Tuesday, March 18, 2025

It is the 18th of March 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

It seems ironic that a historian and a man with the job that I have doing this podcast would be terrible at remembering Birthdays. I have my sister Sarah (September 10th) and Lisa (December 16th). My sons were born on the 28th or 29th of both April and May, and I have to think for a second to remember April is the youngest. And then there is March 18th- my wife’s birthday- happy birthday. As a gift to her, she would like you to go to 1517.org/chacelebrate to see the AWESOME CHA tote bags and other stuff in honor of our 2,000th show on April 9th.  

And, of course, whenever we are out celebrating her, she might look over and say, “Dan, you haven’t touched your food… what’s on your mind?” And I’ll inevitably say, “Oh, just the Frankfurt Recess of 1558 and what it could have meant for unity amongst churches of the Reformation.”…. You know, as you do.

Now, “recess” is not just the best part of the school day but back in the day a “recess” was a formal document issued at the end of a diet… which is not that… but a formal meeting. Language is weird.

So- in 1555, the “Peace of Augsburg” essentially legalized the Lutheran Reformation and marked a high point for the reformers. But there was dissent in the ranks. While Luther had died the previous decade, his bad habit of name-calling flourished with his followers who characterized their opponent's theology with the names of adherents (although we can debate if they properly characterized the theology of their opponents). This is, in large part, the story of the Lutheran Reformation up through 1578-80 with the adoption of the Book of Concord (and now you know why all the Lutheran colleges are called “Concordia”).

But back to this “Frankfurt Recess” a sometimes overlooked historical document that was signed on this, the 18th of March in 1558. Phillip Melanchthon decided that the Princes needed to get involved to agree upon a framework for understanding the new Evangelical movement. So, if Melanchthon had to shoot his shot- get the princes to agree to something that they could then enforce in their regions- what doctrines would he choose?

Melanchthon chose to affirm the Augsburg Confession, the 1530 document that best summarizes early Lutheran theology. He then wrote on the necessity of understanding Justification and an “imputed” Righteousness (Jesus’ obedience to the law credited to the believer), the necessity of Good Works- not “to salvation” (as that’s a gift) but as an outgrowth of saving faith and then the Lord’s Supper- a doctrine that would get Melanchthon in trouble as he sought unity with some who held to variations on how or if Jesus was present in the elements.

What I find most interesting about this often overlooked document is what was NOT in it- that being, the names of the people associated with various doctrines, either for good or ill. Even where Melanchthon seems to be copying directly from previous writings he consciously removed the names of the offending parties. Perhaps it was because he knew the Princes didn’t care if Flacius or Major taught something, and perhaps he knew that some of the people who were maligned- improperly or not- would be at the Diet and name calling wasn’t conducive to the peace for which he was looking.

The Frankfurt Recess would not lead to peace- in fact, some opposed not the theology but getting temporal rulers to “do” theology in the first place. Certainly, had it “worked,” the shape of the Reformation to come would have been different- but the model of new theological documents- “Confessions” to clarify the movement would be the model. Today, we remember the attempt at unity, the involvement of temporal authority, and the brief respite from name-calling with the Frankfurt Recess signed on this, the 18th of March in 1558.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Psalm 105- the lectionary is all about covenants these days…

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him;

    tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name;

    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and his strength;

    seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done,

    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,

    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

He is the Lord our God;

    his judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers his covenant forever,

    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,

the covenant he made with Abraham,

    the oath he swore to Isaac.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 18th of March 2025 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a pastor at a UAC church, unaltered Augsburg Confession, but actually subscribes to the whole Book of Concord… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man, and when I see Melanchthon’s name, I’m reminded of the line from Spider-Man: “Oh, we’re using our made-up names.” I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.