The Leipzig Interim was one of several temporary settlements between the

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

and German Lutherans following the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I ...

. It was presented to an assembly of Saxon political estates in December 1548. Though not adopted by the assembly, it was published by its critics under the name "Leipzig Interim." The earlier

Augsburg Interim The Augsburg Interim (full formal title: ''Declaration of His Roman Imperial Majesty on the Observance of Religion Within the Holy Empire Until the Decision of the General Council'') was an imperial decree ordered on 15 May 1548 at the 1548 Diet ...

of 1548 met with strong opposition on the Lutheran side. In order to make it less objectionable, a modification was introduced by

Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...

and other Protestant theologians, commissioned by

Elector Maurice of Saxony Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity. ...

. Over the course of several months, several meetings took place between Lutheran theologians, Roman Catholic leaders and political advisors, including a meeting held at Alt Zella in November 1548. The Lutherans attempted to explain their sense of what they considered essential points of doctrine, e.g. justification and others. They continued to negotiate on non-essentials or

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 ...

, such as confirmation, the use of candles, vestments, holy days, etc. The document was presented to the Saxon assembly held at Leipzig in December 1548; it was not adopted by the estates of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charle ...

, though some portions of it were later applied selectively to some regions in the land. Its final form was given by the political advisors and not by the theologians. The controversies surrounding the Leipzig Interim caused a split in the Protestant side between Philippists and

Gnesio-Lutherans Gnesio-Lutherans (from Greek γνήσιος nesios genuine, authentic) is a modern name for a theological party in the Lutheran churches, in opposition to the Philippists after the death of Martin Luther and before the Formula of Concord. In t ...

, the so-called

controversies. In 1552 Moritz led a coalition against Charles V, which resulted in the Peace of Passau and finally the 1555 Augsburg Settlement, which made the Augsburg Interim and similar statements a dead letter.Kolb and Nestingen, 184.

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' article''Adiaphoristic Controversies'' article

Footnotes

{{Catholic Schmalkaldic War 1548 in the Holy Roman Empire 16th century in Saxony 16th-century Christianity Reformation in Germany