Syncretistic Controversy

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

the name given to a series of controversies which arose in the Lutheran Church in the 17th century, from the subject of the discussion-the promotion of fellowship and union between the Protestant churches of Germany. These controversies may be grouped into three periods: (1) From the Colloquy of Thorn (1645), in which it was sought to force a new confession of faith on the Lutheran Church, to the death of Calixtus (1656). George Calixtus was a Professor of Theology at Helmstadt, and his scheme of union was founded on the following propositions: (1) That the fundamental principles of Christianity were maintained pure in the Roman, Lutheran and Reformed Churches. (2) That the tenets and opinions which had been constantly received by the ancient doctors during the first five centuries were to be considered as of equal truth and authority with the express declarations and doctrines of Scripture. (3) That the Churches which received these points, and held the additional tenets of the particular churches as non-essential, should come into peaceful relations, and thus pave the way for a future union. After the death of Calixtus, there was a period of peace for about five years. (2) From 1661-1669. The conflict was renewed by the wish of the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, William VI., to secure a religious constitution broad enough to embrace both the Lutheran and Reformed Churches. The second attempt to have the Consensus adop dopted, and which implicitly condemned Calixtus his adherents as non-Lutheran and heretical, was a failure, and the subject was abandoned for a time. (3) In 1675, Calovius, Professor of Divinity at Wittenberg, reopened the controversy, and compelled the University of Jena to disavow all sympathy with the views of Calixtus. The death of Calovius in 1686 put an end to the dispute.