Georg Major (April 25, 1502 – November 28, 1574) was a

Lutheran 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 ...

theologian of the

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

Life

Major was born in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

in 1502. At the age of nine he was sent to

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

, and in 1521 he entered the university there. Robert Kolb (1976). Georg Major as Controversialist: Polemics in the Late Reformation. '' Church History'' 45 (4): 455–68 He was a student of

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

and Philip Melanchthon,Dingel, Irene (2020). Georg Major on Church Fathers and Councils. ''Lutheran Quarterly'' 34 (2): 152–70 the latter being a particular influence. When Cruciger returned to Wittenberg in 1529, Major was appointed rector of the Johannisschule in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

, but in 1537 he became court preacher at Wittenberg and was ordained by

. He began to lecture on theology in 1541. In 1545 he joined the theological faculty, and his authority increased to such an extent that in the following year the elector sent him to the Conference of Regensburg, where he was soon captivated by the personality of Butzer. Like Philipp Melanchthon, he fled before the disastrous close of the Schmalkald war, and found refuge in Magdeburg. In the summer of 1547, he returned to Wittenberg, and in the same year became cathedral superintendent at Merseburg, although he resumed his activity at the university in the following year. In the negotiations of the Augsburg Interim, he took the part of Melanchthon in first opposing it and then making concessions. This attitude incurred the enmity of the opponents of the Interim, especially after he cancelled a number of passages in the second edition of his ''Psalterium'' in which he had violently attacked the position of

Maurice, Elector of Saxony Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignit ...

, whom he now requested to prohibit all polemical treatises proceeding from Magdeburg, while he condemned the preachers of Torgau who were imprisoned in Wittenberg on account of their opposition to the Interim. He was even accused of accepting bribes from Maurice. In 1552, Count Hans Georg, who favored the Interim, appointed him superintendent of Eisleben, on the recommendation of Melchior Kling. The orthodox clergy of the County of Mansfeld, however, immediately suspected him of being an interimist and adiaphorist, and he tried to defend his position in public, but his apology resulted in a dispute called the Majoristic Controversy. At

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, 1552, Count Albrecht expelled him without trial and he fled to Wittenberg, where he resumed his activity as professor and member of the Wittenberg Consistory. Thence forth he was an important and active member in the circle of the Wittenberg Philippists. From 1558 to 1574 he was dean of the theological faculty and repeatedly held the rectorate of the university. He lived long enough to experience the first overthrow of Crypto-Calvinism in the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

, and Paul Crell, his son-in-law, signed for him at Torgau in May 1574 the articles which repudiated

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

and acknowledged the unity of Luther and Melanchthon. He died at Wittenberg in 1574.

Works

His significant writings include: * A text edition of ''Justini ex Trogo Pompejo historia'' (Hagenau, 1526); * an edition of Luther's smaller catechism in Latin and Low German (Magdeburg, 1531); * ''Sententiae veterum poetarum'' (1534); * ''Quaestiones rhetoricae'' (1535); * ''Vita Patrum'' (Wittenberg, 1544); * ''Psalterium Davidis juxta translationem veterem repurgatum'' (1547); * ''De origine et auctoritate verbi Dei'' (1550); * ''Commonefactio ad ecclesiam catholicam, orthodoxam, de fugiendis ... blasphemiis Samosatenicis'' (1569). He also wrote commentaries on the Pauline epistles and homilies on the pericopes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Major, Georg 1502 births 1574 deaths German Lutheran theologians Philippists Clergy from Nuremberg University of Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the University of Wittenberg 16th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German male writers 16th-century Lutheran theologians