The self-referential term for classical Protestantism was “Evangelical,” just as Rome has “Catholic” and the East has “Orthodox.” Obviously, all three traditions value catholicity, orthodoxy, and the evangel and would claim all three titles, properly understood, as their own. But the monopoly on the nomenclature says something about the impetus of each tradition.
Eventually, a distinction by way of hyphen between “Evangelical-Lutheran” and “Evangelical-Reformed” was necessary to distinguish between those who held to Luther’s mystical understanding of the Evangelical Mass and those who with Calvin and Zwingli wanted to remove the Mass entirely. The Church of England had its own “via media” between these schools. The Presbyterians, Congregationalists (Puritans and Baptists), and Methodists all splintered from the CoE.
Today, the “evangelicals” in America have a monopoly on the term, to my great chagrin. I think it is a valuable descriptor of my faith and that of Luther’s. The heart of Luther’s reform was a restoration of the Evangelical focus of the Mass. Rather than a perfunctory action rotely performed by a priest whispered in a foreign tongue, the Evangelical priest/pastor/episcopos proclaimed the Words of the Testament in persona Christi in the vernacular so they could be understood by His mystical body. Luther saw this as the heart of Evangelical worship—that the Church as a whole can become partakers of the Divine through the external proclamation of the Word in holy worship.
Unfortunately, “dead orthodox” Lutherans lost sight of Luther’s expositional preaching tradition. This is something the Reformed excel at to this day. But they do not have the mystical understanding that was endemic to Luther’s thought and practical theology.
Anyway, I don’t usually like the title “Protestant,” as it indicates a reactionary movement rather than intimating what we actually are. But I’m using the “Protestant” tag so I can participate in this sub-forum. Hopefully this post doesn’t come off as pedantic, but rather as a defense of the legitimacy of our tradition with the other two, and contra the “40,000 denominations” canard. And hopefully it can serve as an opening for discussion on what the basis of the Evangelical tradition is.
Eventually, a distinction by way of hyphen between “Evangelical-Lutheran” and “Evangelical-Reformed” was necessary to distinguish between those who held to Luther’s mystical understanding of the Evangelical Mass and those who with Calvin and Zwingli wanted to remove the Mass entirely. The Church of England had its own “via media” between these schools. The Presbyterians, Congregationalists (Puritans and Baptists), and Methodists all splintered from the CoE.
Today, the “evangelicals” in America have a monopoly on the term, to my great chagrin. I think it is a valuable descriptor of my faith and that of Luther’s. The heart of Luther’s reform was a restoration of the Evangelical focus of the Mass. Rather than a perfunctory action rotely performed by a priest whispered in a foreign tongue, the Evangelical priest/pastor/episcopos proclaimed the Words of the Testament in persona Christi in the vernacular so they could be understood by His mystical body. Luther saw this as the heart of Evangelical worship—that the Church as a whole can become partakers of the Divine through the external proclamation of the Word in holy worship.
Unfortunately, “dead orthodox” Lutherans lost sight of Luther’s expositional preaching tradition. This is something the Reformed excel at to this day. But they do not have the mystical understanding that was endemic to Luther’s thought and practical theology.
Anyway, I don’t usually like the title “Protestant,” as it indicates a reactionary movement rather than intimating what we actually are. But I’m using the “Protestant” tag so I can participate in this sub-forum. Hopefully this post doesn’t come off as pedantic, but rather as a defense of the legitimacy of our tradition with the other two, and contra the “40,000 denominations” canard. And hopefully it can serve as an opening for discussion on what the basis of the Evangelical tradition is.
