Luther examined in Worms, 1521.
Edict of Worms
Source information for text:
From
CRI, The Voice: Biblical and Theological Resources for Growing
Christians
Dennis Bratcher, ed.
http://www.cresourcei.org/creededictworms.html
(May 1521)
Edict and mandate of Charles, Fifth of this name, Emperor Elect of the
Romans, ordered and written on the imperial day celebrated in the city
of Worms. In the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred twenty-one.
Against brother Martin Luther of the order of the Saint
Augustinian Eremites, reviver of the old and condemned heresies and
inventor of new ones.
Against each and every one of the books and writings under
the name of the said Luther already published or to be published, and
also against those who henceforth will print, buy, or sell those books
and writings.
Item. Against accomplices receiving or favoring Luther and
his works in any way.
Item. Against all insulting and libelous books, and other
such writings and illustrations, and also against writers, printers,
buyers, or sellers, whoever they are or whatever social status or
condition they have.
Law for printers to defend against the evils which come from
the abuse of the praiseworthy craft of printing.
Punishments
For the crime of lèse majesté [high
treason] and for very serious offense and indignation against the
prince.
Item. Confiscation and loss of body and belongings and all
goods, fixed and movable, half of which will go to the Lord, and the
other half to the accusers and denouncers. With other punishments as
given more fully in the present edict and mandate.
Charles, by divine grace emperor of the Romans, king of
Castile and archduke of Austria, to our governors of kingdoms, lands,
domains, and members of the council of our empire and to all the
subjects of our lands, from whatever state, dignity, or condition they
may be, and to which our present edict, decree, and ordinance will be
shown, greetings.
To the honor and praise of God, our creator, through whose
mercy we have been given kingdoms, lands, and domains hereabove
mentioned, it is our duty to help subdue the enemies of our faith and
bring them to the obedience of the divine majesty, magnifying the glory
of the cross and the passion of our Lord (insofar as we are able), and
to keep the Christian religion pure from all heresy or suspicion of
heresy, according to and following the ordinance and custom observed by
the Holy Roman Church. We are rooted in that faith with a true heart,
like our predecessors and progenitors, who by the grace of God also
persecuted the enemies of our faith and banished them from their lands.
Through their labors, expenditures, and indescribable perils, they have
augmented and preserved the faith of our Savior Jesus Christ. They were
unceasingly concerned that no appearance or suspicion of heresy or
unfaithfulness appear in their kingdoms and domains.
For this reason-after having learned of the mistakes and
heresies of a certain Martin Luther, of the order of the Eremites of
Saint Augustine, who teaches iniquity, preaches false doctrines, and
writes, in both Latin and German, evil things against our Catholic
faith and the Holy Roman and Universal Church, things which have
already been spread throughout almost all of Christendom, and abusively
into some of our lands and domains, greatly diminishing the honor of
God and the Catholic faith, imperiling and endangering Christian souls,
and bringing future confusion to all the public affairs of our Holy
Mother Church-if we do not put an end to this contagious confusion, it
could lead to the corrupting of all faithful nations and to their
falling into abominable schisms.
Furthermore, after having been informed of these things, our
Holy Father, Pope Leo X, general pastor of the Universal Church (to
whom belongs the right to bring order into all matters pertaining to
our faith and to the church sacraments), kindly admonished the said
Martin Luther to rid himself of these errors and false doctrines, and,
as is appropriate, asked him to renounce these doctrines over all the
country (wherever he could). Our Holy Father was diligent to find cures
for such pestilences and very often has assembled the cardinals of the
Holy Roman Church, as well as several other ecclesiastical prelates (i.e.,
archbishops, bishops, generals of various orders, and prelates of
different areas), several well-known doctors of theology and of canon
and civil law, and other men renowned for their common sense, their
learning, and their knowledge of languages. After canonically and
juridically citing Martin Luther, offering him every assurance and
expecting him to come back to a better judgment, but seeing that Luther
remained obstinate, our Holy Father, with the cardinals' consent, after
deliberation by the prelates and doctors and by the apostolic authority
which he holds, condemned the said Luther's books and judged them to be
pernicious and against our faith and the union and charity of our Holy
Mother Church. He declared that those books, in whatever language they
are written, would have to be burned and taken out of the people's
memory forever.
As far as the said Martin is concerned, if he would not
admit that he was wrong and repent, recognizing his mistakes in a given
period of time, he would be declared disobedient, child of iniquity,
and heretic. As such, he would have to be arrested, and, consistent
with the ordinance and the rights, he would have to be punished
according to the contents of the apostolic bulls. The honorable master
Hieronymus Aleander, provost of Saint John of Liège, protonotary
and librarian in several sciences and languages, nuncio and orator of
the apostolic see, was sent especially for this matter, and, acting as
a lawyer for our Holy Mother Church, he asked us to help in the
execution of all the things contained in the letters and bulls of the
apostolic see, as mentioned above.
After the fatherly admonitions and exhortations made to the
said Martin by our Holy Father the pope; after the vocation, citation,
obligation, and condemnation of Luther and his works; after the
presentation of the bulls to us and their disclosure throughout almost
all of Germany, and by our order executed in our Netherlands, our city
of Louvain, and the imperial cities of Cologne, Mainz, Trier, and
Liège, the said Martin Luther has not only refused to repent,
return to the obedience of our Holy Church and renounce his errors, but
this man of wickedness and furor against our faith and against our
Mother Church wants to continue spreading the detestable and perverse
doctrines of his wicked and pernicious spirit. He has written, in Latin
and German, several books full of heresy and blasphemy which have been
condemned by the sacred councils of the Catholic Church. Day after day
he continues to write and spread new errors and false doctrines, to the
great scandal of the people. In his books he confuses and destroys the
order of the seven sacraments of the church, which for a long time have
been invariably and devoutly observed.
Item. He changes and dishonestly infects the inviolable laws
of the sacred sacrament of marriage.
Item. Regarding the manner of receiving the holy sacrament
of the altar, which is observed by all churches: he wants to perform it
as do the damned heretics of Bohemia.
Item. As for the sacramental confession, which is beneficial
to all poor sinning souls: he has made confusion of this confession,
and afterwards he has turned it to his personal gain. What is even
worse is that the said Martin threatens in his books to say many other
things about this confession, so that some people already start to
doubt. Many are confessed in the wrong manner; and even worse, some are
allowed to confess everything about themselves while others are
publicly advised that confession is not necessary at all.
Item. As for the holy order of the priesthood (through which
the precious body and blood of our Lord is consecrated) and the power
and authority of the keys of our Holy Mother Church: not only does
Luther despise them by saying that they are common to all men,
children, and women, but in addition, he provokes the seculars to wash
their hands in the blood of the priests.
Item. The vicar of God here upon the earth, our Holy Father
the pope, the true successor of Saint Peter, is called several infamous
names by Luther. The pope is also blasphemed and persecuted.
Item. He says that there is no such thing as freedom of the
will, but says, as does the poet, that all things are predetermined.
Item. He says that the sacred mass does not benefit anybody
except the one who says it, and in this way he stops the young people
from the practice of praying to God, which the church has until now
kept and observed.
Item. Regarding purgatory and the masses and prayers said
for the souls of our dead, and also the suffrages and forgivings of our
Holy Mother Church: he agrees, not with our church opinion, but with
that of the Waldensian and Wycliffite heresies.
Item. As for the Catholic Church: he heeds the words of the
Pelagians and the heretical Wycliffites mentioned above.
Item. He despises and condemns the doctrines and authorities
which the holy doctors preceding us have left for our instructions, and
he degrades with all his might the devotion that we have for our saints.
Item. He says that there are no such things as superiority
and obedience. He destroys all civil police and hierarchical and
ecclesiastical order, so that people are led to rebel against their
superiors, spiritual and temporal, and to start killing, stealing, and
burning, to the great loss and ruin of public and Christian good.
Furthermore, he institutes a way of life by which people do whatever
they please, like beasts. They behave like men living without any law,
condemning and despising all civil and canon laws to the extent that
Luther, by excessive presumption, has publicly burned the decretals and
(as we might expect) would have burned the imperial civil law had he
not had more fear of the imperial and royal swords than he had of
apostolic excommunication.
Furthermore, he is not ashamed to detract from and speak
evil of the sacred and holy general councils. Among these he has
primarily destroyed (as much as he was able to) the holy Council of
Constance, which was convened for the glory and the memory of the
German nation to put an end to the schism and to bring back peace to
our Holy Mother Church. The said Luther's polluted mouth, despising and
demolishing these, has scandalized the Universal Church. He wants to
bring dishonor upon all of Christendom by calling this council "Satan's
Synagogue" and by insulting all those who attended it, namely,
"Sigismund of curious memory, emperor; and the princes of the Holy
Empire, antichrists and apostles of the antichrist, murderers and
pharisees," because, following an order from that council, they burned
the heretic John Hus. Luther also added that all John Hus's articles,
condemned during the council as wrong and heretical, were evangelical
and Christian, and he wanted to defend him and approve of what he did.
But he rejects and refuses whatever articles were approved by the
council, protesting like a madman that if John Hus was once heretic, he
[Luther] is proud to be ten times more heretic. And he seeks so much
after new things, to the perdition of mankind, that he has not written
anything (however truthful it may appear) that does not contain
pestilences or the sting of death. This without mentioning the other
books full of blasphemies, errors, and heresies not even worthy of
mention by the mouth of a good Christian. These books contain as much
poison as they have words.
To put an end to the numberless and endless errors of the
said Martin, let us say that it seems that this man, Martin, is not a
man but a demon in the appearance of a man, clothed in religious habit
to be better able to deceive mankind, and wanting to gather the
heresies of several heretics who have already been condemned,
excommunicated, and buried in hell for a long time. Let us add to this
all the heresies recently brought in by him to be the source of all
iniquity and rubbish and to destroy the Catholic faith. As an
evangelical preacher he labors to trouble and demolish all religious
peace and charity and all order and direction in the things of this
world. And finally, he brings dishonor upon all the beauty of our Holy
Mother Church.
After having mentioned all these things before the council
of the nations and our Holy Father the pope, we are endowed with all
power to assist and give orders to put an end to and exterminate
forever this dangerous and mortal heresy. To proceed better in this
matter we appealed to learned people, both ecclesiastical and secular,
and to all the general estates assembled in great number during the day
designated by our ordinance, in this city of Worms. Upon the advice of
our council, several other princes and prelates from our lands and
domains and other good people of our company are also in attendance. We
have finally arrived at the following conclusion.
Namely, that a man like the said Luther, already condemned
and still persisting in his obstinate perversity, separated from the
way of life of Christians, and a notorious heretic, should not be
listened to nor questioned, according to the law, in order to prevent
every opportunity for those who favor the said Luther and his errors to
do evil. Because among the many titles bearing the name of Martin
Luther some of the books may not have been composed or written by him
and because several people said that proceedings should not be taken
against him without first having heard what he knew, or what he would
tell, we asked by letter patent that the said Luther come before us,
giving him safe-conduct and having him escorted by one of our
kings-of-arms from Germany, who was sent by us. We asked him to come
here, not to judge him or to praise his merits, nor to desire that the
things concerning the holy Catholic faith, which for so long, because
of new disputations, have brought great scandal and peril to Christians
and have brought laughs from the unfaithful enemies of our holy
faith-be further discussed, but to see if through good admonitions the
said Luther could not be converted.
For this reason the said Luther appeared here in Worms
before us and before the princes, prelates, and other people from the
several estates. Following our order, we had him questioned, asking him
first if, yes or no, he had written the books which were then named and
shown to him and [secondly] if he wanted to revoke the contents of
these books concerning things against the Catholic faith, the sacred
general councils, the apostolic decrees, and the church rites and
customs observed and kept by our predecessors and by us down to the
present day. We requested of the said Luther, both in our name and in
that of all our assistants, that he be willing to return humbly to the
unity and communion of our Mother Church. And even then it would have
been easy to convert him and soften his heart if the said Luther had
not been as obstinate as a rock.
Luther admitted before us and before the princes and the
people of the diet that the books named were his and that he could not
and would not ever deny them. Furthermore, he said that he has written
others that were not shown here because they were not yet in our
possession. As far as the revocation of the contents of his books was
concerned, he asked that a delay be given him to think about it. This
delay should have been refused: things that are against the faith do
not deserve postponement. Moreover, because we mentioned in our letter
to Luther the reason for his coming here, he should have had time
enough to think about the answer he would give us. However, we were
willing to give him a delay of twenty-four hours. After that time he
was to be brought again before us and before the princes and the people
of the diet. We also promised him that if he would revoke the evil
mentioned above, we would arrange for him to have an interview with our
Holy Father the pope. And also, after just and diligent deliberation,
[we agreed that] if there was any good in the contents of his books we
would keep it and expurgate only the things contrary to our doctrines.
Whatever was good would be confirmed and authorized by apostolic
authority.
Nevertheless, through evil words and gestures towards our
priests, he publicly pronounced that he would not change one word of
the contents of his books, declaring in our presence and in that of the
diet that the apostolic decrees and the holy general councils
contradicted each other more than once. As far as he was concerned, he
did not hold these decrees and councils to be true, and he would not
revoke one thing of what he had written until he was convinced
otherwise by the Holy Scriptures or by divine authority. He repeated
many times, to cover up his false doctrines, that he could not save his
soul if he were to change one of God's words-as if we had asked him to
change God's words! On the contrary, he had rebelled against our Holy
Mother Church.
Finally, the said Luther ended the day in an even worse
manner than he had started it. He could not hide his pernicious
audacity. He was rejoicing about the destruction of the Christians who,
because of his doctrines and his perversity, were living in discord,
trouble, and division. Luther also wanted, like the heretics, to
pervert and interpret in an evil manner the authority of the holy
gospel and to use it maliciously. (For example, where our Redeemer
says, "I have not come to bring peace, but the sword," Martin says that
there is no greater joy in the world for him than to see contention and
factions because of the word of God.) In this manner does he cover up
his new opinions concerning the word of God. He wanted to raise
factionalism, dissension, discord, crimes, wars, and evil things among
Christians, as we can readily see from the effects and the great damage
to the common good of the Christian religion.
Thus enlightened by the wicked and unfaithful response of
the said Luther, we decided to send him away without arresting him, in
accord with the terms of his safe-conduct and the judicial procedures
required in such cases, especially since they were written by us. The
next day all of the princes and representatives of the various estates
were informed of this decision. This was done at the request of the
princes and the diet, according to our Creator's words when He said
that He does not want the sinner's death but wants him to be converted
and live. We gave Luther a three-day delay for him to repent. During
that time, two electors, two bishops, two princes, and two deputies of
our cities gathered here in the name of all the estates and had Luther
present himself to be informed of our remedies and of the manner and
type of punishment with which we would proceed against him if he did
not repent. All of them did their duty without letting anyone do any
harm to the said Luther.
One of the electors made remonstrances to Luther to such an
extent that Luther could not utter a word. This elector even admonished
Luther to stop being stubborn and to go back to the ecclesiastical
obedience and customs that we, our Holy Father the pope, the Holy
Apostolic See, all the diet, and all faithful nations have kept until
now. He was promised that if he wanted to abandon this erroneous
opinion and return to obeying his superiors again, his honor and his
salvation would be preserved, as had been done in the past for some of
the holy fathers who had also been led astray.
The said Luther gave no better response than he had
previously given (according to the report of the deputies). He said
that not only was he suspicious of each one of us, but that even if a
general council were assembled, he still would not submit to it. And,
if we were informed correctly, he even dared say with his polluted
mouth that the things of the gospel and the Catholic faith have never
been treated well by the general councils. Luther has appealed from the
sentence of our Holy Father the pope to the general council as his last
resort, even though he has said so many wicked and insulting things and
has written such evil things about the general councils. With all his
strength and ingenuity he has diverted and confused the people in the
manner of the heretics who say there is nothing on earth they fear so
much as the general councils. That is because the one thing done there,
and that by divine providence, is to contradict the actions and
writings of the heretics, enemies of truth, in order to destroy and
annihilate their rash inventions. This [attitude towards the councils],
more than any other heretical event, has been verified and manifested
in Luther and his works.
The things mentioned above have been studied by us carefully
and at length. Since the said Luther was so stubborn and obstinate in
his opinions, errors, and heresies, the wise people who had seen and
heard him said that he was mad and possessed by some evil spirit. We
had him sent back, accompanied by our king-of-arms for his safety,
according to the contents of his safe-conduct. We gave him a period of
twenty days, beginning on the twenty-fifth of April of the present
year, which was the day he left this city of Worms. And now it is only
just and necessary to find remedies pertaining to such a case, which we
have done and executed as follows.
First of all, to the honor of Almighty God, in reverence
both to his vicar here on earth, our Holy Father the pope, and to the
Holy Apostolic See, moved by zeal, affection, and our natural
inclination, and in imitation of our predecessors, we appeal to the
defense of the Catholic faith and to the protection of the Holy Roman
Church. We desire to defend our goods, to use our power, our domains,
our friends and subjects, and if necessary, to risk our own life and
blood and whatever it pleases God to give us in this world. By the
authority vested in us, and upon the advice of the princes, prelates,
knights of our orders, and gentlemen of our council gathered here in
great numbers, we have ordered that mandates be sent to every one of
our chancelleries and domains in their own language by which the
sentence is to be executed against Martin Luther and his false doctrine
(already condemned by our Holy Father the pope, the true and legitimate
judge in these matters), as contained in the above-mentioned bulls
presented to us. We have declared and hereby forever declare by this
edict that the said Martin Luther is to be considered an estranged
member, rotten and cut off from the body of our Holy Mother Church. He
is an obstinate, schismatic heretic, and we want him to be considered
as such by all of you.
For this reason we forbid anyone from this time forward to
dare, either by words or by deeds, to receive, defend, sustain, or
favor the said Martin Luther. On the contrary, we want him to be
apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic, as he deserves, to be
brought personally before us, or to be securely guarded until those who
have captured him inform us, whereupon we will order the appropriate
manner of proceeding against the said Luther. Those who will help in
his capture will be rewarded generously for their good work.
As for his accomplices, those who help or favor the said
Martin in whatever manner or who show obstinacy in their perversity,
not receiving absolution from the pope for the evils they have
committed, we will also proceed against them and will take all of their
goods and belongings, movable and fixed, with the help either of the
judges in the area in which they reside or of our parliaments and
councils at Malines or in other cities in which these events are made
known. Action will be taken according to the desire of the accusers or
of our fiscal procurators, but always according to the constitution and
the laws, whether canon, civil, or divine, written against those who
commit heresy or the crime of lèse majesté .
These laws will be applied regardless of person, degree, or privilege
if anyone does not obey our edict in every manner.
Item. We desire that the goods of delinquents that might be
confiscated according to this edict be divided, one half going to us
and the other half to the accusers and denouncers.
We also desire that where there are no accusers our fiscal
procurators proceed against the delinquents through inquisition in our
name. And if there are accusers, we want them to join you, in the name
of our fiscals, for our right and interest, without any opposition
given to them.
Item. We ask you and command that "with the sounding of the
trumpet" you call the people from the four corners of the villages and
cities where this edict will be published and gather them where it is
customary to publish our edicts and mandates. You will then read this
edict word for word and with a loud voice. We order, upon the penalties
contained herein, that the contents of this edict be kept and observed
in their entirety; and we forbid anyone, regardless of his authority or
privilege, to dare to buy, sell, keep, read, write, or have somebody
write, print or have printed, or affirm or defend the books, writings,
or opinions of the said Martin Luther, or anything contained in these
books and writings, whether in German, Latin, Flemish, or any other
language. This applies also to all those writings condemned by our Holy
Father the pope and to any other book written by Luther or any of his
disciples, in whatever manner, even if there is Catholic doctrine mixed
in to deceive the common people.
For this reason we want all of Luther's books to be
universally prohibited and forbidden, and we also want them to be
burned. We execute the sentence of the Holy Apostolic See, and we
follow the very praiseworthy ordinance and custom of the good
Christians of old who had the books of heretics like the Arians,
Priscillians, Nestorians, Eutychians, and others burned and
annihilated, even everything that was contained in these books, whether
good or bad. This is well done, since if we are not allowed to eat meat
containing just one drop of poison because of the danger of bodily
infection, then we surely should leave out every doctrine (even if it
is good) which has in it the poison of heresy and error, which infects
and corrupts and destroys under the cover of charity everything that is
good, to the great peril of the soul.
Therefore, we ask you who are in charge of judicial
administration to have all of Luther's books and writings burned and
destroyed in public, whether these writings are in German, Flemish,
Latin, or in any other written language and whether they are written by
himself, his disciples, or the imitators of his false and heretical
doctrines, which are the source of all perversity and iniquity.
Moreover, we ask you to help and assist the messengers of our Holy
Pope. In their absence you will have all those books publicly burned
and execute all the things mentioned above.
To that effect, we ask and require all our subjects of your
jurisdiction to consider the penalties herein mentioned, and we also
ask them to assist and obey you as they would obey us.
We also have to be careful that the books or the doctrines
of the said Martin Luther not be written and published under other
authors' names. Daily, several books full of evil doctrine and bad
examples are being written and published. There are also many pictures
and illustrations circulated so that the enemy of human nature, through
various tricks, might capture the souls of Christians. Because of these
books and unreasonable pictures, Christians fall into transgression and
start doubting their own faith and customs, thus causing scandals and
hatreds. From day to day, and more and more, rebellions, divisions, and
dissensions are taking place in this kingdom and in all the provinces
and cities of Christendom. This is much to be feared.
For this reason, and to kill this mortal pestilence, we ask
and require that no one dare to compose, write, print, paint, sell,
buy, or have printed, written, sold, or painted, from now on in
whatever manner such pernicious articles so much against the holy
orthodox faith and against that which the Catholic Apostolic Church has
kept and observed to this day. We likewise condemn anything that speaks
against the Holy Father, against the prelates of the church, and
against the secular princes, the general schools and their faculties,
and all other honest people, whether in positions of authority or not.
And in the same manner we condemn everything that is contrary to the
good moral character of the people, to the Holy Roman Church, and to
the Christian public good.
And finally, after this edict has been published, we want
all the books, writings, and pictures mentioned above to be publicly
burned, including those under the name of any author that might be
printed, written, or compiled in any language, wherever they may be
found in our countries.
We ask you to be diligent in apprehending and confiscating
all the belongings of those who seem rebellious to the ordinances
herein mentioned and to punish them according to the penalties set out
by law-Divine, canon, and civil.
And so as to prevent poisonous false doctrines and bad
examples from being spread all over Christendom, and so that the art of
printing books might be used only toward good ends, we, after mature
and long deliberation, order and command you by this edict that
henceforth, under penalty of confiscation of goods and property, no
book dealer, printer, or anybody else mention the Holy Scriptures or
their interpretation without having first received the consent of the
clerk of the city and the advice and consent of the faculty of theology
of the university, which will approve those books and writings with
their seal. As for books that do not even mention faith or the Holy
Scriptures, we also want this decree applied to them, except that our
consent or that of our lieutenants will be sufficient. All this will
apply for the first printing of the books hereabove mentioned.
Item. Furthermore, we declare in this ordinance that if
anyone, whatever his social status may be, dares directly or indirectly
to oppose this decree--whether concerning Luther's matter, his
defamatory books or their printings, or whatever has been ordered by
us--these transgressors in so doing will be guilty of the crime of lèse
majesté and will incur our grave indignation as well as each
of the punishments mentioned above.
We desire that evidence be added to the copy of this decree,
signed by one of our secretaries or by an apostolic notary as would be
done for this original.
As a witness to this, and for all these things to be firm
and forever established, we have put our seal on this document and have
signed by our hand.
Given in our city of Worms on the eighth day of May in the
year of our Lord one thousand five hundred twenty-one.
[Signed Charles of Germany]