To the Christians in Halle - Martin Luther

TO THE CHRISTIANS IN HALLE

Halle long shut to the Reformation, because of Herzog George, although in 1527 their Evangelical preacher, George Winkler, was murdered by order of the Archbishop of Mayence.

September 1527.

To the dear friends of Christ in Halle. Grace and peace in Christ our Savior! Amen.

Dear sirs and friends — I have long intended writing you a letter of admonition and consolation under the trials with which Satan has visited you, through the murder of that good man, Magister George, thus robbing you of a faithful pastor, who declared to you the Word of life. But one thing after another has prevented me, especially my weak health, and although not yet well I can delay no longer.

But although unable to derive any comfort from such an untoward event, still it would be wrong to allow such a perfidious murder to be passed over in silence, and let such blood rot in the earth instead of bearing witness to God’s Holy Word. Therefore I shall help it to cry to Heaven, in order that so

much as in us lies, such a murder may never be forgotten till God the merciful Father and righteous Judge hears the cry, as He heard that of righteous Abel’s blood, and executes justice upon the murderer. And God grant that Magister George’s blood may be a divine seed, which although sown in

the earth by the hands of Satan and his members, may bring forth seed an hundredfold, so that instead of the murdered George a hundred other faithful preachers may arise, who will injure Satan a thousand times more than the one man has done; and because he would neither suffer nor listen to the one he will be obliged to suffer and listen to many others, even as happened to the Pope through Huss’s blood, whom he would not permit to exist quietly in a corner, but must now hear its cries over the whole world, till it has reached Rome itself, and there seems no prospect of its being silenced. Amen.

MARTIN LUTHER .