Leipzig Disputation (1519)
Debate
held at the University of Leipzig between June 27 and July 16, 1519, which
involved Johann Eck, Martin Luther, and Andreas von Carlstadt. Eck, a professor
of theology at the University of Ingolstadt, was a distinguished scholar and a
feared disputant. Although he was originally a friend of Luther's, his
criticism of the Ninety-five Theses aroused Luther's anger and provoked a
vehement attack by Luther's colleague, Carlstadt. This eventually resulted in
Eck challenging Carlstadt to a public disputation. Originally Luther was not
expected to participate, but he became involved in the pamphlet war which
preceded the debate. Seemingly Eck wanted Luther included because he hoped to
expose the radicalness of Luther's position and to discredit the Reformer.
Eck
and Carlstadt began the debate by discussing the questions of grace and free
will. Although Carlstadt defended his position nobly, Eck proved the more
skillful debater. When Luther entered the contest on July 4, the subject was
changed to the question of papal authority. Before the debate Luther had
written that papal primacy was of recent origin and that it was contrary to the
teaching of Scripture, the decrees of the Council of Nicaea, and the evidence
of church history. This gave Eck the opportunity to associate Luther's views
with those of the Bohemian Christian Jan Hus, who had been condemned by the
Council of Constance and burned at the stake in 1415. It was a particularly
serious accusation in Leipzig because, following the death of Hus, his
followers had fled into Saxony. When Luther stated that "among the
articles of John Hus, I find many which are plainly Christian and evangelical,
which the universal church cannot condemn," Eck pointed out that the
Council of Constance had not been of that opinion. Luther responded by stating
that councils could err and had erred in the past and that only the Scriptures
were infallible. During the closing days of the debate Luther and Eck dealt
with the subjects of purgatory, penance, and indulgences. The disputation
concluded with Carlstadt and Eck returning to the questions of grace and free
will.
Both
sides claimed victory in the debate, but the Universities of Erfurt and Paris,
the appointed judges, never rendered a clear verdict. The debate was a tactical
success for Eck because he had succeeded in identifying Luther with a condemned
heretic. For Luther the Leipzig disputation was a turning point in his career,
as it revealed the extent of his estrangement from the official position of the
Catholic church and helped to clarify his thought on the central issues.