500 years after Luther and the Diet of Worms the ecumenical movement is strong
Showdown in Worms: Five centuries ago the monk and the emperor went face to face. Martin Luther refused to withdraw his criticism of what he saw as corruption and venality in the Catholic Church. The rest is history.
Martin Luther was a "pioneering figure," says 58-year-old clergywoman Jutta Herbert, pointing to his theology, his focus on the Bible, his steadfastness, the emphasis on education. All of this, she tells DW, has had a huge influence on who she is.
Jutta Herbert encounters the reformer most days. This is hardly surprising: After all, she is the dean of Germany's Protestant Protestant church in the south-western region off Worms-Wonnegau.
That, too, is no coincidence because it was in here in Worms that, 500 years ago, Luther — who had as a monk long been fiercelycritical of the Catholic church's leadership in Rome — went head-to-head with Emperor Charles V.
Their showdown in April 1521 would later be seen as one of the decisive steps in what became known as the Protestant reformation.
