Church Mother
The Writings of a Protestant Reformer in Sixteenth-Century Germany
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Church Mother
The Writings of a Protestant Reformer in Sixteenth-Century Germany
Imbued with character and independence, strength and articulateness, humor and conviction, abundant biblical knowledge and intense compassion, Katharina Schütz Zell (1498–1562) was an outspoken religious reformer in sixteenth-century Germany who campaigned for the right of clergy to marry and the responsibility of lay people—women as well as men—to proclaim the Gospel. As one of the first and most daring models of the pastor’s wife in the Protestant Reformation, Schütz Zell demonstrated that she could be an equal partner in marriage; she was for many years a respected, if unofficial, mother of the established church of Strasbourg in an age when ecclesiastical leadership was dominated by men.
Though a commoner, Schütz Zell participated actively in public life and wrote prolifically, including letters of consolation, devotional writings, biblical meditations, catechetical instructions, a sermon, and lengthy polemical exchanges with male theologians. The complete translations of her extant publications, except for her longest, are collected here in Church Mother, offering modern readers a rare opportunity to understand the important work of women in the formation of the early Protestant church.
Though a commoner, Schütz Zell participated actively in public life and wrote prolifically, including letters of consolation, devotional writings, biblical meditations, catechetical instructions, a sermon, and lengthy polemical exchanges with male theologians. The complete translations of her extant publications, except for her longest, are collected here in Church Mother, offering modern readers a rare opportunity to understand the important work of women in the formation of the early Protestant church.
296 pages | 4 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2006
The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe
History: European History
Religion: Christianity
Reviews
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Series Editors’ Introduction
Volume Editor’s Introduction
Series Editors’ Introduction
Volume Editor’s Introduction
Volume Editor’s Bibliography
Note on Translation
I. The Lay Reformer, Teacher, and Pastor
Introduction
Letter to the Suffering Women of the Community of Kentzingen
Introduction
Translation
Katharina Schütz’s Apologia for Master Matthew Zell, Her Husband
Introduction
Translation
Some Christian and Comforting Songs of Praise about Jesus Christ Our Savior
Introduction
Translation
Lament and Exhortation of Katharina Zell to the People at the Grave of Master Matthew Zell
Introduction
Translation
The Miserere Psalm Meditated, Prayed, and Paraphrased with King David by Katharina Zell . . . , Sent to the Christian Man Sir Felix Armbruster
Introduction
Translation
Note on Translation
I. The Lay Reformer, Teacher, and Pastor
Introduction
Letter to the Suffering Women of the Community of Kentzingen
Introduction
Translation
Katharina Schütz’s Apologia for Master Matthew Zell, Her Husband
Introduction
Translation
Some Christian and Comforting Songs of Praise about Jesus Christ Our Savior
Introduction
Translation
Lament and Exhortation of Katharina Zell to the People at the Grave of Master Matthew Zell
Introduction
Translation
The Miserere Psalm Meditated, Prayed, and Paraphrased with King David by Katharina Zell . . . , Sent to the Christian Man Sir Felix Armbruster
Introduction
Translation
II. Autobiography and Polemic: A Lay Theologian Amid the Conflicts of Confessional Divisions
Introduction
To Sir Caspar Schwenckfeld
Introduction
Translation
A Letter to the Whole Citizenship of the City of Strasbourg from Katharina Zell, . . . concerning Mr. Ludwig Rabus
Introduction
Translation
Appendix: Letter of Ludwig Rabus to Katharina Schütz Zell (April 1557)
Series Editors’ Bibliography
Index
Introduction
To Sir Caspar Schwenckfeld
Introduction
Translation
A Letter to the Whole Citizenship of the City of Strasbourg from Katharina Zell, . . . concerning Mr. Ludwig Rabus
Introduction
Translation
Appendix: Letter of Ludwig Rabus to Katharina Schütz Zell (April 1557)
Series Editors’ Bibliography
Index