Dirk G. Lange

Sacramental Presence in Lutheran Worship Practice in Sixteenth Century Germany: Renewal or Disjuncture?

The project locates itself in the field of historical theology with a view toward constructive theology. What is the metaphorical framing of the sacraments (baptism and sacrament of the altar) in early Lutheran Kirchenordungen and in preaching? The question arises out of my study of Luther’s eucharistic hermeneutic (published in Trauma Recalled). In this study, I discovered Luther’s retrieval and renewal of the sacraments as a moment of liberation; in fact, this freeing moment was pivotal in the overwhelming reception of the Reformation. The sacraments were precisely the event that freed the human being from him or herself and from a false reliance on works. Subsequently, however, in the practice of the sacraments, we see boundary markings, established restrictions, and warnings. Was the radical reframing of the sacrament in Luther abrogated and reduced in the practice of the liturgy and particularly? Another angle of this question consists in exploring why the term eucharistia (thanksgiving) still prevalent in Luther and in the Apology to the Augsburg Confession is replaced in daily practice by the act of confession. The method of this study will consist in exploring early Reformation church orders and how they frame the sacraments. It will also include a study of preaching, prayers and hymns in services of Holy Communion in order to discern the theological foundations for practice of the sacrament, their conceptual framing and their actualization in practice. Were Luther’s sacramental insights translated liturgically into the life of the parish and believers?