Friday, June 08, 2007

#2099-Doctor Gregorious Breuck to Luther

To begin with, honorable and celebrated, dear Herr and God-father, (I offer) my willing service! Although my most gracious Lord in his electoral grace has indicated to you in his writing that you will find the certified list of the content and import of the words ,yet his electoral grace has ordered me to send you a copy of the writing of his cousin Herr Johann which you will find enclosed and the contents at length you will perceive.
And since his electoral grace assumes that the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg and Duke Georg of Saxony will within 10 days approximately send their message on this matter to his electoral grace and seek from his electoral grace strongly a visit with his electoral grace thus it is the desire of his electoral grace that you give answer by this messenger as he returns and give your own report, with clear words, on whether you named Duke Georg with the Bishop or not and state the reason that caused you, with good conscience before God, to permit prayer in the Christian community against them, as being responsible and without denouncing as an insult or dealing with it according to rebuke so they do not cease to pray for punishment and whether Duke Georg is , as his son writes, named explicitly so that he pretends that it is contrary to the recent contract of Grimma and especially the corresponding article's sense which your worthiness immediately thereafter denounced. Also my most gracious Lord was provided by Cochlaeus in his Philippicae and other of Duke Georg's theologians ,scribes and preachers in their writings that the Grimma contract has not been utterly and completely forgotten. On this accound his electoral grace desires that you the Probst, my god-father and Doctor Jonas and others, with whom you are comfortable would peruse the Philippcae and other writings, published within the year, and to research and discover whether his electoral grace or other of his relatives are explicitly named and done so with what words and make this known to his electoral grace that he might have reason to at once turn the people away from them.
His electoral grace also sees several announcements which his electoral grace regards as and especially desires graciously that you yourself pay close attention to and be careful that you do not secretly ruin and insult thus doing further harm. Also your worthiness' friendliness does not go unappreciated. Thus to serve in every friendly way I am willing at all times. DAted at Weimar on the Monday of the Apostle Thomas (21 Dec.)1534. Doctor Brueck.
Zettel. My most gracious lord also desires graciously that in your report you distinguish that which involves the bishop alone through a special list and whether it involves somewhat a pouring out (aufgeuset?) against the Mass Fathers only and that which involves Duke Georg alone. If you could go a little easy in your report my most gracious lord would be very appreciative yet omino citra offensionem gloriae et verba Dei. Date uts.
NOTES: Looks like ML is on bit of a hot seat with the Saxon Electoral Court. The contract at Grimma of Nov. 1533 was to settle the dispute between the Elector and Duke Georg of ducal Saxony.
Cochlaeus had already composed his response to Melanchton's Confession in 1531 and it was first published in 1534. The Apoligia means the Augsburg Confession here. ML's answers to the Elector and Brueck follow.
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