On October 19, 1512, Martin Luther formally graduated with his doctorate in theology.
I like it when I find something in common between Martin Luther and myself. For example, we both took some initial law courses before deciding we were better off living a penniless existence than having anything to do with the legal profession. However, unlike Martin Luther, I once sought to pursue a doctorate but abandoned the idea due to life circumstances. On the other hand, he never wanted to be a doctor, but life (or God) had other ideas.
On October 19, 1512, Martin Luther formally graduated with his doctorate in theology. Far from being an uninteresting footnote in his life, the decision to pursue a doctorate and how he received it had important implications for Luther’s personal relationships and eventual career as a reformer.
The Impetus for Pursuing a Doctorate
It was Luther’s superior in the Order of St. Augustine who essentially forced him to take up doctoral studies. Johann von Staupitz was not only the Vicar-General of the Augustinians in Germany, but a personal mentor and confessor to the younger Martin Luther. Observing Luther’s introspective nature, Staupitz correctly surmised that with an academic challenge to undertake, the younger man’s deep thinking would prove a strength, while if he spent all his time alone contemplating his sins, it would lead only to depression. So, Luther was sent to the University of Wittenberg to study. Having made a monastic vow of obedience, Luther had no choice but to do as his superior ordered. [1]
Then in 1512, Staupitz spoke with Luther beneath a pear tree in the courtyard of Wittenberg’s Augustinian convent. (The original pear tree is long since deceased, and that no one has planted a new one for visitors to photograph seems a major oversight by the Wittenberg tourism board.) The conversation went something like this:
STAUPITZ: “It is time for you to become a doctor of theology.”
LUTHER: “Seriously? My health is bad enough now. Do you think it will be any better if I have to deal with students all day?”
STAUPITZ: “Well, if you do end up dying, at least God will have someone well educated to advise him in heaven.”
Thus, Martin Luther was dragged kicking and screaming into a lifelong profession that might just be the death of him. On May 5, 1512, Luther traveled to Cologne Cathedral, where he was appointed subprior of his order in Wittenberg and formally charged to earn his doctorate.
However, it was not simply Luther’s pursuit of a doctorate that marked him out at this point, for several of the Augustinians living in Wittenberg were pursuing the same goal. Staupitz intended for Luther to succeed him at the university as professor of Bible. In other words, their relationship was one of tremendous respect and affection. The dynamic between them was almost that of a father and son, with Luther drawing upon Staupitz’s teaching to explore the riches of the German mystical tradition found in theologians like Meister Eckhart and Johannes Tauler.
Staupitz envisioned great things for his protégé. It was a lot of pressure for one young man to bear.
Receiving the Doctorate
A doctoral student today typically endures a few years of research seminars, intensive reading, language courses, and assistance with lecture duties before beginning the dissertation and formal examination process. Thus, the usual timetable for a PhD is about seven years. Not so for Martin Luther, who began the process in May and graduated in October. (To be fair, he had dispensed with most of the preliminaries in his previous study.)
There were still multiple steps involved. Luther had to formally apply to the theological faculty at the University of Wittenberg, who then had to appeal to the university’s chancellor for a license to grant the doctorate.
On October 4, after one of the masters gave an initial speech recommending Luther for the degree, the chancellor granted this license, and Luther was called to swear fealty to the Roman Church. Luther made his pledge without hesitation, for he was at the time a perfectly obedient son of Rome.
On October 18, there was a disputation where Luther was required to contend with both the bachelors and masters in his discipline. The disputation model was typical throughout the late medieval period, building on the methods of ancient Greek philosophers. Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, which he would publish five years later, were intended to be defended at such a disputation. This type of scholarly debate was meant to demonstrate that Luther had the knowledge and capabilities necessary for a doctor of theology.
Per tradition, it was then time for one of the professors of theology to make an amusing speech to celebrate the occasion. The faculty turned to their most highly regarded member, a man slightly younger than Luther but who had already made a name for himself in the field of theology—a brilliant speaker with real charisma who would be sure to give a first-rate performance. The man’s name was Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, and he was the star of the University of Wittenberg.
The following day, October 19, Martin Luther processed into Wittenberg’s Schlosskirche (Castle Church). This was the church attached to the Elector’s castle, not the parish church, which most Wittenbergers attended. The Castle Church was home to the vast relic collection of Elector Frederick “the Wise” of Saxony and had therefore become a site of pilgrimage for those who sought indulgences. The Elector spared no expense in hiring the greatest artists in Germany—such as Michael Wolgemut, Albrecht Dürer, and Lucas Cranach—to decorate it. He also funded the All Saints’ Foundation, which offered masses there. The Castle Church served as the location for official ceremonies of the University of Wittenberg, the Elector’s other pride and joy. As Luther walked into that space, he would have been awed by the golden reliquaries, painted ceilings, and spectacular altarpiece. He must have felt keenly responsible for doing right by his oath and proclaiming the truth of God boldly and correctly.
After another vow to uphold good doctrine, Karlstadt officially conferred the title of Doctor of Theology on Martin Luther. A closed and open Bible were both presented, symbolizing his charge to rightly teach the Word of God. Luther was also given the biretta (doctor’s cap) and a golden ring with intertwined bands that represented the eternal mystery of the Trinity. At this point, Luther was expected to give a speech and preside over another theological disputation. They truly couldn’t get enough of disputations. Last of all came a great feast, which for some attendees was surely the whole point of sitting through those formalities.
Luther now had the approval of his university, his order, and the Roman Church to teach the Scriptures. But the following years would test his loyalty to not only the Scriptures and the church, but also the two men directly responsible for him becoming a doctor.
Ramifications for Luther’s Future Career
Becoming a Doctor of Theology and professor of the Scriptures forced Luther to wrestle constantly with the biblical text, and in that wrestling, he came to a new understanding of God’s grace and how it brings salvation to sinners. This trajectory placed Luther at odds with his mentor Staupitz, who sought to reform the church without the major doctrinal changes his protégé now advocated. By the time of Luther’s excommunication in 1520 and his appearance before the Emperor at the 1521 Diet of Worms, the relationship with Staupitz was broken. The older man left the Augustinian order and took a comfortable posting at a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg. Luther felt his mentor had betrayed him when the going got tough, unwilling to count the cost of what it would truly take to reform Christ’s church.
Meanwhile, Karlstadt initially joined Luther and incoming professor Philip Melanchthon in promoting reformational doctrine, but as Luther’s fame grew ever greater, it seems to have strained their working partnership. Cracks in their friendship were visible at the 1519 Leipzig Disputation, when Karlstadt performed poorly in a debate with their mutual opponent, the Romanist theologian Johann Eck. When Luther spent several months away at the Wartburg Castle, Karlstadt took over preaching duties at the parish church in Wittenberg, implementing vast and sweeping changes that went further than Luther had intended.
As is so often the case in life, Luther’s path to personal peace did not run smooth. His joy in academic achievement and gospel discoveries was tainted by the grief of broken friendships.
As a result, when Luther returned to Wittenberg, the two men fell out. The Elector blamed Karlstadt and his compatriot Gabriel Zwilling for incurring the wrath of the emperor, who was now threatening to shut down the work of reform by force. Luther would always feel that Karlstadt had encroached on his territory, since Karlstadt was supposed to be working not at the parish church, but the Castle Church, where he was head of the All Saints’ Foundation. Adding insult to injury, Karlstadt announced that doctoral titles meant nothing, university study was pointless, and people should call him “Brother Andreas.” In other words, the man who had granted Luther his doctorate was now calling into question the whole enterprise to which they had dedicated their lives.
When Luther thought back to his graduation ceremony after that point, imagining Karlstadt kissing him and bestowing the symbols of his profession, it must have been bittersweet. Everything that Luther did after 1512, he viewed as a fulfillment of his vows to defend the church and the Word of God, but both Staupitz and Karlstadt ended up believing Luther had failed in those areas.
As is so often the case in life, Luther’s path to personal peace did not run smooth. His joy in academic achievement and gospel discoveries was tainted by the grief of broken friendships. Yet, God used the decisions of men who would end up opposing Luther to achieve Luther’s ultimate good, enabling him to become a theologian who would change the church forever.
[1] This article often references the work of Martin Brecht in his book Martin Luther: His Road to Reformation 1483-1521, trans. James L. Schaaf, Fortress Press, 1993, 125-7.
