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Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther—a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer, and theologian. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Beginning with the Ninety-Five Theses, first published in 1517, Luther's writings were disseminated internationally, spreading the early ideas of the Reformation beyond the influence and control of the Roman Curia and the Holy Roman Emperor.〔MSN Encarta, s.v. "(Lutheranism )" by George Wolfgang Forell; Christian Cyclopedia, s.v. "(Reformation, Lutheran )" by Lueker, E. et. al. (Archived ) 31 October 2009.〕 The split between the Lutherans and the Catholics was made public and clear with the 1521 Edict of Worms: The edicts of the Diet condemned Luther and officially banned citizens of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagating his ideas, subjecting advocates of Lutheranism to forfeiture of all property, half of the seized property to be forfeit to the imperial government and the remaining half forfeit to the party who brought the accusation.〔 The divide centered primarily on two points: the proper source of authority in the church, often called the ''formal principle'' of the Reformation, and the doctrine of justification, often called the ''material principle''.〔Cf. material and formal principles in theology〕 Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone", the doctrine that scripture is the final authority on all matters of faith. This is in contrast to the belief of the Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent, concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition.〔''Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent'', Fourth Session, Decree on Sacred Scripture (Denzinger 783 (); Schaff 2:79-81). For a history of the discussion of various interpretations of the Tridentine decree, see Selby, Matthew L., ''The Relationship Between Scripture and Tradition according to the Council of Trent'', unpublished Master's thesis, University of St Thomas, July 2013.〕 In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first four ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church. Unlike the Reformed tradition, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of God's Law, the divine grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints, and predestination. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism. With approximately 80 million adherents,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=About Us )〕 it constitutes the third most common Protestant denomination after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism. The Lutheran World Federation, the largest global communion of Lutheran churches, represents over 72 million people.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Member Churches - The Lutheran World Federation )〕 There are also many smaller bodies such as the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as independent churches. ==Etymology== The name Lutheran originated as a derogatory term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519.〔Espín, Orlando O. and Nickoloff, James B. ''An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies''. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, p. 796.〕 Eck and other Catholics followed the traditional practice of naming a heresy after its leader, thus labeling all who identified with the theology of Martin Luther as Lutherans.〔Fahlbusch, Erwin, and Bromiley, Geoffrey William, ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2003. p.362.〕 Martin Luther always disliked the term ''Lutheran'', preferring the term ''Evangelical'', which was derived from ''euangelion'', a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. "Gospel."〔 The followers of John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other theologians linked to the Reformed Tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to the two groups as ''Evangelical Lutheran'' and ''Evangelical Reformed''. In time the word ''Evangelical'' was dropped, though centuries later it was revived in various Protestant structures; primarily Lutheran, Reformed and various united churches. Lutherans themselves began to use the term ''Lutheran'' in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title ''Lutheran'' as referring to the true church.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lutheranism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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