German Catholic Church

The German Catholic Church or the Katholische Kirche in Deutschland is an institution that has lasted for millennia. As an institution that remains important for over a quarter of Germans today, what is its story, and how did it survive the existential Protestant threat? Let's find out!

Head of German Catholic Church

Saint Boniface is large reference point for the German Catholic Church, often viewed as its father.

However, the actual head of the German Catholic Church during the sixteenth century, known as the Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, was one of the prince-bishops of the kingdoms within the Holy Roman Empire. In reality, these local bishops had almost no authority.

Power resided with the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V had a united front against Catholicism during the papacy of Leo X and Adrian VI, however, he did not see eye to eye with Clement VII, eventually sacking Rome as a result in 1527. Facing the challenges of the Protestant Reformation, each of these institutions had the greatest control over the Catholic Church in Germany.

History of Catholicism in Germany

Now we can embark on a whistle-stop tour of the German Catholic Church's history, before focussing on its role within the Protestant Reformation.

Ancient Era

Catholicism came to the Germanic people within the Roman Empire during the 4^th century. Until this point, Germanic tribes held pagan beliefs, often centred around holy trees.

Tribes including the Visigoths and Vandals began to convert to Christianity after the Roman Emperor Constantine mandated the religion throughout his lands.

Middle Ages

In the 8^th century, Christianity gained a foothold in Germany thanks to the work of Saint Boniface. The religion developed further with the Frankish king Charlemagne and his creation of the Carolingian Empire which stretched across continental Europe from modern France, into Germany and northern Italy.

Fig. 2 - Pope Leo III

This allowed him to lay the groundwork for much future Catholic policy after gaining the endorsement of Pope Leo III in 800 AD. A new and distinctly European way of digesting religion set the precedence for the relationship between church and state. Much of Carolingian doctrine emphasised actions over scripture which would become an effective means of population control in the coming centuries.

Protestant Reformation

The Catholic Church went from strength to strength in continental Europe until the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, the German Catholic Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to Castle Church in Wittenberg, Saxony. His treatise attacked the corruption within the Church, particularly those of indulgences and the fact that German taxes went to Rome.

The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor labelled him a heretic and kicked him out of the Catholic Church in 1521 but this did not halt the desire for reform. Luther translated the Latin bible into German and other reformist movements sprang up in France, Switzerland and England. 'Protestant' became a term in 1529 after the refusal of Charles V to recognise the Lutheran church. The biggest split in the church's history since 1054 was underway. Read on to find out how the German Catholic Church responded.

German Catholic Church Schism

After the Great Schism of 1054, the second Christian split that occurred had a profound effect on the Catholic Church in Germany. Let's examine its involvement in and reaction to such seismic events that threatened their very existence.

Diet of Worms (1521)

At Worms in the Holy Roman Empire, the leading figures of the Catholic Church met with Charles V to discuss the reaction of the German Catholic Church to Martin Luther's 95 Theses. When Luther refused to renounce his beliefs, Charles V issued the Edict of Worms which banished him from the German Catholic Church. The Edict of Worms also banned the translation of the Bible into German and restricted Luther's ability to move across the Empire.

Initially, there were calls for Luther to be captured, but this never came to fruition. Regardless, the united front of the Pope and Holy Roman Emperor against these new ideas was clear and uncompromising from the outset.

Fig. 3 - Painting of Luther (right) in Worms

German Peasants War (1524-5)

Despite the expulsion of Luther from the Catholic Church in 1521, he provided a template for those in the Holy Roman Empire wishing to question the authority of Roman Catholicism. In Württemberg, there were poor harvests in 1524, leading to a peasant's strike and the proposal of the Twelve Articles - which took inspiration from Luther, though Luther never endorsed them.

Chief among these was a refusal to pay taxes, which spread across the region of Swabia. The Catholic Swabian League led by Georg III crushed the rebellions, leading to 100,000 peasant deaths (1 in 3 men who revolted). Following this, was the introduction of a series of measures to stop future unrest.

Diet of Augsburg (1530)

After the Catholic rejection of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, the term 'Protestant' derived from 'protest' became widespread to describe Christian reformers. This was because principalities could still not decide if they wished to implement the Edict of Worms.

At the Diet of Augsburg, prominent reformer Philipp Melanchthon presented the Augsburg Confession, a renewed desire for the Lutheran Church to break away from the Catholic Church. Once more, Charles V and the Catholic Church doubled down on their judgements from the Edict of Worms, refuting the ability of a new Christian denomination to be formally recognised.

Religious Division of Germany: The Schmalkaldic League

As a response to the latest obstacle, reformers formed the Protestant Schmalkaldic League in 1531. This was an alliance of Lutheran principalities within the Empire. Prominent members included Saxony and Hesse. Charles V disapproved of the League but had other priorities, not least the threat of the French and the Ottoman Empire.

Nevertheless, as soon as he had made peace with French monarch Francis I, he began a campaign against the Schmalkaldic League in 1546. Using the Spanish Duke of Alba to do his bidding, the disparate principalities put up little resistance, were unable to form a united front, and lost in 1547.

The Peace of Augsburg (1555)

The Peace of Augsburg marked an end to the conflict between German Lutherans and Catholics that had raged for decades. Now princes could choose if their state should follow Lutheranism or Catholicism. This proved a successful treatise until the seventeenth century when the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) threatened the status quo. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II sparked this by outlawing Protestantism in Bohemia in 1618.

Counter-Reformation

On top of these aggressive anti-Lutheran policies, the German Catholic Church also participated in the Counter-Reformation.

Fig. 4 - Engraving of the Council of Trent

Now there was a period of soul-searching for the Catholic faith to update and improve its doctrine, defined by the Council of Trent (1545), a series of meetings in Northern Italy with the following outcomes.

• The Nicene Creed would be used by all Protestant and Catholic denominations.
• Formalisation of the Old and New Testament Bible texts, based on Latin and not Greek or Hebrew as the Protestants wished.
• Justification for actions had to be based on scripture and tradition, not only scripture. This took away the authority Luther derived from translating the Bible.
• The Catholic Church continued to favour transubstantiation over consubstantiation. This was the belief that the bread and the wine of the Eucharist took on the qualities of Christ's body and blood.
• Weeding out of the luxurious living and corruption that the 95 Theses highlighted. The standardisation of mass and training of priests contributed to this.
• After the Council of Trent, an inquisition also listed forbidden Protestant texts.

Despite the Peace of Augsburg and these measures, the proximity of Lutherism with Catholicism meant that other factors often trumped religion when deciding who ruled each principality. Commenting on the case of Bamberg at the end of the sixteenth century, Ninness asserts that:

As a result, we have to acknowledge that family and social status still played a huge role, despite the ardent beliefs of Catholics and Protestants.

List of Catholic Church in Germany

There are many famous Catholic Churches in Germany, ranging from the ancient Trier Cathedral to the famous behemoth that is the Cologne Cathedral. We will look at a couple of Catholic churches that had an influential role during the Protestant Reformation.

Castle Church, Wittenberg

Nailing his 95 Theses to the doors of this famous church, Castle Church had its first Protestant service in 1524, preached by Luther himself. The Elector of Saxony, Frederick III was a staunch defender of Martin Luther, who lectured Theology at the local university. The symbolism of these doors remained poignant until their immolation during the Seven Years' War two centuries later.

Fig. 5 - Castle Church doors in Wittenburg

St. Thomas, Leipzig

St. Thomas Church in Leipzig was the site of the Leipzig Disputation in 1519 where Martin Luther debated with Johannes Eck. The city itself became vital in the printing of German religious books during the Reformation. In 1539, it held its first Protestant service, once again led by Luther. It was in northeast Germany where many of the Protestant principalities were concentrated, whilst Catholic states were predominantly in the south-west.

Modern Era

There are 22 million Catholics in Germany today, slightly outnumbering the 20 million Protestants. In the last century, the complicity with the Nazi regime, the continuous loss of members, and more recent sex scandals have led to more introspection once more. Some radical quarters of the German Catholic Church are discussing:

What is certain, is that the German Catholic Church must continue to innovate to stay relevant, just as it did in the 16^th century.