Joachim Westphal (born at Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 1510 or at the beginning of 1511; died there 16 January 1574) was a German "Gnesio-Lutheran" theologian.

He was educated in the school of the parish of St. Nicolai

St. Nikolai, Hamburg

The Gothic Revival Church of St. Nicholas was formerly one of the five Lutheran Hauptkirchen in the city of Hamburg. It is now in ruins, serving as a memorial and an important architectural landmark. When Hamburg residents mention the Nikolaikirche, it is generally to this church that they are...

 in his native city, then in Lüneburg

Lüneburg

Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...

, and entered the University of Wittenberg, where he became the pupil of Melanchthon and Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

. In 1532, on the recommendation of Melanchthon, he was appointed teacher at the Johanneum in his native city. In 1534 he returned to the University of Wittenberg, and in the following year removed with the university to Jena. After his return to Wittenberg in 1537 he lectured on philology. In 1541 he became preacher of the church of St. Catharine

St. Catherine's Church, Hamburg

St. Catherine's Church is one of the five principal Lutheran churches of Hamburg, Germany. The base of its spire, dating from the 13th century, is the oldest building preserved in the city; after the lighthouse on Neuwerk island...

 in Hamburg; then acting superintendent in 1562, and was elected superintendent in 1571.

He is best known for his participation in the theological controversies of his time. He took part in that on the descent into hell, also in the discussion concerning the Leipzig Interim

Leipzig Interim

The Leipzig Interim was a temporary settlement of 1548 AD in matters of religion, entered into by the Emperor Charles V with the Protestants.The Augsburg Interim of 1548 met with strong opposition. In order to make it less objectionable, a modification was introduced by Melanchthon and other...

 and in that over the Adiaphora

Adiaphora

Adiaphoron is a concept of Stoic philosophy that indicates things outside of moral law—that is, actions that morality neither mandates nor forbids....

. More important was that over the Lord's Supper

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

. In 1552 he published Farrago confusanearum et inter se dissidentium opinionum de coena Domini, ex Sacramentariorum libris congesta, a warning against those who deny the presence of Christ

Real Presence

Real Presence is a term used in various Christian traditions to express belief that in the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present in what was previously just bread and wine, and not merely present in symbol, a figure of speech , or by his power .Not all Christian traditions accept this dogma...

 in the Lord's Supper. He points out to the adherents of Luther the alarming progress which the sacramentarians

Sacramentarians

The Sacramentarians were Christians during the Protestant Reformation who denied not only the Roman Catholic transubstantiation but also the Lutheran sacramental union.They comprised two parties:...

 had made and tries to prove the falsity of their doctrine by its diversity. In 1553 he issued Recta fides de coena Domini, an exegetical discussion of 1 Cor. 11

1 Corinthians 11

In the eleventh chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul of Tarsus writes on the conduct of Christians while worshiping together.-Vv 2-16 the Woman's Headcovering:Verses 2-16 have been the source of much confusion for interpreters...

 and the Words of Institution

Words of Institution

The Words of Institution are words echoing those of Jesus himself at his Last Supper that, when consecrating bread and wine, Christian Eucharistic liturgies include in a narrative of that event...

; in 1555 Collectanea sententiarum D. Aurelii Augustini de coena Domini and Fides Cyrilli episcopi Alexandriae de praesentia corporis et sanguinis Christi. Calvin

John Calvin

John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...

 answered in January 1555, with his Defensio sanae et orthodoxae doctrinae de sacramentis. Thus there was opened a controversy which involved on the side of the Reformed Lasco, Bullinger

Heinrich Bullinger

Heinrich Bullinger was a Swiss reformer, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Zurich church and pastor at Grossmünster...

, Ochino

Bernardino Ochino

Bernardino Ochino was an Italian Reformer.-Biography:Bernardino Ochino was born in Siena son of the barber Domenico Ochino, and at the age of 7 or 8 around 1504 was entrusted to the Minorite order of Franciscan Friars, then from 1510 he studied medicine at Perugia.-1534, transfer to the...

, Valerandus Polanus, Beza

Theodore Beza

Theodore Beza was a French Protestant Christian theologian and scholar who played an important role in the Reformation...

, and Bibliander

Theodore Bibliander

Theodore Bibliander was a Swiss Orientalist, publisher, and linguist. Born Theodor Buchmann in Bischofszell, he studied Latin under Oswald Myconius, and Greek and Hebrew under Jakob Ceporin, and attended lectures in Basel between 1525-7 given by Johannes Oekolampad and Konrad Pelikan...

; on the side of the Lutherans Timann, Paul von Eitzen, Schnepff

Erhard Schnepf

Erhard Schnepf was a German Lutheran Theologian, Pastor, and Reformer.- Life :...

, E. Alberus

Erasmus Alberus

Erasmus Alberus , German humanist, reformer, and poet, was born in the village of Bruchenbrücken about the year 1500. Although his father was a schoolmaster, his early education was neglected....

, Gallus, Flacius

Matthias Flacius

Matthias Flacius Illyricus was a Lutheran reformer.He was born in Carpano, a part of Albona in Istria, son of Andrea Vlacich alias Francovich and Jacobea Luciani, daughter of a wealthy and powerful Albonian family...

, Judex, Brenz

Johannes Brenz

Johann Brenz was a German theologian and the Protestant Reformer of the Duchy of Württemberg.-Early Advocacy of the Reformation:...

, and Andreä

Jakob Andreae

Jakob Andreae was a significant German Lutheran theologian, involved in the drafting of major documents.-Life:He was born in Waiblingen, in the Duchy of Württemberg. He studied at the University of Tübingen from 1541...

. Westphal replied to Calvin in Adversus cuiusdam sacramentarii falsam criminationem iusta defensio, in qua et eucharistiae causa agitur (1555), to which Calvin answered in Secunda defensio piae et orthodoxae de sacramentis fidei (1556), which was an attempt to draw to his side the Philippists

Philippists

The Philippists formed a party in early Lutheranism. Their opponents were called Gnesio-Lutherans.-Before Luther's Death:Philippists was the designation usually applied in the latter half of the sixteenth century to the followers of Philipp Melanchthon...

 of Saxony and Lower Germany. Other works of Westphal occasioned by this controversy are: Epistola Joachimi Westphali, qua breviter respondet ad convicia J. Calvini (1556); Confessio fidei de eucharistiae sacramento, in qua ministri ecclesiarum Saxoniae...astruunt corporis et sanguinis D. n. J. Christi praesentiam in coena sancta, et de libro Calvini ipsis dedicato respondent (Magdeburg, 1557); Justa defensio adversus insignia mendacia J. a Lasco, quae in epistola ad Poloniae regem contra Saxonicas ecclesias sparsit (1557); Apologetica scripta Johannis Westphali, quibus et sanam doctrinam de eucharistia defendit et foedissimas calumnias sacramentariorum diluit (1558); Confutatio aliquot enormium mendaciorum Johannis Calvini (1558); Apologia confessionis de Coena Domini (1558). This book contains a chapter "De adoratione Christi in Eucharistia", where he defends elevation

Elevation (Liturgy)

In Christian liturgy the elevation is a ritual raising of the consecrated elements of bread and wine during the celebration of the Eucharist. The term is applied especially to that by which, in the Roman Rite of Mass, the Host and the Chalice are each shown to the people immediately after each is...

 and use of bell

Altar bell

In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, in Lutheranism and Methodism, and in some churches of the Anglican Communion, an altar or sanctus bell is typically a small hand-held bell or set of bells. The primary reason for the use of sanctus/altar bell is to create a joyful noise to the Lord as a...

 during consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 .

External links

• The Calumnies of Joachim Westphal by John Calvin
  John Calvin
  John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
  
  
• The Eucharistic Controversies. Calvin and Westphal. History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII (CCEL)
• Joachim Westphal in the Christian Cyclopedia