Who Was Philip Melanchthon? (Life & Legacy)

Some people tend to think of Philip Melanchthon as a sort of sidekick to Martin Luther, playing the irenic Robin to Luther’s brash and bold Batman. However, this illustration of Melanchthon’s contributions to history is grossly unfair. As Luther often noted himself, Melanchthon was an intensely gifted humanist theologian, having influenced Luther’s thought immensely, as well as the thought of later reformers, such as John Calvin. Indeed, one may say that there could have been no Luther had it not been for Melanchthon. However, to understand the depth of his impact, we must understand his story.

Melanchthon was born Phillip Schwartzerdt in Bretten, Germany in 1497. Being orphaned at the young age of ten, the young man had already begun his studies — being tutored by both his grandfather and by the linguist John Unger. Melancthon’s talents as an academic would soon be on display as a classical scholar of languages. His granduncle, the scholar John Reuchlin, bestowed the name “Melanchthon” on him which is Greek for “black earth,” or Schwartzerdt as translated in German.

From here, Melanchthon would go on to receive a BA at Tubingen University in 1511 and an MA from the same institution in 1514. Having excelled in the studies of classic works such as Plutarch and Pythagoras, he eventually would go on to be appointed to teach Greek at the newly established University at Wittenberg. It is here in Wittenberg that Melanchthon would befriend one Martin Luther.

Excellence in the Academy

An adherent of the humanist movement championed by contemporaries such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, many of his lectures were known to attract students across the European landscape with many coming to hear him teach Greek. He surpassed even Luther in attracting students.

His direct involvement for several decades in the establishment of educational institutions and pedagogical reforms in schools helped to bring about a mini-renaissance in German teaching. For example, a Greek grammar book he published in 1518 continued to be used well into the 18th century, which demonstrates the lasting impact of Melanchthon’s contributions and the timelessness of his teaching methods.

Luther’s relationship with Melanchthon is one of history’s best examples of true partnership. Widely known as the great systematizer of Luther’s thought and teaching, Melanchthon was everything that Luther wasn’t — cautious, irenic, and unabashedly moderate in his outlook in contrast with the stormy and combative Luther. In fact, Luther himself said of his friend and colleague:

“I prefer the books of Magister Philippus to my own. I am rough, boisterous, stormy, and altogether warlike. I am born to fight against innumerable monsters and devils. I must remove stumps and stones, cut away thistles and thorns, and clear the wild forests. But Magister Philippus comes along softly and gently, sowing and watering with joy according to the gifts which God has abundantly bestowed upon him.”

The contrast between Luther’s and Melanchthon’s temperament was seemingly night and day. However, this made for a unique partnership in their reform efforts. While Luther lacked precision and charity, Melanchthon was always there with a coolheaded, conciliatory approach to issues that were often quite delicate and consequential.

This would serve to be an essential asset in some scenarios — but his irenic, peace-at-all-costs tendencies sometimes got him accused of betraying Luther and the Lutheran tradition after Luther’s death when he was seen to have compromised on “non-essentials.” This earned Melanchthon the scorn of some of Luther’s most entrenched followers — such as Mattias Flacius.

Theological Contributions

Melanchthon is most broadly known for his theological contributions, where he was widely regarded as one of the best authorities on Biblical Greek and other theological languages. He was known as a careful systematizer, which was very valuable in tying together many of the threads of Luther’s thought into a cohesive system that could be understood in theological terms.

One of the earliest and most influential of Melanchthon’s theological works was the Loci Communes or Theological Commonplaces. A marvel of systematics, this work which was published in 1521 became a staple of thought in the early Lutheran Reformation. The work teases out theological topics into categories that can be discussed and debated and it includes sections on topics such as justification, free will, and original sin. Luther himself said of it “Next to Holy Scripture, there is no better book.”

The work also takes to task the scholastic methods that he viewed as having corrupted the original meaning of the plain text of scripture and therefore sought to call people back to the original text of the Bible in the original language, free of interpretive innovation. The legacy of the Loci is still held in high regard to this day, with it being a staple in many modern seminaries.

Melanchthon is also widely remembered as the chief architect of perhaps the most important document of the Reformation — The Augsburg Confession. Presented at the imperial diet of Augsburg in 1530, the confession attempts to distill the beliefs of the churches of the Protestant territories into short, digestible explanations of topical articles of faith. It included sections on topics such as the nature of God, the Trinity, free will, justification, and the nature of the priesthood and the mass.

It was presented to Emperor Charles V on behalf of the princes of the Lutheran territories. The chief aim of the confession was to provide a demonstration of the orthodoxy of their beliefs and their harmony with the scriptures. The confession prompted a confutation written by the Roman Catholic theologians, to which Melanchthon wrote a refutation known today as the Apology to the Augsburg Confession.

These documents proved to be immensely consequential in shaping the events of the next several hundred years, as Europe would be tossed into upheaval as religious and cultural unity would begin to fracture — ultimately culminating in the Westphalian order we largely observe to this day. The Augsburg Confession and Apology also influenced and informed the shape of Protestant Christianity for centuries following the Reformation.

After Luther’s death in 1546, it became apparent that Melanchthon was now the de facto leader of the Reformation, however reluctantly he looked upon this endeavor. The shoes of the fiery and decisive Martin Luther often proved to be too big for Melanchthon to effectively fill, and his later life became known largely for controversy, and to some, failure to live up to the standard that Luther had set.

Where Luther never met a fight he did not want to engage in and seemed to be willing to die on most any hill, Melanchthon’s irenic nature often led him to value unity at the expense of what some would have called doctrinal purity. He did not have the combative stamina that Luther possessed and often was said to have become irritable at the necessity of confrontation. This lack of stamina likely contributed to his desire to make concessions in conflict, even when those concessions seemed to be wrongheaded.

His desire to avoid conflict however did not spare him from it. Throughout the first half of the 16th century, Melanchthon became embroiled in many bitter theological controversies over the nature of the heart of the Reformation — particularly the doctrine of justification and the labeling of certain perceived abuses as adiaphora (nonessential). Perhaps the most famous came after Luther’s death and became known as the Gnesio-Lutheran Controversy (or true Lutheran controversy).

Here, the leader of the Gnesio-Lutherans, Mattias Flacius, accused Melanchthon of betraying Luther’s doctrine and compromising the purity of the Biblical witness because of his desire to make peace with the Roman Catholics at seemingly too high a cost. This charge would get Melanchthon’s followers slandered with the label “Phillippist” — someone who was all too eager to compromise the truth for the sake of unity. Melanchthon would eventually find no respite from controversy, as he died in 1560 still embroiled in many of them.

In Melanchthon’s life, we can see a picture of a man of colossal talent whose immense contributions are also often overshadowed by the sheer magnitude of a personality like Martin Luther. However, it is unlikely that Luther would have ever had the kind of impact he did if not for the careful and peaceful erudition and expertise provided by Melanchthon. Therefore we can safely say that though he was perhaps overlooked, he was certainly no sidekick.