Unknown The Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms In the early 1520s, Luther and his friends continued to preach and teach the gospel. By way of Luther’s preaching and writing, the doctrines of the Bible were spreading rapidly. Many people in Germany, Switzerland, France, England, and other countries were leaving the Roman Catholic Church and joining the churches of the Protestants. The pope was alarmed. He had not been able to stop Luther. God had given Luther powerful friends who stood by him and protected him. The pope met with Charles V,12 the emperor of Germany, and together they decided to call a meeting. This meeting was called the Diet of Worms. “Diet” means “meeting,” and Worms was the name of the city where the meeting was held. Luther was summoned to appear before this Diet. The pope and the emperor hoped to do one of two things: either they would get Luther to recant, or else they would get the authority of this Diet to put him to death. Martin Luther’s friends were frightened. Even though Luther had been given a safe conduct, again they couldn’t help but think about John Huss. He also had been given the pope’s promise that he would be protected, but he had been burned at the stake. Luther, however, assured them that he was not afraid. He believed the Lord wanted him to go to Worms. “Even if there were as many devils in Worms as there are tiles on the rooftops, I must go,” he said firmly.   Luther at the Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms, held on April 18, 1521, was a grand assembly. Princes, rulers, and many important people were present. Emperor Charles V and his brother, the Archduke Ferdinand, were there. Also present was the Archbishop of Treves, who represented the pope. The chancellor of the archbishop asked Luther questions during the trial. Some of Luther’s friends were there, too. Frederick the Wise, the Elector of Saxony, was one of the most powerful of the German princes. In the great hall in the palace in which the Diet was held, a crowd of thousands of people had gathered as well. When Luther entered, there was great excitement. Everyone wanted to see him. The archbishop’s chancellor stood up and said in a loud, clear voice that there were two questions Luther had to answer. Pointing to some books on a table, he asked Luther, “Did you write those books?” Luther asked what the titles were. When he recognized the titles, he answered, “Yes, I wrote them.” “Will you retract everything in these books that is against the Church of Rome?” was the next question. Luther asked for some time to think and pray before answering this question. The emperor told him he would have until the next day. When the Diet met again the following day, Luther was asked to give his answer. He made a long speech, first in German, then in Latin. In this speech, he said that if it could be proven that anything in his books was not in agreement with the Scriptures, he would at once retract it, but if not, he could take back nothing. When they urged him again to take back his writings, he repeated what he had said before. Then he said, “Unless I am convinced by testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear arguments that I am in error—for popes and councils have often erred and contradicted themselves—I cannot withdraw, for I am subject to the Scriptures I have quoted; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. It is unsafe and dangerous to do anything against one’s conscience.” He concluded with these famous words, “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. God help me! Amen!” Luther’s friends rejoiced, but his enemies were angry. They tried to convince the emperor to break his promise of safe conduct. But the emperor was afraid that the people would revolt if he did so. Instead, he ordered Luther to leave the city at once. As soon as Luther left, however, the emperor declared that anyone was allowed to kill him. The pope also stated that Luther was forbidden to preach and all his writings must be burned. This declaration was called the Edict of Worms.