Neo-Lutheranism was a 19th-century revival movement within

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

which began with the

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

-driven '' Erweckung,'' or ''Awakening'', and developed in reaction against theological rationalism and

pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

. The movement followed the

Old Lutheran Old Lutherans were German Lutherans in the Kingdom of Prussia, especially in the Province of Silesia, who refused to join the Prussian Union of churches in the 1830s and 1840s. Prussia's king, Frederick William III, was determined to unify the P ...

movement and focused on a reassertion of the identity of Lutherans as a distinct group within the broader community of

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, with a renewed focus on the

Lutheran Confessions ''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard recognized as authoritative by many Lutheran church bodies since the 16th century. It consists of ten creeda ...

as a key source of Lutheran doctrine. Associated with these changes was an

Evangelical-Catholic The term Evangelical Catholic (from ''Catholic (term), catholic'' meaning ''universal'' and ''evangelical'' meaning ''Gospel-centered'') is used in Lutheranism, with those calling themselves Evangelical Catholic Lutherans or Lutherans of Evangelic ...

renewed focus on traditional doctrine and liturgy, which paralleled the growth of

Anglo-Catholicism Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

in England. It was sometimes even called "German

Puseyism Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement, with interest ...

". In the

Catholic Church in Germany The Catholic Church in Germany () or Roman Catholic Church in Germany () is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the German bishops. The current "Speaker" (i.e., Chairman) of th ...

, neo-Lutheranism was paralleled by

Johann Adam Möhler Johann Adam Möhler (6 May 1796 – 12 April 1838) was a German Roman Catholic theologian and priest associated with the Catholic Tübingen school. He was born at Igersheim in the Bailiwick of Franconia of the Teutonic Order (from 1809 on part ...

. The chief literary organ of the neo-Lutheranism was ''Evangelische Kirchenzeitung'', edited by

Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg Ernst Wilhelm Theodor Herrmann Hengstenberg (20 October 1802 in Fröndenberg – 28 May 1869 in Berlin), was a German Lutheran churchman and neo-Lutheran theologian from an old and important Dortmund family. He was born at Fröndenberg, a Wes ...

Repristination versus Erlangen school

Neo-Lutheranism developed as a reaction against the

Prussian Union of Churches The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) was a major Protestant church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of Prussia that united both Lutheran and Reformed denominations in P ...

in a similar manner to the development of

Tractarianism The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Uni ...

against the British government's decision to reduce the number of Irish bishoprics. The term has been defined different ways to distinguish it from the Old Lutherans movement, which was a schism in areas where a church union was enforced. A distinction developed in neo-Lutheranism whereby one side held to repristination theology, which attempted to restore historical Lutheranism, while the other held to the theology of the Erlangen School coming out of the University at Erlangen. The repristination theology group was represented by

Carl Paul Caspari Carl Paul Caspari (8 February 1814 – 11 April 1892) was a Norwegian neo-Lutheran theologian and academic. He was a Professor of Old Testament Theology at the University of Oslo. He wrote several books and is best known for his interpretations ...

Gisle Johnson Gisle Christian Johnson (10 September 1822 – 17 July 1894) was a leading 19th-century Norwegian theologian, revivalist, and educator. Biography Gisle Christian Johnson was born at Fredrikshald (now Halden) in Østfold, Norway. He grew up at ...

Friedrich Adolf Philippi Friedrich Adolf Philippi (October 15, 1809 in Berlin – August 29, 1882 in Rostock) was a Lutheran theologian of Jewish origin. He was the son of a wealthy Jewish banker, a friend of the Mendelssohn family. Converted to Christianity in 1829 ...

, C. F. W. Walther, and others. Repristination theology is more similar to later

Confessional Lutheran Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the '' Book of Concord'' of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfuln ...

ism. In contrast, confessionalism to the Erlangen School was not to be static, but dynamic. The Erlangen School tried to combine

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

theology with new learning and included

Franz Hermann Reinhold von Frank Franz Hermann Reinhold von Frank (May 2, 1827 – February 7, 1894) was a German theologian born in Altenburg. He was an important figure in the "Erlangen School" of the German Neo-Lutheranism movement, and a specialist in theological dogmatics. ...

Theodosius Harnack Theodosius Andreas Harnack (; , St. Petersburg – , Dorpat (now )) was a Baltic German theology, theologian. A professor of Divinity, he started his career as a Privatdozent for church history and homiletics at the University of Dorpat (in wha ...

Franz Delitzsch Franz Delitzsch (23 February 1813, in Leipzig – 4 March 1890, in Leipzig) was a German Lutheran theologian and Hebraist. Delitzsch wrote many commentaries on books of the Bible, Jewish antiquities, Biblical psychology, as well as a history of J ...

, Johann Christian Konrad von Hofmann,

Karl Friedrich August Kahnis Karl Friedrich August Kahnis (22 December 1814 – 20 June 1888) was a German Neo-Lutheran theologian. Early life From a poor background, Kahnis was educated at the gymnasium of his native town Greiz, and after acting as private tutor for seve ...

, Christoph Ernst Luthardt, and

Gottfried Thomasius Gottfried Thomasius (; 26 June 1802 – 24 January 1875) was a German Lutheran theologian. He was born in Egenhausen (in present-day Middle Franconia) and he died in Erlangen. Biography He studied philosophy and theology in Erlangen, Halle and ...

High Church Lutheranism

Neo-Lutheranism is sometimes limited only to the theology and activity represented by

Theodor Friedrich Dethlof Kliefoth Theodor Friedrich Dethlof Kliefoth (18 January 1810 – 26 January 1895) was a German Neo-Lutheran. Life He was educated at the gymnasium of Schwerin, and at the Universities of Berlin and Rostock. In 1833 he was appointed instructor of Duke Wi ...

, August Friedrich Christian Vilmar,

Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe (21 February 1808 – 2 January 1872) (often rendered 'Loehe') was a pastor of the Lutheran Church, Confesional Lutheran writer, and is often regarded as being a founder of the deaconess movement in Lutheranism and a fo ...

August Friedrich Otto Münchmeyer August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

, and

Friedrich Julius Stahl Friedrich Julius Stahl (; 16 January 1802 – 10 August 1861) was a German constitutional lawyer, political philosopher and politician. Biography Born at Würzburg in the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, of Jewish parentage, as Julius Jolson, he ...

, who had particularly

high High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

ecclesiology In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of th ...

. They were against the idea of the ''

invisible church The church invisible, invisible church, mystical church or church mystical, is a Christian theological concept of an "invisible" Christian Church of the elect who are known only to God, in contrast to the " visible church"—that is, the insti ...

'', strongly contending that the church was an outward, visible institution of salvation. They emphasised the ordained ministry instituted by Christ and the significance of the

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...

over the Word as

Means of Grace The means of grace in Christian theology are those things (the ''means'') through which God gives grace. Just what this grace entails is interpreted in various ways: generally speaking, some see it as God blessing humankind so as to sustain and em ...

. However, unlike the Erlangen School, this type of neo-Lutheranism did not have a lasting influence on Lutheran theology. Properly speaking, High Church Lutheranism began in Germany much later, with the creation of the

Hochkirchliche Vereinigung Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses The Hochkirchliche Vereinigung Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses (''High Church Union of the Augsburg Confession'') is a Lutheran High Church organisation in Germany. It was founded in Berlin in October 1918, inspired by the High Church theses '' Stimul ...

in 1918, inspired by 95 theses Stimuli et Clavi of 1917, exactly 100 years after

Claus Harms Claus Harms (25 May 1778 in Fahrstedt – 1 February 1855 in Kiel) was a German clergyman and theologian. Life Harms was born at Fahrstedt in Schleswig, and in his youth worked in his father's mill. At the University of Kiel he repudiated ...

' 95 theses. Neo-Lutheranism is distinct from the term "neo-Protestantism", which is an exclusively liberal theology represented, for example, by

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

and his followers.

Repristination versus Erlangen school

High Church Lutheranism

See also

References

Further reading