Cologne Reformation
Historical events in the 16th century are described as the Cologne Reformation .
In a broader sense, the attempt to introduce the Reformation in the Archbishopric of Cologne and the neighboring countries , Vest Recklinghausen and the Duchy of Westphalia , by Elector and Archbishop Hermann von Wied is referred to as the Cologne Reformation.
In a narrower sense, the term refers to the Reformation pamphlet written in this context by Philipp Melanchthon and Martin Bucer in 1543.
prehistory
At the beginning of his reign as elector of Cologne, Hermann von Wied was a staunch opponent of the Protestant movement. He was encouraged in this by the priest in the Cologne cathedral chapter Johannes Gropper , who was a clever theologian.
Hermann von Wied, however, recognized the need for reform in the church and initially relied on Gropper's reform ideas. Gropper drew up reform statutes for the Cologne church on behalf of the archbishop in 1535, which were published in 1536. On this basis, a provincial synod passed resolutions in 1536. However, it was largely not realized. As a result, church reform stagnated in the archdiocese. New impetus in 1541 by the Recess of the Reichstag in Regensburg from. In this resolution, the spiritual princes of the empire demanded the introduction of a “Christian order and reformation”.
Reformation resolutions
Hermann von Wied, who had already made the acquaintance of the reformer Martin Bucer earlier, now invited him. In Buschhoven near Bonn there was an unsuccessful religious discussion between Bucer and Gropper. Under the influence of Bucer, Hermann von Wied turned to Protestantism in 1542.
In the same year he announced a church reform in the state parliament of the Cologne archbishopric, referring to the Reichstag farewell of 1540. The state parliament, and with it the cathedral chapter as its first estate, agreed to this. However, he made it a condition that “the old habits and the succession do not want to be broken off with this.” Apparently it was not clear to the state parliament at this time that Hermann von Wied was not about a continuation of the resolutions passed at the provincial synod, but one Redesign of the Cologne Church in the Reformation sense went. At the end of 1542 Bucer preached in Bonn Minster , against which the cathedral chapter initially protested successfully. After a short break, Bucer resumed the sermons.
As a result, resistance to the Reformation began to develop under the leadership of the cathedral chapter and Cologne University , supported by Duke Wilhelm the Rich . At the Landtag of 1543 Hermann von Wied was supported in particular by parts of the knighthood, but also by parts of the cathedral chapter. The elector then also invited Melanchthon to the archbishopric, who arrived in Bonn at the beginning of 1543.
Journalistic debate
With the participation of the Archbishop, Bucer and Melanchthon wrote what is also known as the “Cologne Reformation”. The work had 200 large-format pages and was entitled: " From God's approval our Hermanns Ertzbischoff zu Cologne / and Electors etc. UNIQUE CONDITIONS / threw a Christian / in the word God's green reformation (...) must be done ."
At another state parliament in 1543, counts, knights and cities approved the Reformation project. Now the cathedral chapter, under Gropper's leadership, clearly rejected this course. The imperial city of Cologne - politically not part of the electoral state - became the center of resistance against the Reformation. The critics from the cathedral chapter and university published a “ Christian and Catholic counter-correction ” in response to the archbishop's Reformation pamphlet. Both sides championed their cause in more than 260 pamphlets. The defenders of the Catholic cause developed an effective journalism for the first time during the Reformation era.
Implementation attempts
In the meantime, the Reformation sermon was introduced in various cities such as Bonn, Neuss , Kempen and Kaiserswerth . In 1544, Pope Paul III confirmed. the cathedral chapter resisting the Reformation. This solemnly called the emperor and pope in October of that year, based on monasteries and monasteries.
Hermann von Wied, who was also Bishop of Paderborn , also tried to introduce the Reformation there. But he failed because of the resistance of the estates and the cathedral chapter. In the Duchy of Westphalia, the archbishop instructed his deputy there, the Land drosten Henning von Böckenförde gen. Schüngel, to implement the Cologne Reformation in this area. The reaction of the stands is not entirely clear due to the source. At least in some cities such as Werl , Geseke , Brilon and Neheim , but also in the Deanery Medebach , the Reformation was at times quite successful. In Werl, religious reasons were combined with conflicts in the city between guilds and the heirs . The latter were able to prevail. The Protestants could not hold out in the long run. The movement was unsuccessful in the capital of the duchy. There the abbot of the Wedinghausen monastery stood on the side of Hermann von Wied's opponents.
fail
The success of the Reformation in the Archbishopric of Cologne would have been of great importance at the imperial level. Ultimately, the continued existence of the Catholic party as a whole was endangered. A victory of the Reformation in Cologne would have meant a clear preponderance of Protestantism in the empire.
Charles V himself had therefore used all his influence since 1543 to stop the development. Gropper's request was presented to him personally at the Diet in Worms in 1545. In a conversation, the Kaiser suggested that Hermann von Wied resign. This was excommunicated by the Pope on April 16, 1546, in particular through the influence of the emperor.
The defeat of the Protestants in the Schmalkaldic War weakened the position of Hermann von Wied significantly. After that it was especially Charles V who caused the estates to move away from the elector. On February 25, 1547, Hermann von Wied resigned from his position as Archbishop and Elector and from then on lived as a private citizen. With the abdication, the Reformation movement in the archbishopric and the neighboring countries lost its support.
Individual evidence
literature
- Andreea Badea: Electoral pre-eminence, sovereignty and reform. The failure of the Cologne Reformation under Hermann von Wied . Aschendorff Verlag, Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-11579-4 , ( Reformation-historical studies and texts 154), (At the same time: Bayreuth, Univ., Diss., 2007).
- Harm Klueting : The Electoral Cologne Duchy of Westphalia as spiritual territory in the 16th and 18th centuries . In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia . Volume 1: The Electorate of Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803 . Aschendorff, Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , pp. 487-491.
- Bernd Moeller : Germany in the Age of Reformation . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1999, ISBN 3-525-33462-1 , ( Deutsche Geschichte 4), ( Kleine Vandenhoeck-Reihe 1432), p. 151ff.