by svlchurch | Jun 13, 2026
June 13, 1525: German reformer Martin Luther marries Katherine von Bora, 16 years his younger, having sneaked her and several other nuns out of their Cistercian convent in empty herring barrels two years earlier. Many viewed the marriage, which lasted 21 happy years,...
by svlchurch | May 6, 2026
May 6, 1527: An army of barbarians who had been sent—but were no longer controlled—by Emperor Charles V sacks Rome. Many Protestants interpreted the attack as a divine rebuke, and some Catholics agreed: “We who should have been the salt of the earth decayed...
by svlchurch | May 5, 2026
May 5, 1525: Frederick III, the elector of Saxony also called “Frederick the Wise,” dies. An avid collector of relics and a supporter of modern scholarship (he founded the University of Wittenberg), Frederick protected Martin Luther after the Diet of Worms...
by svlchurch | Apr 19, 2026
April 19, 1529: At the Diet of Speyer (Germany), princes and 14 cities draft a formal protest of Charles V’s attempt to crush Lutheranism, defending religious freedom for religious minorities, e.g. those involved in the Reformation movement. From then on, the...
by svlchurch | Apr 16, 2026
April 16, 1521: German reformer Martin Luther arrives at the Diet of Worms, convinced he would get the hearing he requested in 1517 to discuss the abuse of indulgences and his “95 Theses.” He was astounded when he discovered it would not be a debate, but...
