Quiet box order

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The Leisniger caste order of 1523 is the first Protestant church order . It goes back to a report by Martin Luther for the city of Leisnig and is an important condition for the development of Protestant parishes and as a model of Lutheran social teaching . The term is derived from a "money box" in which the church funds were kept.

Evangelical sermons were held in Leisnig as early as 1519, two years after Luther posted his theses. In contrast to the (Catholic) person responsible for filling vacancies for the town church St. Matthäi , the council and the church elders of the town dealt with the reorganization of community life. The caste order emerged from the establishment of a "common box". The city of Leisnig maintains this tradition today in a small museum in the Stadtgut Leisnig.

Goal setting and history

The caste order regulated the administration of the money that the community received and kept in a money storage vessel, the so-called box. Ten secular rulers were elected to administer it: two nobles, two councilors, three citizens and three farmers. The box was secured with four locks, with one of the heads of each of the four estates receiving a key, so that distributive justice was regulated institutionally with great care.

The box order was revised according to Luther's suggestions for improvement . He gave it to print at the beginning of 1523 with a preface he had written in Wittenberg, which is now kept in the Superintendentur Leisnig. From this foreword it becomes clear that the caste order is a contribution to the social and economic questions that have become acute as a result of the Reformation. The caste order is seen as an obligation to "common public responsibility based on faith".

Content

The structured and concise caste order with the title "Brotherly Association of the common caste of the entire parish assembly at Leiseneck 1523." is structured as follows and focuses on the following:

  1. Basis: Here you can find the reference to the Bible and basic principles of action.
  2. Assets, stocks and income: sources of income are listed here, e.g. B. Income from property, income from brotherhoods, charitable gifts.
  3. Administration: This is where the ten chiefs mentioned above are determined, their regular votes and responsibilities for church property and the collection of charitable gifts.
  4. Regulations against begging : Begging in the parish (parish) is prohibited.
  5. Expenditures: Here, expenditure areas are outlined: In addition to the financing of church buildings, stipulations are made on school education, poor relief and general food provision. The principle of "Christian, honest and honorable discipline" applies to boys 'education, and "to teach German to read and write" is mentioned in girls' education.
  6. Taxes: In the event of insufficient income, there is a requirement to pay taxes “according to your ability”. Non-parishioners who “want to enjoy the blessings of the churches” should pay a fixed amount of money.
  7. Annual meetings: The heads report at three fixed times a year, and new members are elected at the beginning of the year.

Editions

  • Martin Luther: Weimar Edition (WA) Vol. 12. Böhlau, Weimar 1891, pp. 1–30 ( Internet Archive ).
  • Emil Sehling (Ed.): The Protestant Church Orders of the XVI. Century. 1st volume: Saxony and Thuringia, together with adjacent areas. 1st half: Luther's orders. The Ernestine and Albertine Territories. Leipzig 1902, pp. 598-604.
  • Hans Lietzmann (Ed.): The Wittenberger and Leisniger Kastenordnung, 1522, 1523 (= small texts for theological lectures and exercises 21). A. Marcus and E. Weber, Bonn 1907 ( Google books ); 2nd edition de Gruyter, Berlin 1935.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich Bedford-Strohm : Basic orientations of economic action: Martin Luthers Wirtschaftsethik In: The renaissance of the Christian-Social. Hanns Seidel Foundation 2013, pp. 30 ff., 41
  2. ↑ a b Evangelical Church Community Leisnig: Leisniger Kastenordnung. Retrieved June 21, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Permanent exhibition on the Leisnig caste order and church music in the Stadtgut Leisnig Stadt Leisnig, accessed on March 24, 2020.
  4. ↑ Leisniger Kastenordnung - the oldest Protestant social paper in the world luther2017, accessed on March 24, 2020
  5. ↑ Copy of the box order from 1523