Source: http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/docpage.cfm?docpage_id=5358&language=english
Timestamp: 2017-11-21 19:18:17
Document Index: 97120694

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 7']

The Reformation Defined – The Diet of Augsburg (1530)
§ 2. It is Our firm will, opinion, and command, that between now and the coming 15th day of April, the Elector of Saxony and his allies shall order that nothing new concerning the faith be printed, offered, or sold in their principalities, lands, and territories. Further, that all electors, princes, and estates of the Holy Empire shall meanwhile keep the peace and unity [of the Empire].
§ 3. Neither the Elector of Saxony, the five princes, the six cities, nor their subjects shall force their sect, as previously has happened, on Our subjects or those of the Holy Empire, or the other electors, princes, and estates. And if some subjects of the Elector of Saxony, the five princes, and the six cities, whatever status they may have, adhere to, or wish to adhere to, the old Christian faith, they shall not be disturbed in their churches and chapels or in their ceremonies and Masses, nor shall any further innovation be introduced in them. Nor shall the regular clergy, men or women, be in any way hindered from hearing the Mass, confessing their sins, or administering or receiving the blessed Sacrament (3).
§ 4. Furthermore, the aforementioned Elector of Saxony, the five princes, and six cities join Us and the other electors, princes, and estates against those who deny the blessed Sacrament (4). Further, rather than splitting away from Us,
[ . . . ] they should advise, promote, and aid our actions against those people, just as, as mentioned above, all of Our electors, princes, and estates have, to the extent that they are involved, given us their approval and affirmation.
§ 5. Since no General Council has been held in the Christian Church for many years, although so many abuses and failings have afflicted Christendom for a long time, We, on the common advice [ . . . ] of Ours and the Holy Empire's electors, [etc.], have decided [ . . . ] to arrange with His Holiness and with all Christian kings and rulers as follows. Within six months of the rising of this Diet, a General Christian Council shall be called to a suitable meeting place for the purpose of Christian reformation. [ . . . ]
§ 6. Furthermore, though the laws of God and of man, also the Gospel, We command that no one shall be deprived by force of what is his [ . . . ]. We are daily approached with complaints and pleas from expelled abbots and abbesses who seek help in recovering their properties. [ . . . ] It is therefore Our strict command that the Elector of Saxony and his allies immediately, and without delay, allow these expropriated monks and other clergy to reoccupy the monasteries and properties in their territories, from which the occupants have been expelled.
§ 7. The aforementioned Elector of Saxony and his allies have not wished to accept Our gracious Recess and have even rejected it in part (5).
(3) This expression, either “blessed Sacrament” or “blessed Sacrament of the altar,” always refers to the sacramental rite Catholics call “the Eucharist” and Protestants call “the Lord's Supper” – trans.
(4) This mention of “sacramentarians” refers to the followers of Huldrych Zwingli of Zurich, who had been engaged in a dispute with Martin Luther about the chief sacrament since 1526 – trans.
(5) Refers to the first redaction of the Recess (September 22, 1530), which the Protestant estates refused to sign – trans.