Philip Melanchthon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Philip Melanchthon
Portrait of Philip Melanchthon, 1537, by Lucas Cranach the Elder
Born	Philipp Schwartzerdt 16 February 1497 Bretten, Electoral Palatinate in the Holy Roman Empire (now Germany)
Died	19 April 1560(1560-04-19) (aged 63) Wittenberg, Electoral Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire (now Germany)
Alma mater	University of Heidelberg University of Tübingen
Years active	16th century
Theological work
Era	Reformation
Language	German
Tradition or movement	Lutheranism
Signature

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 Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems. He stands next to Luther and John Calvin as a reformer, theologian, and molder of Protestantism.

Melanchthon along with Luther denounced what they believed was the exaggerated cult of the saints, asserted justification by faith, and denounced the coercion of the conscience in the sacrament of penance (confession and absolution) by the Catholic Church, which they believed could not offer certainty of salvation. Both rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation, but not the belief that the body and blood of Christ are present with the elements of bread and wine in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The Lutheran view of sacramental union contrasts with the understanding of the Roman Church that the bread and wine cease to be bread and wine at their consecration (retaining the accidents of both). Melanchthon made the distinction between law and gospel the central formula for Lutheran evangelical insight. By the "law", he meant God's requirements both in Old and New Testament; the "gospel" meant the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Images for kids

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  Melanchthon and Luther with Christ crucified in the middle

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  Loci Communes, 1521 edition

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  Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1530–1535

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  Melanchton's house in Wittenberg

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  Melanchthon with Luther behind, by Johann Gottfried Schadow, Melanchthon House Museum, Wittenberg

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  The room in which Melanchthon died, Melanchthon's house. Wittenberg

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  Portrait of Philip Melanchthon by Lucas Cranach the Younger, c. 1562

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  The Melanchthon window attributed to the Quaker City Stained Glass Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina

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  Detail from Unterricht der Visitatorn, an die Pfarherrn in Hertzog Heinrichs zu Sachsen Fürstenthum, Gleicher form der Visitation im Kurfürstenthum gestellet, woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Younger, Wittenberg, 1539

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  Crest of Philip Melanchthon, featuring the bronze serpent of Moses

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  Anonymous Netherlands, Portrait of Melanchthon, early 18th century, engraving and etching

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  Melanchthon's room in Wittenberg

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  Head of Melanchton statue at Lessing-Gymnasium (Frankfurt), whose founder had been influenced by personal contacts with Melanchton

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  Engraving of Melanchthon in 1526 by Albrecht Dürer captioned, "Dürer was able to draw the living Philip's face, but the learned hand could not paint his spirit" (translated from Latin)