It was on October 31, five hundred years ago, that Martin Luther published his 95 theses, reportedly nailing these to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg in Germany.
The event, which started what we now call the Reformation, has been commemorated in Rye this week with a church service (reported elsewhere in Rye News by Sandra Lanigan) and by a study session at the Baptist church in Cinque Ports Street on Monday October 30, when three speakers put Luther’s life and actions into historical perspective.
Revd. Helen Patten, depicted in words the man himself, a highly respected academic professor and theologian, exuberant, boisterous, friendly and at times coarse in expression, a man of his times. “Here I stand, I can do no other” was his famous dictum as he launched an attack on the corruption of the church at that time. Helen had preached in the German language in that very church in Wittenberg, where Martin Luther was buried. His object was reform but he started a revolution and a schism that endures today.
Jo Kirkham, local historian and Chair of Rye Museum, gave a vivid account of the turbulent times in Rye during this period, when public and private life were continuously subjected to religious ferment and dissension. The balance of political influence in Rye followed every change of political power in Whitehall, London, seat of government. The invention of the printing press in 1450 meant that the flood of new ideas coming from abroad, from Antwerp and Holland could not be stemmed by any Act of Parliament. The historical records of Rye are voluminous and amazingly detailed, she said.
Revd. Richard Orchard told how the schisms between the churches were being healed, helped by the Second Vatican Council. He gave a stirring insight into the meanings of ecumenism, concluding with a world vision of unity through diversity.
This opened the floor for discussion, with some wide-ranging comments and questions. One contributor expressed the thoughts perhaps of many: “Why can’t we just get on with the job of seeking to live the life of the Gospel?”
Jane Orchard who convened the meeting on behalf of Churches Together Rye thanked everyone for attending and Dick Kent, an active member of St Mary’s congregation, who lives in Iden, for suggesting this seminar. She pointed to the collection on a side table of books, leaflets and articles about Martin Luther, including the latest biography published earlier this year by Peter Stanford, entitled Catholic Dissident.
Photo: Kenneth Bird