Martin Brecht (6 March 1932 – 23 July 2021) was a German Church historian who was professor emeritus of the
University of Münster,
Westphalia. Until his retirement in 1997 at age 65, he served as head of the Department of Medieval and Modern Church History of the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the university.
Brecht was author of a three volume comprehensive biography 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 ...
, published in
German, 1981–1987 and of many publications on German pietism. M. Eugene Osterhaven of
Western Theological Seminary
Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is a private seminary located in Holland, Michigan. Established in 1866, it is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States ...
in
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa and Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the West Michigan, western region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula, the city is si ...
said, about Brecht's contribution to theological studies, "Martin Brecht has an established reputation, and his thorough work on Luther is definitive, even though it lacks the crisp literary style of the monographs on Luther of
Roland Bainton or
Heiko Oberman."
Brecht died on 23 July 2021, at the age of 89.
References
1932 births
2021 deaths
German biographers
German male biographers
Academic staff of the University of Münster
Reformation historians
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