Synod of Homberg
The Synod of Homberg was a Catholic synod held in Homberg (present-day Hesse, Germany) from 20 to 22 October 1526. The synod was attended by clergy, nobility, and representatives from several European cities. Its primary objectives concerned proposals for the reform of church governance and clerical discipline. The synod convened in response to theological disputes arising from the introduction of Zwinglian reforms in Zurich.
Description
In the early 1520s, governmental authorities in the Holy Roman Empire, France, and England influenced in ecclesiastical affairs.[1][2][3][4] The Diet of Speyer (August 27, 1526) resolved that each territorial authority could determine its own religious policy, pending a general council, provided it remained accountable to God and its respective sovereign.[5]
The synod was convened by Landgrave Philip of Hesse, who summoned "spiritual and temporal estates" to Homberg, "to deal, by the grace of the Almighty, with Christian matters and disputes".[6] Proceedings began on October 20, 1526, in the town church. François Lambert, a Protestant reformer and former Franciscan, presented 158 theses (known as paradoxa), which were posted on the church doors of Homberg.[6][7]
Following an opening address by the Chancellor, Johan Friis, Lambert read his theses with reference to Scripture. Later that day, Adam Kraft of Fulda translated the text into German and invited objections from attendees. The following day, Nicholas Ferber of Marburg, a Franciscan prior, challenged Landgrave Philip of Hesse's authority to hold a synod or legislate on matters of faith, asserting that such powers belonged to the Pope and clergy.[8][9]
Ferber later departed from Cologne and published written responses opposing Lambert's theses. On the synod's final day, Johann Sperber cited the Gospel of Luke's Hail Mary in support of traditional Marian devotion.[8][10]
References
- ^ "Concordat of Bologna". Encyclopædia Britannica. August 27, 2025. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
In 1516 the Concordat of Bologna had given the king effective control over the church in France.
- ^ "Concordat of Bologna". EBSCO Research Starters. December 31, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
Under the terms of the concordat, the king was granted the right to nominate bishops and abbots... This arrangement reaffirmed the pope's authority while enabling the French monarchy to wield substantial power in ecclesiastical matters.
- ^ "Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
Charles V... perceived Luther's teachings as a disruptive form of heresy. He outlawed Luther and issued the Edict of Worms.
- ^ "United Kingdom - The break with Rome". Encyclopædia Britannica. February 6, 2026. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
The first step was to intimidate the church, and in 1531 the representatives of the clergy who were gathered in Convocation were forced under threat of praemunire... to grant Henry a gift of £119,000 and to acknowledge him supreme head of the church 'as far as the law of Christ allows.'
- ^ "Diets of Speyer | German history | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2025-11-22. Retrieved 2026-01-30.
- ^ a b "Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume VII. Modern Christianity. The German Reformation - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". ccel.org. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
- ^ "Gothic St. Mary's Church in Homberg". Places of Germany. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
- ^ a b "Homberg Synod and Church Order of 1526". Christian Classics and Ethereal Libraries. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
- ^ Schaff, Philip; Schaff, David S. (David Schley) (1884–1910). History of the Christian church. Robarts - University of Toronto. New York: C. Scribner.
- ^ Augustine, Pradeep (2019-03-16). "The History of the Hail Mary Prayer". Catholic Gallery. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1909). "Homberg Synod and Church Order of 1526". New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 5 (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls. pp. 337–339.