Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German theologian, biblical scholar, pastor, translator, hymn writer, and reformer whose work was central to the Protestant Reformation and to the development of Lutheran worship. Born in Eisleben on November 10, 1483, he studied at the University of Erfurt, entered the Augustinian order in 1505, was ordained in 1507, and received the Doctor of Theology degree in 1512. He taught biblical theology at the University of Wittenberg, where his criticism of late medieval church practices and his emphasis on Scripture and justification by faith helped set in motion the Reformation controversies of the sixteenth century.

Luther’s pastoral program included preaching, catechesis, vernacular Bible translation, liturgical reform, and congregational song. His German New Testament appeared in 1522 and the complete German Bible in 1534. He published the Small and Large Catechisms in 1529 and worked with musicians such as Johann Walter to create German-language worship music that ordinary people could sing and understand.

Music occupied an important place in Luther’s theology and educational work. His hymns and liturgical songs include “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,” “Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir,” “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland,” “Vom Himmel hoch,” and “Jesaia, dem Propheten, das geschah,” the German Sanctus written for the Deutsche Messe of 1526. For that Sanctus he fashioned a melody from an older plainchant tradition and shaped it closely to his paraphrase of Isaiah 6:1–4. Luther died in Eisleben on February 18, 1546, and was buried in the Castle Church at Wittenberg.