Martin Luther’s ecclesiology

The article presents a systematic examination of the ecclesiology of the founder of the Reformation, Martin Luther. As in the rest of his theology for Luther, his ecclesiology is determined by the understanding of the Church as the site of the action of the Holy Spirit, which is expressed in the definition of the Church as a gathering of believers around the Word and sacraments. Bearing in mind the desire of Rome to subordinate the Word of God to the existing Church-hierarchical structure, Luther argues that it is not the Church that possesses the Word, but the Word that possesses the Church. The continuity of Luther’s views from the previous Church tradition is demonstrated. A critique of the theological foundations and practices of the Roman Catholic Church in the pre-Reformation period is presented, and also the most important ecclesiological affirmations of Luther, which differ from Rome, are considered - the position on the priesthood of all believers and the Church visible and invisible. A conclusion is made about the possibility of a dual assessment of Luther’s teaching on the Church, as, on the one hand, undermining the foundations of the Roman conception of the Church, and on the other hand, as the possibility of understanding it as deeply “Catholic.”