Biography

A discussion of Martin Luther and John Calvin will likely include the name Philip Melanchthon. Melanchthon was born in 1497. He attended the University of Heidelberg and the University of Tübingen. He and Luther worked together to bring about a Reformation in the Catholic Church. Upon Luther's recommendation, Melanchthon became a professor of Greek at the University of Wittenberg. He complied with the basic tenets of the reformation in the Augsburg Confession. Melanchthon became Luther's successor upon Luther's death. Melanchthon's teachings, articles, and books continue to promote, defend, and explain the Reformation movement, but not without controversies. Aspects of the Lord's Supper, Justification through Christ, and the veneration of saints are just a few topics that lent themselves clashes of thought. Melanchthon will always be regarded as a zealous defender of the church, and his life's work can barely be reviewed in this small paragraph. This great reformer died on April 19, 1560, at 63, but his name and work live on.

Wailand Groenendyk
CCEL Staff Writer