Examination of the Council of Trent

The third part of Martin Chemnitz's massive critique of the Council of Trent addresses the Catholic Church's decrees on the sacraments, particularly focusing on the Mass, ordination, and extreme unction. Written between 1573 and 1586, this volume emerged as the Lutheran response to Trent's sacramental theology reached its most systematic form. Chemnitz, the leading Lutheran theologian after Melanchthon's death, undertook this work to defend Protestant doctrine against what he saw as Rome's departure from scriptural Christianity.

Chemnitz methodically examines each Tridentine decree on the sacraments, contrasting Catholic teaching with Lutheran doctrine and patristic sources. He argues that Trent's understanding of the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice contradicts the finished work of Christ, demonstrating through extensive biblical and early church citations that the Lord's Supper is primarily a testament and memorial rather than a repeated offering. His treatment of ordination challenges the Catholic doctrine of indelible character and the distinction between clergy and laity, while his discussion of extreme unction questions whether this practice constitutes a dominically instituted sacrament. Throughout, Chemnitz employs his trademark method of appealing to Scripture as the primary authority while showing how the early church fathers, properly understood, support Protestant rather than Catholic positions.

This work became the definitive Lutheran response to Tridentine sacramental theology and influenced Protestant polemics for centuries. Chemnitz's careful scholarship and thorough documentation made his arguments difficult for Catholic theologians to dismiss, establishing him as one of the most formidable opponents of Counter-Reformation doctrine. Who should read this: Students of Reformation theology and Lutheran-Catholic dialogue who can handle dense theological argumentation and extensive Latin citations. This is not accessible reading for those without substantial background in systematic theology and historical theology.