Luther’s Ninety-five Theses

In 1517 an indulgence granted by Pope Leo X for the building of St Peter’s in Rome was being preached in the provinces of Albert of Brandenburg, archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg (Instructio summaria preamble and first and fourth graces (Kidd no. 6, pp. 13–16)) (Luther, Letters, to Albert of Mainz, 31 October 1517). Albert’s instruction to the preachers offered full remission of sins and of the pains of purgatory to those who were contrite, had confessed, prayed in seven churches and gave according to their rank. For souls already in purgatory it offered full remission by way of intercession, and for this the giver need not be contrite or have confessed (Instructio summaria preamble and first and fourth graces (Kidd no. 6, pp. 13–16)). The teaching behind such grants had been stated by Pope Clement VI in 1343: the merits of Christ, with those of Mary and the elect, form a treasure that the popes dispense to the penitent for the remission of temporal punishment (Clement VI, Unigenitus Kidd no. 1, pp. 1–2).

Among the preachers was the Dominican Johann Tetzel, whom Luther later called the originator of the affair (Luther, Preface to the Latin Writings (1545) on the years 1517–1519). One of Tetzel’s sample sermons has dead parents cry out to their children that a small alms would free them from their torments (Tetzel, Sample Sermons second sermon (Kidd no. 8, p. 18)).

On 31 October 1517 Martin Luther, who lectured on theology at Wittenberg (Luther, Ninety-Five Theses heading), wrote to Albert (Luther, Letters, to Albert of Mainz, 31 October 1517). He had not heard the preachers himself, he said, but grieved at what the people believed: that a letter of indulgence made them sure of salvation, and that souls flew out of purgatory as soon as the money fell into the chest (Luther, Letters, to Albert of Mainz, 31 October 1517). He asked the archbishop to withdraw the instruction, and he enclosed his own “Disputations” (Luther, Letters, to Albert of Mainz, 31 October 1517).

These were ninety-five theses in Latin, announced for debate at Wittenberg (Luther, Ninety-Five Theses heading). The first says that Christ, in calling for repentance, “willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance” (Luther, Ninety-Five Theses thesis 1). The pope, Luther argues, can remit only penalties imposed by his own authority or by the canons (Luther, Ninety-Five Theses thesis 5). Those who say that the soul flies out when the penny rings in the box “preach man” (Luther, Ninety-Five Theses thesis 27). Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon (Luther, Ninety-Five Theses thesis 36), and the true treasure of the church is the gospel (Luther, Ninety-Five Theses thesis 62). The theses do not reject indulgences or the pope: they curse whoever speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons and bless whoever guards against the licence of the preachers (Luther, Ninety-Five Theses theses 71–72).

Whether Luther posted the theses in public that day is not certain. His letter to Albert does not speak of it (Luther, Letters, to Albert of Mainz, 31 October 1517). In 1545 he recalled that he wrote to the archbishop and to his own bishop and, when they ignored him, published the theses (Luther, Preface to the Latin Writings (1545) on the years 1517–1519). Philip Melanchthon wrote in 1546 that Luther affixed them to the church next to the castle at Wittenberg on the day before All Saints (Melanchthon, Life of Luther part 1).

Luther recalled that he was soon denounced to the pope and ordered to Rome (Luther, Preface to the Latin Writings (1545) on the years 1517–1519). What followed is told under Luther Is Excommunicated and Outlawed at Worms.