Der Unterricht der Visitatoren (1528): Kommentar—Entstehung—Quellen by Joachim Bauer, Dagmar Blaha, and Stefan Michel

Abstract

Reviewed by: Der Unterricht der Visitatoren (1528): Kommentar—Entstehung—Quellen by Joachim Bauer, Dagmar Blaha, and Stefan Michel Robert Kolb Der Unterricht der Visitatoren (1528): Kommentar—Entstehung—Quellen. By Joachim Bauer, Dagmar Blaha, and Stefan Michel. Quellen und Forschungen zur Reformationsgeschichte 94. Gütersloh: Verein für Reformationsgeschichte, 2020. 376 pp. One of the undersung documents that guided the establishment of Wittenberg reform, the Instruction of the Visitors, published in 1528, is presented from three perspectives in this well-conceived study. [End Page 89] The first section, Bauer's historical account of the steps leading to the composition of the Instruction, brings documentary evidence of the work's development to light as a helpful introduction to understanding the text itself. The path to visitation began in Luther's early disquiet over the actual impact of his call for reform at the congregational level and similar concerns at Elector Johann's court. Regional visitations in parts of his domain were conducted by Friedrich Myconius, Georg Spalatin, other pastors, and secular officers of the electorate in 1525 and 1526. In addition to weaning the congregations away from many medieval practices, the visitors were charged with combatting the spread of Anabaptist and spiritualist appeals that were spreading as the result of the preaching of Thomas Müntzer, Hans Hut, and others in the Saxon countryside. The peasants' revolt in mid-1525 added to the urgency of inspecting the rural congregations. Bauer assesses the controversy between Johann Agricola and Philip Melanchthon over the proper distinction of law and gospel, which took place during the visitations and influenced the composition of the Instruction although his presentation of the basic elements of the dispute overlooks the insights of Timothy Wengert's Law and Gospel. The Instruction is not a church ordinance (Kirchenordnung) as such, but it shaped the efforts of Johannes Bugenhagen, Urbanus Rhegius, and others to cast Wittenberg theology into institutional forms in subsequent years. In the second section, Michel analyzes the text, addressing the evolution of the wording of each article, demonstrating a greater role for Luther in its composition than has generally been recognized, then discussing specific issues raised by the visitations of Saxon congregations in 1527 as they play out in these articles of the Instruction and placing the specific topic of each article in the larger presentation of Wittenberg theology by Luther, Melanchthon, and their colleagues. Michel continues by laying out the content of each article and concludes with a brief assessment of the further impact of the article, including changes that Luther introduced in his 1538 revision of the Instruction. Michel's commentary is particularly valuable for its presentation of the theological and congregational contexts in which the individual [End Page 90] articles were formulated. English language scholarship—Wengert's Human Freedom, Christian Righteousness (1998) on Melanchthon's critique of Erasmus, Gregory Miller on Luther and Islam—could have strengthened certain sections, but in general readers gain good impetus for appraising what they find in later documents from the Wittenberg Reformation, including Luther's catechisms, which flowed out of his visitation experience. The visitation itself and the necessity of writing instructions for the early Evangelical visitors reveal how Luther's redefining the Christian faith and life also required articulation of a new understanding of the pastoral office and a fresh conception of life in the congregation. Michel sets forth the basic elements of these new images of pastor and people in well-wrought summaries of their shape and significance. The third section contains twenty-three documents, effectively edited by Blaha, that constitute the earlier drafts of the work and related correspondence and instructions, finally providing even the billing of Hans Lufft for printing 750 copies in late 1528. Blaha employs the latest of editing techniques to present textual variations and to supply basic information regarding the language and context of the documents. This volume opens up for readers an in-depth review of the rationale, concerns, procedures, and composition of this vital building block of the Reformation. Its carefully-researched, skillfully-composed presentation reveals how the rapidly changing ecclesiastical scene of the early years of the Reformation somewhat haphazardly adapted to the Wittenberg call for reform that Luther had sounded...