The History of the Church of Christ

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: elevation of Adrian to his new dignity. They looked Cent. on him as one of their best theologians; and boasted, XV1. that they could now oppose to the most learned heretics a pontiff, who was still more learned, and who had already shown his zeal against Luther, by the advice which he had given to the divines of Louvain in 1519. CHAP. IX. FROM THE ELECTION OF ADRIAN VI. TO LuTHEft's LETTER TO THE DuKE OF SAVOY. Diet Of Nuremberg. Their Edict. Luther's Address To The German Princes. Death Of Adrian VI. Dangerous Situation Of The Elector or Saxony. Denmark And Sweden Embrace Protest- Antism. Thurzo. J. Hesse. Martyrdom Of Voes And Esch. Luther's Letter To The Duke Of Savoy. Oe of the first measures of the new pontiff was to send a legate f to the Imperial diet assembled at Nuremberg, with a diploma or brieve, as it is called, See vol. iv. The Italian ecclesiastics did not much relish the election of Adrian VI, For, i. he was a foreigner, and in their language, a barbarian. 2. Though a bitter anti- Lutheran, he certainly wished to reform the abuses of the court of Rome. And, 3. he had been known to maintain that a pope might err, even in a matter of faith. L.Advocat. Diet. t I.rands Cheregato. Chap, addressed to the German princes. The brieve is, ], full of the most virulent invectives against Luther; who, the pope said, notwithstanding the sentence of Leo X. which was ordered by the edict of Worms to be executed without delay, continued to teach the same errors, and by his fresh publications daily to corrupt the morals of the people. The contagion of his poisoned tongue, like a pestilence, pervaded the country to a prodigious extent; and, what was the worst part of the mischief, he was supported not only by the vulgar, but b...