Our first port of call today was Worms, Germany, the city in which Martin Luther was declared a heretic for his religious beliefs. Luther was given the opportunity to recant his theses. His response was that some of his theses had been adopted by the Church, therefore it made no sense to recant them. Other theses were his questions and opinions, which he had the right to voice, so there was no reason to recant those. The remaining theses questioned the Church, and Luther expressed a willingness to recant them if the Church proved him to be Biblically in error. He was convicted and excommunicated–except in Saxony, where he lived. Scholars believe this was a political deal made between the Church and the government. After his trial, Luther married a runaway nun. They had six children and adopted four more, and he continued to teach at Wittenberg University.
There are lots of city fountains in the places we’re visiting. They all have spouts with drinking water, so it’s easy to keep our water bottles filled.
This is the entrance to Lutherplatz, a park in Worms dedicated to Martin Luther.
The figures in this monument to Martin Luther are arranged in the shape of a castle to commemorate Luther’s most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
A miniature of the monument stands beside it. Its purpose is to allow blind visitors to “see” what the large monument looks like.
This sculpture represents Luther’s shoes–large shoes to fill.
Luther never entered the Worms Cathedral. He was tried and convicted of heresy in Worms and was excommunicated from the church. Note the lower statue on the far right of the door. Then look at the next picture.
The sculpted woman is beautiful from the front, but there are frogs and other creatures crawling over her back side. The beauty is her salvation; the creatures are her sinful nature.
The ornate altar decorations in these old cathedrals are amazing.
Can you imagine sculptures like these in our modern churches?
The third window in the second row depicts Martin Luther. This is the only Catholic church in the world that publicly recognizes Martin Luther.
