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Nikolaus von Amsdorf

© John L. Hoh, Jr.

The ideas of the Reformation took root among all strata of the population. There were also numerous men of noble birth among Luther's followers. One of them was Nicolaus von Amsdorf who was born at Torgau in 1483. He served as a canon at the All Saints' Convent and joined Luther at an early stage. He accompanied Luther frequently on his travels.

Luther dedicated his work "An den christlichen Adel" (To the Christian Nobility) to Nicolaus von Amsdorf who backed the Reformer in theological debates like the one about the Eucharist Communion. However, Nicolaus von Amsorf was not only an outstanding theoretical thinker, but also a practical man. As a pastor, he carried out the Reformation in Magdeburg.

While Charles V was deeply involved in conflicts of foreign policy with the Turks, Elector Johann Friedrich seized the opportunity to enforce the Reformation in the Naumburg-Zeitz Convent. He secularized the convent and appointed Nicolaus von Amsdorf Protestant bishop although the chapter had already elected Canon Julius von Pflug whose outlook was Erasmian. The investiture of this upright theologian in 1542 was performed by Luther.

A classical high school was founded in Jena in 1548 after part of Saxony was separated from Wittenberg as a result of the Smalcald War. In 1558 it became a university. Through the efforts of Nicolaus von Amsdorf, the university at Jena became a center for genuine Lutherans (gneisio-Lutherans). Among its most famous professors was Johann Gerhard, one of the most learned Lutherans in history, as well as a fine pastor and a writer of devotional material. Jena later came under the influence of Goethe and Schiller and later of influences from modern historical-critical methods.

Legend goes that, in attempting to find a husband for Katherine von Bora, she turned down a number of prospective suitors. Von Amsdorf finally asked, "Is there anyone you'd car to marry?" To which Katy replied: "Dr. Luther--or you, Dr. Amsdorf." The rst, as they say, is history.

Nicolaus von Amsdorf died on 14 May 1565 in Eisenach, Germany.

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