The Jesuits preached after their fashion daily, promising freedom from all contributions, and from the infliction of billeting, and special favor and privileges from the Emperor; but to the refractory temporal destruction. They went so far, that the intimidated burgesses were driven to the determination of accepting confirmation ; most of the men of the community took the Lord's Supper according to the Roman Catholic custom, unblessed by the cup. The more steadfast of the citizens, however, were compelled to go away in misery. Hardly had the Jesuits left the town, when the people fell back again, the citizens rushed to the neighboring villages, where there were still evangelical pastors, and were there married and baptized; their churches standing empty under a Roman Catholic priest.There were new threatenings, and new deeds of violence. The upright burgomaster Schubert was carried off to severe imprisonment, but the Council now declared boldly that they would die for the Augsburg Confession; the burgesses pressed round the governor of the province in wild tumult. The executioners of the Emperor, " the leatifiers," rode through the gates; great part of the citizens flew with their wives and children out of the town; all the villages were full of exiles, who were brought back with violence by the soldiers and apostate citizens, and put into prison till they could produce certificates of confession ; those who fled further, were driven into Saxony.
Link (here) to the specifically anti-Jesuit, pro Lutheran book entitled Pictures of German Life by Gustav Freytag
Engraving of the Augsburg Confession
No comments:
Post a Comment