Rector’s Reflections
Wednesday 21st May 2025
Why the Church of England Needs Martin Luther
I thought would start a new series of reflections, on one of the most influential theologians of the last five hundred years: Martin Luther (1483-1546).
As you will doubtless be aware, Martin Luther was the founder of the German Reformation. In due course, Luther’s theology formed the basis for a wider theological tradition, which is called Lutheranism. Luther’s teaching heavily influenced several churches which were newly established in the 16th century, especially in Germany and in the Nordic countries, and some of these churches have come to describe themselves as Lutheran Churches. In Germany, some Lutheran Churches are referred to as Evangelical Churches, but this is “Evangelical” in a technical sense, and it does mean that they are “evangelical” in the popular meaning of the word. Today, there are Lutheran churches around the world, and Lutheranism is a major feature of contemporary World Christianity.
And what of England? Lutheranism did not play a major role in shaping the history and character of the Church of England. Why was this? It was probably largely a matter of timing. Luther was in the first wave of the Protestant Reformation, ie the Reformation which started in the 1510s. At this time, our King, Henry VIII, was a conservative Roman Catholic. Indeed, Henry wrote a book against Luther’s theology, and for this was awarded by the Pope with the title of “Defender of the Faith”, meaning defender of the Catholic faith. It is a curious irony that subsequent English monarchs have retained the title, although of course from Edward VI onwards, “defender of the faith” has meant “defender of the Protestant faith”, the complete opposite of what it meant when the title was originally granted to King Henry VIII.
So Luther’s theology was a step too far for Henry VIII, who remained a faithful Roman Catholic right up until his death in 1547. By the time he was succeeded by his son, Edward VI, a Protestant, the Protestant Reformation had moved on. There was a new group of Protestant reformers, which included John Calvin. This new group felt that Martin Luther’s theology didn’t go far enough – it was much too Catholic for their tastes. They tried to persuade the powers that be in England to reform the Church along Calvinist lines. Queen Elizabeth wasn’t keen on this, but the Calvinists didn’t give up. They fought on into the 17th century, and it was one of the factors which lay behind the various and intertwined tensions which led to the English Civil Wars. By 1662, the Church of England had reached a compromise: it had decided that it was neither Lutheran nor Calvinist, although it had accepted a slight sprinkling of Calvinist ideas within its official theology.
So as far as most Anglicans are concerned, Martin Luther has been demoted from the area of theology to the area of Church History. In other words, his ideas are thought to be simply part of the history of the Reformation, and nothing to do with living out the Christian faith today. The Church of England has consigned Luther to the pages of history. He has become an irrelevance.
I think this is a great pity. I think the Church of England has much to learn from Martin Luther.
Indeed I would go even further. I think the Church of England needs to listen to Martin Luther if it is to flourish and meet the particular challenges of our own day.
We shall explore this further in the days ahead.