Joachim Westphal (born at

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

1510 or at the beginning of 1511; died there 16 January 1574) was a German " Gnesio-Lutheran" theologian and

Protestant reformer Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...

. From 1571 to 1574 he served as Superintendent of Hamburg (per pro already since 1562), presiding as spiritual leader over the Lutheran state church of the city-state. He was educated in the school of the parish of St. Nicolai in his native city, then in

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

, and entered the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

, where he became the pupil of Melanchthon and

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

. In 1532, on the recommendation of Melanchthon, he was appointed teacher at the Johanneum in his native city. In 1534 he returned to the University of Wittenberg, and in the following year removed with the university to Jena. After his return to Wittenberg in 1537 he lectured on philology. In 1541 he became preacher of the church of St. Catharine in Hamburg; then acting

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

in 1562, and was elected Superintendent of Hamburg in 1571. He is best known for his participation in the theological controversies of his time. He took part in that on the

descent into hell In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell ( la, Descensus Christi ad Inferos, "the descent of Christ into Hell" or Hades) is an Old English and Middle English term referring to the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his re ...

, also in the discussion concerning the

Leipzig Interim The Leipzig Interim was one of several temporary settlements between the Emperor Charles V and German Lutherans following the Schmalkaldic War. It was presented to an assembly of Saxon political estates in December 1548. Though not adopted by the a ...

and in that over the

Adiaphora Adiaphoron (; plural: adiaphora; from the Greek (pl. ), meaning "not different or differentiable") is the negation of ''diaphora'', "difference". In Cynicism, adiaphora represents indifference to the s of life. In Pyrrhonism, it indicates thin ...

. More important was that over the

Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. In 1552 he published ''Farrago confusanearum et inter se dissidentium opinionum de coena Domini, ex Sacramentariorum libris congesta'', a warning against those who deny the presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. He points out to the adherents of Luther the alarming progress which the

sacramentarians The Sacramentarians were Christians during the Protestant Reformation who denied not only the Roman Catholic transubstantiation but also the Lutheran sacramental union (as well as similar doctrines such as consubstantiation). During the turbulen ...

had made and tries to prove the falsity of their doctrine by its diversity. In 1553 he issued ''Recta fides de coena Domini'', an exegetical discussion of 1 Cor. 11 and the

Words of Institution The Words of Institution (also called the Words of Consecration) are words echoing those of Jesus himself at his Last Supper that, when consecrating bread and wine, Christian Eucharistic liturgies include in a narrative of that event. Eucharist ...

; in 1555 ''Collectanea sententiarum D. Aurelii Augustini de coena Domini'' and ''Fides Cyrilli episcopi Alexandriae de praesentia corporis et sanguinis Christi''.

Calvin Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvi ...

answered in January 1555, with his ''Defensio sanae et orthodoxae doctrinae de sacramentis''. Thus there was opened a controversy which involved on the side of the Reformed Lasco,

Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss R ...

, Ochino, Valerandus Polanus,

Beza Theodore Beza ( la, Theodorus Beza; french: Théodore de Bèze or ''de Besze''; June 24, 1519 – October 13, 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformatio ...

, and Bibliander; on the side of the Lutherans Timann, Paul von Eitzen, Schnepff, E. Alberus, Gallus, Flacius,

Judex Judex (real name Jacques de Trémeuse) is a fictional French vigilante hero created by Louis Feuillade and Arthur Bernède for the 1916 silent film ''Judex''. Judex (whose name is Latin for "judge") is a mysterious avenger who dresses in black and ...

, Brenz, and Andreä. Westphal replied to Calvin in ''Adversus cuiusdam sacramentarii falsam criminationem iusta defensio, in qua et eucharistiae causa agitur'' (1555), to which Calvin answered in ''Secunda defensio piae et orthodoxae de sacramentis fidei'' (1556), which was an attempt to draw to his side the

Philippists The Philippists formed a party in early Lutheranism. Their opponents were called Gnesio-Lutherans. Before Luther's death ''Philippists'' was the designation usually applied in the latter half of the sixteenth century to the followers of Phili ...

of Saxony and Lower Germany. Other works of Westphal occasioned by this controversy are: ''Epistola Joachimi Westphali, qua breviter respondet ad convicia J. Calvini'' (1556); ''Confessio fidei de eucharistiae sacramento, in qua ministri ecclesiarum Saxoniae...astruunt corporis et sanguinis D. n. J. Christi praesentiam in coena sancta, et de libro Calvini ipsis dedicato respondent'' (Magdeburg, 1557); ''Justa defensio adversus insignia mendacia J. a Lasco, quae in epistola ad Poloniae regem contra Saxonicas ecclesias sparsit'' (1557); ''Apologetica scripta Johannis Westphali, quibus et sanam doctrinam de eucharistia defendit et foedissimas calumnias sacramentariorum diluit'' (1558); ''Confutatio aliquot enormium mendaciorum Johannis Calvini'' (1558); ''Apologia confessionis de Coena Domini'' (1558). This book contains a chapter "De adoratione Christi in Eucharistia", where he defends

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

and use of

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

during consecration.''Venerabilis et adorabilis Eucharistia'' by Tom G A Hardt, p. 249. Uppsala 1971, Studia doctrinae christianae upsaliensia.

References

External links

''The Calumnies of Joachim Westphal''
by John Calvin
The Eucharistic Controversies. Calvin and Westphal
History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII (

CCEL The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts. Description CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a pro ...

)
Joachim Westphal
in the Christian Cyclopedia , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Westphal, Joachim (of Hamburg) 1510s births 1574 deaths Clergy from Hamburg 16th-century German Lutheran clergy German Lutheran theologians Lutheran Eucharistic theology German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German Protestant theologians 16th-century German male writers 16th-century Lutheran theologians