Nicolaus Gallus (also Hahn) (c. 1516 – June 1570) was leader of the

Lutheran Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

. Gallus was born in Köthen. At

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, where he became a student in 1530 and received the master's degree in 1537, he won the commendation of

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 ...

. In 1543 Luther sent Hieronymus Nopus as preacher to

at the request of the city council and with him went Gallus, who was ordained by Bugenhagen in April. In 1548 trouble arose in Regensburg over the acceptance of the Interim. Gallus wrote a treatise against it, and had to leave the city; services in the only Evangelical church there were discontinued. For a time Gallus preached for Cruciger (who was ill) at

, then in 1549, through the influence of his brother in law, Heinrich Merkel, city secretary at Magdeburg, he went to the Ulrich Church in that city. He joined

Flacius Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; hr, Matija Vlačić Ilirik) or Francovich ( hr, Franković) (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting stron ...

in opposition to the adiaphorism of the Wittenberg circle and published a ''Disputation von Mitteldingen'' in 1550. In that same year he contributed to the ''Magdeburg Confession'' as its primary author. He remained in Magdeburg after its capitulation in 1551, and kept up the dispute against

Osiander Andreas Osiander (; 19 December 1498 – 17 October 1552) was a German Lutheran theology, theologian and Protestant reformer. Career Born at Gunzenhausen, Principality of Ansbach, Ansbach, in the region of Franconia, Osiander studied at th ...

and

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

. In June, 1553, Prince Wolfgang of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making i ...

called him to his native city to assist in the settlement of the administration of the church property. In August, 1553, Gallus was called back to

as leader of the Evangelical cause. He worked there for almost seventeen years, and the effects of his activity were felt far beyond the borders of the town. In the disputes of the following years he fought faithfully on the side of

. Like him he tried to influence

by letters, but the latter treated Gallus rather haughtily. It probably angered him that Gallus had republished (1554) his ''Sententiae veterum de coena Domini'', which was directed against

Oecolampadius Johannes Oecolampadius (also ''Œcolampadius'', in German also Oekolampadius, Oekolampad; 1482 – 24 November 1531) was a German Protestant reformer in the Calvinist tradition from the Electoral Palatinate. He was the leader of the Protestant f ...

. In 1561 Gallus warned the princes convened at Naumburg of the spreading Calvinistic doctrine of the Lord's Supper (see:

Crypto-Calvinism Crypto-Calvinism is a pejorative term describing a segment of those members of the Lutheran Church in Germany who were accused of secretly subscribing to Calvinist doctrine of the Eucharist in the decades immediately after the death of Martin Luth ...

). He also got into a dispute with Brenz, whom he suspected of leanings toward Philippism. From 1562 to 1566 he furnished a refuge to Flacius, who had been expelled from

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

. Melanchthon reproached Gallus for fighting continually against the Evangelicals, instead of combating Romanism. However, during the diet in 1556, Gallus preached against the Roman Catholics, and there are still extant manuscripts containing theses of disputation against the Ingolstadt Catholics. In this connection may be mentioned Gallus' writing directed against Corpus Christi day: ''Vom abgöttischen Fest, Frohnleichnams-Tag genannt'' (1561). Gallus campaigned against

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. He died in

Bad Liebenzell Bad Liebenzell (; Swabian: ''Bad Liabazell'') is a spa town in the Nagold River valley, the northern part of the Black Forest. It was first mentioned in 1090 and is the heart of the Liebenzeller Mission (a religious movement). Bad Liebenzell is ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallus, Nicolaus 1516 births 1570 deaths People from Köthen (Anhalt) People from Anhalt-Köthen German Lutheran theologians German Protestant Reformers University of Wittenberg alumni German male non-fiction writers 16th-century Lutheran theologians