Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Roman Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation and, though it was not his original intention, left Western Christianity divided.
The split between Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church arose mainly over the doctrine of justification before God. Specifically, Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone," distinct from the Roman Catholic view of works in addition to faith. Lutheranism is also distinct from the Reformed Churches, another major church which arose during the Reformation. Unlike the Reformed Churches, Lutherans have retained many of the sacramental understandings and liturgical practices of the pre-Reformation Church. Lutheran theology differs considerably from Reformed theology in its understanding of divine grace and predestination to eternity after death.
Today, millions belong to Lutheran churches worldwide; furthermore, the world's 400 million Protestant Christians can trace their tradition, at least in part, back to Luther's reforming work
The
Lutheran liturgical calendar is a listing which details the primary
annual festivals and events that are celebrated liturgically by various
Lutheran churches. The basic element to the calendar is Sunday, which is a festival of Jesus’ resurrection. However, Christian Churches have historically observed other festivals which commemorate events in the life of Jesus or of significant individuals in the history of the Church. The purpose of the liturgical calendar is to guide commemorations as a part of the daily worship of the Lutheran Church. There is some variation associated with the observance of the calendar, as each Lutheran Church creates its own calendar and each congregation must choose independently how many individuals will be commemorated within a given year and how many festivals and lesser festivals they will publicly celebrate, especially if they do not coincide with a Sunday.
Albert Schweitzer,
M.D.,
OM, was an
Alsatian theologian,
musician,
philosopher, and
physician. He was born in
Kaisersberg in
Alsace-Lorraine, a bilingual
Romano-Germanic region which
Germany returned to
France after
World War I. Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of
historical Jesus current at his time and the traditional Christian view, depicting a Jesus who expected the imminent end of the world. He received the
1952 Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 for his philosophy of "
reverence for life", expressed in many ways, but most famously in founding and sustaining the
Albert Schweitzer Hospital in
Lambaréné, now in
Gabon, west central
Africa (then French Equatorial Africa) .
