[Originally published in the Monroe News on May 21, 2021]
It is not very often we get to celebrate the 500th anniversary of a momentous event in history, and yet just around a month ago that is exactly what happened. It is an event you may or may not know well by name, but I assure you the lasting effects of this event are still known by every one of us to this day. The event I speak of is called the Diet of Worms. It was an imperial meeting involving Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire as well as nobles and other leaders from the Roman church and the lands of Germany. While they had many matters of business to discuss there was one day involving one individual that stands out above all the rest. On April 18, 1521 a German monk named Martin Luther was called before the Diet to recant his writings and teaching. It became a day never to be forgotten.
Martin Luther had already been declared a heretic by the Roman church and Pope Leo X and the Diet of Worms was to be the Emperor’s moment to once and for all stop Luther and his works. A representative of the pope presented before the assembly all the written works of Luther and asked him if he would recant them. Ultimately, Luther refused. His response is of particular interest to us still to this day because I believe, alongside many others, that his response helped to change the course of history and the very relationship between the human conscience and earthly authorities. This was Luther’s response:
