Origin of the Name Protestants

Originally printed in the Friendly Companion in 1950

At the end of this month we will again commemorate Reformation Day. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg, which is usually recognized as the beginning of the Reformation. Those who broke with the Roman Catholic Church were called Protestants.

There was a time when the name Protestant was distinctly adopted by those who refused to submit to the Church of Rome. The case was similar to that which we read in the New Testament when all who were followers of Jesus were Christians even before they were so called in the city of Antioch (Acts 11:26), but after that time they went forth glorying in the name of their divine Master. So from the time of which we now speak, men began to rejoice in the name of Protestant.

Spire is an ancient city on the banks of the Rhine River in Germany. In the days of Luther it was a place of great trade and wealth. It was this place which was selected by Charles V, Emperor of Germany, to hold a “diet” in order to consult on the state of the country and the Roman Catholic Church. This emperor, his brother Ferdinand (king of Spain), and the pope were the three great enemies of the Reformation. They were bold, rich, and powerful and were quite resolved to put an end to the “new doctrines” as they sometimes called them, though indeed they were the old doctrines preached by the apostles. In the hope of stopping their progress, they called this great assembly in this famous place of resort.

Before the day came for the diet to commence business, the Roman Catholic princes and bishops entered the city of Spire with great pomp and military array as if they were going to war. One or two of the princes who favored the Reformation also came at the head of their horsemen while others attended with only a few learned and pious men whose calm and cheerful looks showed they that were not ashamed of the cause they were about to plead.

Besides these, there were deputies of persons acting on the part of several of the “free cities” of Germany. Never before was there a greater gathering for such a purpose in any country of Europe.

The Protestant princes wore these letters braided on their right sleeves—V.D.M.I.E.—‘which are the first letters of the Latin words meaning, “The Word of the Lord endureth forever” (1 Peter 1:25). The same letters were placed over the doors of the hotels in Spire where the princes lodged. Thus, the Bible was the ensign under which they stood arrayed.

It had been proposed that the princes of the German Empire should be at liberty to make such reforms in their churches as they saw necessary, with the permission of the emperor. This the pope did not like at all. Liberty of conscience he strongly opposed. “People must not think for themselves in matters of religion,” he said, “or make what reforms they please but must think and act according to what the Church of Rome teaches, and that church alone.”

The Romanists were resolved to put down all religious liberty. They first sent down an order that the gospel should not be preached in the city of Spire by the reformers, but the princes, upon their arrival, urged their right to a place of worship for their use. Their demand was sternly denied. The princes then ordered their preachers to conduct divine services in the halls of their palaces and hotels. The thirst of the people to hear the Word was such that 8,000 of them were present one Lord’s Day during the morning and evening worship of the evangelical princes. While the Roman Catholic worship was carried on in the beautiful cathedral of Spire before a small number of people, crowds from town and country filled the places where the Word of God was preached by the reformed pastors. The princes thus boldly made known their faith. They said they would give up their kingdoms and their fives rather than submit to what they believed was wrong. “We will,” said they, “obey the Emperor in everything that may maintain peace and the honor of God, but we cannot submit to give up the truths of the Bible nor the simple worship of God.”

The princes were outvoted by the diet but not cast down. “Let us reject the decrees which refuse us redress,” they cried. “In matters of conscience we must endure everything and sacrifice everything—our crown and our lives—rather than give up the Word of God.” However, they soon found that the diet spurned their claims and would not listen to their words. Had not the time then come for them to make a solemn protest against the false and shameful conduct of their opponents? Yes, they all saw it was the hour to make a brave stand for the truth; hand to hand and heart to heart, they went forward in the course of duty.

It was on the 25th of April, 1529, that they met in a little room on the ground floor of a minister’s house in St. John’s Lane in the city of Spire, a room which is still shown to the traveler. There, with prayerful, brave hearts and steady hands, they all stood forward. There were the following: John the Constant of Saxony, Phillip of Hesse, George of Brandenburg, and other noble princes, together with deputies from several chief cities. One by one they signed their names to a paper in which they appealed against the violent acts and errors of the followers of the pope. As they placed their seals to the Protest, they said, “We appeal for ourselves and our subjects and for all who receive or shall receive the Word of God.” Two lawyers of the city then added their names as witnesses, and the deed was done. They had now cut the cords that had bound them to the Church of Rome and were free. It has been said that the upper chamber in Jerusalem, in which the disciples met and continued with one accord in prayer, and the little room in the minister’s house in the city of Spire, were “the two cradles of the church.”

It has been said that the upper chamber in Jerusalem, in which the disciples met and continued with one accord in prayer, and the little room in the minister’s house in the city of Spire, were “the two cradles of the church.”

The princes and the other reformers returned to the diet, and John the Constant, elector of Saxony, who had first signed the paper, stood before King Ferdinand and the bishops with the Protest in his hand. Thus he read: “We are resolved, with the grace of God, to maintain the pure preaching of His Holy Word, such as is contained in the biblical books of the Old and New Testaments, without adding anything thereto that may be contrary to it. This Word is the only truth. It is the sure rule of all doctrine and all of life and can never fail or deceive us. He who builds on this foundation shall stand against all the powers of hell, whilst all the human vanities that are set up against it shall fall before the face of God.”

“We earnestly entreat you,” they went on to say, “to weigh carefully our wrongs and our motives. If you do not yield to our request, we PROTEST before God, our only Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, and Saviour, who one day will be our Judge, as well as before all men and all creatures, that we, for us and our people, neither consent nor adhere in any manner to the proposed decree” (which had been made to deprive them of their Christian liberty), “in anything that is contrary to God, to His Holy Word, to our right conscience, and to the salvation of souls.”

King Ferdinand wished to return the Protest to those who brought it, but the princes would not take it back. They placed it on the table and then respectfully quitted the room. Thus did these bold men speak and act. They did not stand as though they were perplexed or alarmed, but with the Word of God in one hand and the Protest in the other, they lifted up their heads in courage and hope.

This appeal they also sent to the Emperor Charles. When the messengers stood before him, he looked upon them in his pride and speedily sent them from his presence till he should give a decision. After keeping them waiting for a month, he had them put under arrest and threatened them with death if they left the town or wrote to their friends in Spire.

It was soon found by the reformers that all attempts to have free use of the Word of God and liberty of conscience were at an end, and they prepared, in prayer and faith, for the struggle they saw before them. They left the city of Spire resolved to be Protestants and to hold fast by the Bible, and the Bible only, as their rule of faith and their guide to heaven. From that day to the present, the conflict has continued between truth and error and between the doctrines of the gospel and the vain devices of popery. Nor will it cease until truth shall prevail and “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.”

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