Osiandrian quarrel

The Osiandrian dispute was waged at the time of the church political reformation in Germany. It was named after Andreas Osiander , who triggered the dispute in 1550/51 when he asserted the "essential justice" of the new man in his doctrine of justification . This should mean that man's justification before God consists in the fact that Christ is actually present in man as the eternal Word of God and that man is thus justified through the righteousness of Christ.

The Nuremberg reformer Andreas Osiander was appointed in 1549 by Duke Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach , Duke in Prussia, as theology professor at the University of Königsberg , which was newly founded in 1544 . The Duke tended towards his doctrine. The dispute over Osiander's doctrine did not end after his death in 1552, but kept theologians, princes and believers busy until around 1566.

The Lutheran majority, led by Philipp Melanchthon , accused Andreas Osiander of blurring the line between justification and sanctification and therefore teaching that man is justified before God through his good works. That was a rough distortion of Osiander's position. The Philippists countered this with a purely imputative understanding of justification: In justification, the righteousness of Christ is credited to man (Latin imputare ) and in return his sins are credited to Christ. For the sins transferred to him, let Christ suffer God's punishment on the cross. This imputative understanding of justification became the standard of Lutheran Orthodox theology. Gnesiolutherans and Philippists together emphasized the "imputed justice".

Important stages in the Osiandrian dispute

1529, empire
- Religious talk in Marburg. Struggle for the confessional unity of the evangelicals. In addition to Luther, Melanchthon and other theologians who professed to be part of the Reformation but differed in their doctrine, Andreas Osiander from Nuremberg was also present.
1551, Duchy and Empire
- Negotiating order from Duke Albrechts to Joachim Mörlin to mediate in the Königsberg theological dispute. Open enmity between Osiander and Mörlin. Osiander prints his denomination. The same was sent to other theologians of the Augsburg Confession (CA) in the empire. The local dispute spreads. Reports and pamphlets are printed. The number of participants in this dispute is increasing. Osiander died on October 17, 1552 in Königsberg. But the dispute continued until 1566.
1553, duchy
- Unrest among the evangelical church people. A petition by women with children demanded in vain the recall of Joachim Mörlin, who was now in Danzig, defender of Wittenberg's teaching.
1553, Duchy and Empire
- Furthermore: A Saxon delegation headed by the superintendent of Gotha, Justus Menius, traveled to Prussia. Other participants in talks: representatives of the cities, the Ottoman party under Johannes Funck. These negotiations were temporarily supported by Count Popo von Henneberg. No results.
1554, Duchy and Empire
- Synod of Saalfeld, 1554. Meeting of the pastors of the duchy. Result: Osiander's teaching is rejected. - A Wuerttemberg embassy comes to the duchy to mediate. Königsberg Synod of September 1554. Sharp resistance from the pastors. The Prussian regional church is divided. The placement of the Württemberger fails. - The controversial theology of Osiander continues to be discussed in the empire in printed pamphlets, expert reports and factual statements. A desired amnesty for the quarreling, requested by the Duke, is rejected.
1556, Duchy and Empire
- Synod of Riesenburg, 1556. The strictly Lutheran pastors and their followers, supported by representatives from Mecklenburg, force court preacher Johannes Funk to revoke Osiander's doctrine of justification - with the permission of the duke. The duke's relenting was rather situational.
1557, empire
- Osiander's teaching played a certain role at the Reichstag in Regensburg in 1557 and at the Fürstentag in Frankfurt / Main in 1557. At the Worms Colloquium (Religious Discussion, 1557) Johannes Brenz prevented Osiander from being convicted, although Melanchthon was one of the participants.
1558, duchy
- The disputes nonetheless flow into the printed church ordinance of 1558, which became a fundamental document. Doctrinal points that were important for the Osiandrists, such as the doctrine of baptism, were controversial. But the negotiated pressure took place and should be confirmed from outside as in accordance with the CA (Augsburg Confession). The theologian Matthäus Vogel d. Ä. was sent to Johannes Brenz in Württemberg. Parts 1 and 2 were printed. The third, relating to the organization of the church, was postponed because regulations had to be found or confirmed here. This church order was valued more outside the duchy than in the country, where many were suspicious.
1566, duchy
- The career of the Croatian Paul Scalich caused displeasure, who knew how to gain the favor of the old duke and also material advantages, but escaped in time by fleeing. Johannes Funck also played a role as ducal councilor despite his revocation. The opposition from the estates and the clergy remained strong. They had nothing against an intervention from the Polish side. It was also about the independence of the duchy. The result was that several unpopular ducal councilors were brought to justice, tortured and beheaded. This included the Osiandrist Funck. Mörlin was awarded the diocese of Samland. The orthodox conditions were established with the threat of further interference from the Polish side. The estates could turn to the Polish king at any time. The duchy remained independent, but obeyed the Polish crown. Duke Albrecht was forced to accept all of this. The writing Repetitio corporis doctrinae , 1567, once again confirmed the break with Osiandrism.
1568, duchy
- Duke Albrecht died on March 20, 1568. He personally never gave up his evangelical faith, which was shaped by Osiander's teaching accents. The recognition of Osiandrism as a special form of confession had failed. But there were friends and followers: for example in Nuremberg and Pomerania. When the Osiander opponent, promoted to Bishop of Samland, Dr. Joachim Mörlin felt compelled to send a letter to Johann Daubmann's still existing followers of Osiander's teachings in Königsberg in 1570, so that speaks for itself. "Trewhertziger, very short and green report for pious hearts, which the teaching Osiandri still makes jrr."

literature

in order of appearance

Johann Georg Veit Engelhardt : Handbook of Church History. Verlag Johann Jakob Palm and Ernst Henke, Erlangen, 1833, 3rd volume, p. 233 ( online )
Ignaz von Döllinger : The Reformation and its inner development and its effects in the scope of the Lutheran creed. Verlag G. Joseph Manz, Regensburg, 1848, 3rd volume, pp. 397–437 ( online )
Johann Sporschil: Popular History of the Catholic Church. Ernst Fleischer, Leipzig, 1850, 3rd vol. P. 345 ( online )
Jörg Rainer Fligge: Duke Albrecht of Prussia and Osiandrism 1522–1568. Diss. Phil. Bonn 1972 (Rotaprintdruck of the university).
Martin Stupperich : Osiander in Prussia 1549–1552 , Berlin / New York 1973.
Gottfried Seebaß : Andreas Osiander d.Ä. and the Osiandrian quarrel. A piece of Prussian regional and Reformation theological history . In: Dietrich Rauschning (ed.): The Albertus University of Königsberg and its professors. On the occasion of the founding of the Albertus University 450 years ago . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1995, pp. 33-47.
Claus Bachmann: The self-glory of God. Studies on the theology of the Nuremberg reformer Andreas Osiander , Neukirchen-Vluyn 1996.
Ernst Volk : The Osiandrian dispute and its significance for the present . In: Homiletic-liturgical correspondence sheet, NF Vol. 17 (1999/2000), No. 67, pp. 321–336.
Claus Bachmann: The cross with the sole effectiveness of God. The theology of the Nuremberg reformer and Protestant arch heretic Andreas Osiander in the horizon of the theosis discussion , in: Kerygma and Dogma Vol. 49 (2003), pp. 247–275.

Individual evidence

^ Jörg Rainer Fligge: Duke Albrecht of Prussia and Osiandrism 1522–1568. Bonn 1972, pp. 183–444 (deals with attempts at unification after Osiander's death), pp. 449–525 (describes the decline of Osiandrism up to the victory of Orthodoxy), Index, p. 1034 (keyword “negotiations”).
^ Walther Hubatsch : Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach. Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and Duke in Prussia 1490–1568. Grote, Cologne, Berlin / Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1960. pp. 182f., 209–217. - Jörg Rainer Fligge: Duke Albrecht of Prussia and Osiandrism 1522–1568. Bonn 1972, p. 1077, fig. 56, title page of this publication.
^ Jörg Rainer Fligge: Duke Albrecht of Prussia and Osiandrism 1522–1568. Bonn 1972, pp. 324–338, 339–346, p. 1077, Fig. 56, title page of this publication.

[1] Jörg Rainer Fligge: Duke Albrecht of Prussia and Osiandrism 1522–1568. Bonn 1972, pp. 183–444 (deals with attempts at unification after Osiander's death), pp. 449–525 (describes the decline of Osiandrism up to the victory of Orthodoxy), Index, p. 1034 (keyword “negotiations”).

[2] Walther Hubatsch : Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach. Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and Duke in Prussia 1490–1568. Grote, Cologne, Berlin / Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1960. pp. 182f., 209–217. - Jörg Rainer Fligge: Duke Albrecht of Prussia and Osiandrism 1522–1568. Bonn 1972, p. 1077, fig. 56, title page of this publication.

[3] Jörg Rainer Fligge: Duke Albrecht of Prussia and Osiandrism 1522–1568. Bonn 1972, pp. 324–338, 339–346, p. 1077, Fig. 56, title page of this publication.