilemann Heshusius (also ''Hesshus, Heßhusen, Hess Husen, Heshusen'') (3 November 1527 in Wesel — 25 September 1588 in Helmstedt) was a Gnesio-Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer. Life Heshusius came from an influential family in W ...

Johann Timann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning " Yahweh is Graciou ...

, Simon Musaeus,

Erasmus Sarcerius Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

, and

Aegidius Hunnius Aegidius Hunnius the Elder (21 December 1550 in Winnenden – 4 April 1603 in Wittenberg) was a Lutheran theologian of the Lutheran scholastic tradition and father of Nicolaus Hunnius. Life Hunnius went rapidly through the preparatory scho ...

Controversies

After the death of Luther, many theological controversies arose among the Lutherans, mostly due to teaching of

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the L ...

. Gnesio-Lutherans were profiled by defending

's doctrine, in the beginning led by

. 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 Andreas Poach (c.1515 – April 2, 1585) was a German Lutheran theologian and Reformer. Poach was born in Eilenburg. In 1530 he was admitted to the University of Wittenberg. In 1538, he obtained his Master's and remained until 1541 at the Univ ...

, and others. Gnesio-Lutherans were involved in: * the Adiaphoristic controversy, * the Majoristic controversy ( Nicolaus von Amsdorf,

Nicolaus Gallus Nicolaus Gallus (also Hahn) (c. 1516 – June 1570) was leader of the Lutheran Reformation in Regensburg. Gallus was born in Köthen. At Wittenberg, where he became a student in 1530 and received the master's degree in 1537, he won the comme ...

), * the second Antinomian controversy (

Anton Otto Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

), * the

Synergistic controversy Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' from ', , meaning "working together". History In Christian ...

(

), * the

Osiandrian controversy The Osiandrian controversy was a controversy amongst the Lutherans, originated in around 1550 by Andreas Osiander, a German theologian. He asserted that it was only through the righteousness of Christ with respect to the divine nature (entirely ex ...

, and * the Crypto-Calvinistic controversy. 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 the

and the Gnesio-Lutherans, the "Centrist party" included

Johannes Brenz Johann (Johannes) Brenz (24 June 1499 – 11 September 1570) was a German Lutheran theologian and the Protestant Reformer of the Duchy of Württemberg. Early advocacy of the Reformation Brenz was born in the then Imperial City of Weil der S ...

Jakob Andreae Jakob Andreae (25 March 1528 – 7 January 1590) was a significant German Lutheran theologian and Protestant Reformer involved in the drafting of major documents. Life He was born in Waiblingen, in the Duchy of Württemberg. He studied at the Un ...

, Martin Chemnitz,

Nikolaus Selnecker Nikolaus Selnecker (or Selneccer) (December 5, 1530 – May 24, 1592) was a German musician, theologian and Protestant reformer. He is now known mainly as a hymn writer. He is also known as one of the principal authors of the '' Formula of Co ...

David Chytraeus David Chytraeus or Chyträus (26 February 1530 – 25 June 1600) was a German Lutheran theologian, reformer and historian. He was a disciple of Melancthon. He was born at Ingelfingen. His real surname was Kochhafe, which in Classical Greek is χ ...

Andreas Musculus Andreas Musculus (also Andreas Meusel; 29 November 1514 – 29 September 1581) was a German Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer. The name Musculus is a Latinized form of Meusel. Musculus was born in Schneeberg, "generally called only Musc ...

, and others. Unlike the Gnesio-Lutherans, the 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-Lutheran Joachim Westphal was first to write to defend the

against the Calvinists, and Melanchthon stigmatized his and other Gnesio-Lutherans' doctrine as "bread worship".

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Authority control Lutheran Eucharistic theology Reformation in Germany