Repristination Press

07/26/2024

Paul Zeller Strodach (1876–1947) was among the most significant theologians serving in the United Lutheran Church in America. Strodach was a parish pastor, the translator of several of Martin Luther's liturgical writings, and the author of several important works on the Lutheran Liturgy. In “The Church Year,” Strodach provides his reader with an overview of the Sundays and major Festivals of the historic one-year series of Propers used in the Lutheran Church. His commentary on each Sunday and Festival is a blend of devotion and academic survey which provides clergy and laity alike with a helpful overview of the Calendar of the Church.

The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles, and Gospels

07/08/2024

All three volumes of Johann Gerhard's “Postilla” (1613) are now available. (See links below for all three volumes.)

Please note: Volumes 1 and 2 are identical to the 2003 and 2007 printings, save for slight adjustments in layout which necessitated updating the Scriptural index. Therefore, if you own the black cloth volumes previously published, the text of the sermons will be identical to the edition you already own. Our translation of Volume 3 has not previously been published.

06/04/2024

“Why do you Lutherans do that?” Every Lutheran pastor has heard the question (and some of them have asked it themselves). Most Lutherans don’t know as much about the liturgy as they would like to know—this book is a solution to this dilemma! Dr. Eckardt’s insightful“Why?” column ran for years in the pages of Gottesdienst. Now, Repristination Press has published a collection of these essays, together with several new “Whys?,” providing answers to 65 of those questions which begin, “Why...?”

“Why do you Lutherans do that?” Every Lutheran pastor has heard the question (and some of them have asked it themselves). Most Lutherans don’t know as much about the liturgy as they would like to know—this book is a solution to this dilemma!Dr. Eckardt’s insightful“Why?” column ran for...

05/24/2024

Bugenhagen's "Commentary on the First Four Chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew" is an exegetical treasure. In this volume, Bugenhagen undertakes a thorough explanation of various issues, including to the genealogy of Jesus, the prophetic promises concerning the Virgin Birth, the implications of the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt for Christians suffering persecution, the salvific character of John's Baptism, and the application temptations which Christ suffered in the wilderness to the temptations which have confronted the Church throughout the ages.

First published in Latin in 1543, this is the first English edition to be published. It is the second volume in a series of works by Johannes Bugenhagen to be published by Repristination Press.

Commentary on the First Four Chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew

05/23/2024

Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1558) was among the most significant of the early Lutheran reformers, working closely with Martin Luther (1483–1546) and Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560) to carry out the reform of the Church. Bugenhagen was Luther's ecclesiastical superior at St. Mary's Church in Wittenberg and he was closely involved in the reforms undertaken not only in Electoral Saxony, but in other Lutheran territories, as well.

Although Bugenhagen was not as prolific of a writer as Luther, his literary output was extensive, nonetheless. "The Annotations of Johannes Bugenhagen on Ten Epistles of Paul" is the third volume from Bugenhagen's writings to be published by Repristination Press. The "Annotations" are a good example of early Lutheran exegesis and offer insights into the theology of the Lutheran Reformers in the years leading up to the Diet of Augsburg (1530).

The Annotations of Johannes Bugenhagen on Ten Epistles of Paul

05/22/2024

Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) is widely acknowledged as the most scholarly and insightful theologian of the Lutheran Church in the seventeenth century. Not only Gerhard's writings in the realm of dogmatic theology, but also his devotional works, have had a powerful influence on the Church for four centuries.

Gerhard wrote his "Tractatus de legitima Scripturæ Sacræ Interpretatione" (1610) to serve as a corrective for flawed Roman Catholic and Reformed methodologies which he was concerned were imperiling the faith of Christians by detracting from the authority of Sacred Scripture. Gerhard's book is a carefully reasoned response to such methodologies and as a valuable resource for all students of theology.

On the Legitimate Interpretation of Holy Scripture

05/21/2024

In 1888, a Joint Committee of theologians of three Lutheran synods—the General Synod, the General Council, and the United Synod of the South—formulated a unified English liturgy called “The Common Service.” The published liturgy was the culmination of goals established a century earlier by the Patriarch of the American Lutheran Church—Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711–1787)—who urged the Lutheran Ministerium of North America to unite in the use of a single, purely Lutheran, liturgy.
The work of the Joint Committee was guided by a liturgical principle called “The Rule”: “The common consent of the pure Lutheran Liturgies of the sixteenth century, and when there is not an entire agreement among them, the consent of the largest number of those of the greatest weight.” Under the leadership of Dr. Beale M. Schmucker, the Joint Committee formulated the liturgy which most perfectly adhered to this liturgical standard, and created the greatest uniformity in a single liturgy ever known to the Lutheran Church. Within decades, almost the entirety of the Lutherans in North America—regardless of synodical affiliation—was using the “Common Service.”

This book is the first truly in-depth history of the “Common Service” and it provides an apologia for the restoration of that faithful service which remains “The English Liturgy of the Church of the Augsburg Confession.”

The Common Service: The English Liturgy of the Church of the Augsburg Confession

04/05/2024

The context for "The Anatomy of the Propositions" (1561) is a particularly tumultuous moment in the struggle for the confessional identity of the Lutheran churches scattered throughout the various German states. The publication of this collection of essays and theses in March 1561 places the work in the context of the aftermath of the Diet at Naumberg. At the conclusion of the diet of Naumberg (8 February 1561), the majority of secular estates agreed to the recognition of both the 1530 edition of the Augsburg Confession and the later Variata. Joachim Mörlin, the Superintendent of Braunschweig, threatened to resign his office. However, instead of resigning, Mörlin and his coadjutor, Martin Chemnitz, brought their superintendency to the aid of the clergy of Bremen, who had been dealing with the Sacramentarian heresies which were being promulgated by Dr. Albert Hardenberg.

Mörlin and Chemnitz’s labors were not in vain. Mörlin’s Lüneberg Articles in July 1561 unified lower Saxony against Hardenberg, and led to the dismissal of that false teacher. The publication of the “Anatomy” and Chemnitz's “Repetition of the Sound Doctrine” in March 1561 provided a ready summary of the entire controversy over the Lord's Supper and thoroughly documented not only Hardenberg’s heresy, but also the importance of a thoroughly Lutheran confession concerning the Holy Sacrament. Under the surface of the passing Hardenberg controversy is adamant advocacy for the Unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530.

Anatomy of the Propositions of Albert Hardenberg on the Lord's Supper (1561): Declaration of the Tenth Article in the Augsburg Confession on the Lord's Supper

03/23/2024

Latest new volume from Repristination Press: the second volume of biblical commentary translated from the works of Aegidius Hunnius. Hunnius' primary emphasis in this work is a thorough examination of St. Paul's teaching regarding the 'man of sin,’ that is, the ‘Antichrist’ in the narrow sense of the term.

The Second Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians: Illuminated with Clear Annotations.

02/20/2024

Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) has long been recognized as the greatest theologian of the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy (1580–1713). In 1611, Gerhard published a summary of Christian dogmatics under the title, Aphorismi Succincti et Selecti... A generation later, Ralph Winterton published an abridged English title of this work under the title, “A Golden Chaine of Divine Aphorismes” (1632). However, a complete translation has been unavailable until now.

Gerhard's “Succinct and Select Theological Aphorisms” was written during a particularly significant period in the theologian's work when he produced books such as “On the Legitimate Interpretation of Sacred Scripture” (1610) and “A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper” (1610). Gerhard's “Succinct and Select Theological Aphorisms” provides a thorough summary of classical Lutheran dogmatic theology divided into twenty-three chapters.

Gerhard's “Succinct and Select Theological Aphorisms” is his tenth volume translated from the classics of the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy and his fourth volume from the writings of Johann Gerhard.

Succinct and Select Theological Aphorisms: in Twenty-Three Chapters Containing the Core of all Theology

02/17/2024

Annotations on St. Paul's Epistle to St. Titus by one of the early fathers of the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy!

First published in 1587 and revised and republished in 1592, Aegidius Hunnius (1550–1603) offers a faithful exposition of St. Paul's epistle to St. Titus in his "Epistolae divi Pauli Apostoli ad Titum," now published for the first time in an English translation, “The Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to Titus: A Plain and Clear Exposition.”

Hunnius is remembered as one of the earliest major theologians of the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy (1580–1713). "The Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to Titus" is the sixth volume of Hunnius’ writings published by Repristination Press.

02/09/2024

In "The Method of Theological Study," Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) sets forth the aims and topics of theological study which form a five year educational program for the preparation of Candidates for the Office of the Holy Ministry. In the words of Gerhard, “Speaking concisely and by way of outline, the study of theology is the remedy for our innate ignorance of spiritual matters and for the inherent disorder in our emotions; the stronghold for the cultivation of holiness and piety; the means for listening to God daily in the Word and for speaking to God daily in prayers; and, finally, a sort of prelude to that most holy and blessed society which we await in heaven.”

Since 1993, Repristination Press has led the effort to publish English translations of classics from the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy (1580–1713).

The Method of Theological Study

02/02/2024

As the most significant theologian of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the 17th century, the life and work of Johann Gerhard are known throughout the Western Church. Whether through writing weighty works such as his "Loci Theologici" or devotional books such as his "Daily Exercise of Piety," Gerhard's significance as a theologian has endured across the centuries.Johann Gerhard’s concern as a theologian was, above all, pastoral, and this concern is reflected in his numerous devotional books and sermon collections. Gerhard’s “An Explanation of the History of the Suffering and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ” leads the reader through the prototypes and prophesies of the Old Testament pointing forward to Christ’s suffering and death.The work is divided into two introductory sermons and five ‘acts’ (I. In the Garden, II. At the Home of Caiaphas, III. Before Pilate, IV. Christ’s Crucifixion, and V. Christ’s Burial) for a total of 24 sermons. However, readers will find that this books is far from “just another book of sermons”—Gerhard’s profound depth of knowledge of Holy Scripture and his ability to draw together the Old Testament prototypes with their fulfillment in Christ combine to make this work a true blessing.

https://www.amazon.com/Explanation-History-Suffering-Death-Christ/dp/1891469304/

02/02/2024

As the most significant theologian of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the 17th century, the life and work of Johann Gerhard are known throughout the Western Church. Whether through writing weighty works such as his "Loci Theologici" or devotional books such as his "Daily Exercise of Piety," Gerhard's significance as a theologian has endured across the centuries.Johann Gerhard’s concern as a theologian was, above all, pastoral, and this concern is reflected in his numerous devotional books and sermon collections. Gerhard’s “An Explanation of the History of the Suffering and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ” leads the reader through the prototypes and prophesies of the Old Testament pointing forward to Christ’s suffering and death.The work is divided into two introductory sermons and five ‘acts’ (I. In the Garden, II. At the Home of Caiaphas, III. Before Pilate, IV. Christ’s Crucifixion, and V. Christ’s Burial) for a total of 24 sermons. However, readers will find that this books is far from “just another book of sermons”—Gerhard’s profound depth of knowledge of Holy Scripture and his ability to draw together the Old Testament prototypes with their fulfillment in Christ combine to make this work a true blessing.

As the most significant theologian of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the 17th century, the life and work of Johann Gerhard are known throughout the Western Church. Whether through writing weighty works such as his "Loci Theologici" or devotional books such as his "Daily Exercise of Piety," Ge...

01/26/2024

New Release for the Festival of St. Titus, Bishop and Confessor!

First published in 1587 and revised and republished in 1592, Aegidius Hunnius (1550–1603) offers a faithful exposition of St. Paul's epistle to St. Titus in his "Epistolae divi Pauli Apostoli ad Titum," now published for the first time in an English translation, “The Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to Titus: A Plain and Clear Exposition.”

Hunnius is remembered as one of the earliest major theologians of the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy (1580–1713). The Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to Titus is the sixth volume of Hunnius’ writings published by Repristination Press.

The Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to Titus: A Plain and Clear Exposition

01/05/2024

Chemnitz's first work on the Lord's Supper—“Anatome Propositionum Alberti Hardenbergii De Coena Domini” (1561)—has now been published in an English translation. This book provides context for the conflicts within the Lutheran Church concerning the Lord's Supper in the years leading up to the Formula of Concord (1577), and gives an answer to those who seek to lead the Church away from a faithful confession.

Anatomy of the Propositions of Albert Hardenberg on the Lord's Supper (1561): Declaration of the Tenth Article in the Augsburg Confession on the Lord's Supper

01/04/2024

Johann Habermann (1514–1590) served as the Lutheran Superintendent (Bishop) of Zeitz from 1575 until his death in 1590. Renowned in his own time as an exegetical scholar who had taught at the University of Wittenberg, Habermann is best remembered as the author of the prayers published in this volume. This translation was originally published in 1918; in addition to Habermann's prayers, Dr. Rausch added prayers to meet the needs of the church in the midst of the First World War. In addition to his labors as a translator, Dr. Emil Rausch (1874–1938) served as editor of the “Lutheran Herald,” a pastor and district president of the Iowa Synod, and as president of Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.

Morning and Evening Prayers For All Days of the Week

12/23/2023

The context for The Anatomy of the Propositions (1561) is a particularly tumultuous moment in the struggle for the confessional identity of the Lutheran churches scattered throughout the various German states. The publication of this collection of essays and theses in March 1561 places the work in the context of the aftermath of the Diet at Naumberg. At the conclusion of the diet of Naumberg (8 February 1561), the majority of secular estates agreed to the recognition of both the 1530 edition of the Augsburg Confession and the later Variata. Joachim Mörlin, the Superintendent of Braunschweig, threatened to resign his office. However, instead of resigning, Mörlin and his coadjutor, Martin Chemnitz, brought their superintendency to the aid of the clergy of Bremen, who had been dealing with the Sacramentarian heresies which were being promulgated by Dr. Albert Hardenberg.

Mörlin and Chemnitz’s labors were not in vain. Mörlin’s Lüneberg Articles in July 1561 unified lower Saxony against Hardenberg, and led to the dismissal of that false teacher. The publication of the Anatomy and Chemitz's Repetition of the Sound Doctrine in March 1561 provided a ready summary of the entire controversy over the Lord's Supper and thoroughly documented not only Hardenberg’s heresy, but also the importance of a thoroughly Lutheran confession concerning the Holy Sacrament. Under the surface of the passing Hardenberg controversy is adamant advocacy for the Unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530.

Anatomy of the Propositions of Albert Hardenberg on the Lord's Supper (1561): Declaration of the Tenth Article in the Augsburg Confession on the Lord's Supper

12/12/2023

Paul Zeller Strodach (1876–1947) was among the most significant theologians serving in the United Lutheran Church in America. Strodach was a parish pastor, the translator of several of Martin Luther's liturgical writings, and the author of several important works on the Lutheran Liturgy. In “The Church Year,” Strodach provides his reader with an overview of the Sundays and major Festivals of the historic one-year series of Propers used in the Lutheran Church. His commentary on each Sunday and Festival is a blend of devotion and academic survey which provides clergy and laity alike with a helpful overview of the Calendar of the Church.

The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles, and Gospels

12/11/2023

Taught to avoid any awareness of a transcendent significance associated with any event and to simply become immersed in fleeting concerns, the cultivated ignorance of history has partially blinded its victims to the reality which surrounds them from before the moment of birth.

In an age when the value of life is measured only by the perception of personal material affluence, the most fundamental needs of human beings have been woefully neglected.
Ours is a dark age, in the proper sense of the concept. It is an age in which those who claim to know are often the most ignorant—ignorant of the sacred history which undergirds the history of the race—and thus men are ignorant of who they are, when they are, and where they are.
An awareness of the darkness of the present age offers the possibility of repentance, and a return to a civilization worthy of the term.

What is history? For many post-modern men—maltreated and miseducated by substandard pseudo-educators in the holding pens which society calls “public schools”—history is just a string of disassociated events which reduces to a catalog of ‘one blasted thing after another.’ Taught to avoid ...

11/27/2023

Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe (1808–1872) was one of the pivotal nineteenth century theologians in the struggle to restore a confessional identity to the Lutheran churches of Europe and North America. In an age when the doctrine of the ministry was contended on both sides of the Atlantic, Loehe found himself in a protracted struggle with theologians of the State Churches of Europe and various synods in North America over the nature and work of the pastoral office. As the translator for the 1849 Aphorisms notes in his preface: “Both sets of Aphorisms are not to be seen in isolation, but rather in intimate connection with the “churchly program” that Löhe developed with great energy (yet without detriment to his parish duties) in the years when he was most crippled with devastating grief over his wife’s early death. The political crisis of 1848 awoke unfounded hopes in Löhe’s breast that his “churchly program” might in fact be realised sooner rather than later. In the end of the day, perhaps only half of Löhe’s aspirations turned into hard fact, namely, the establishment of the order of deaconesses and the er****on of the “caritative” institutions bound up with the “procession of diakonia from the altar.” To this day much of Lutheranism in the old world remains under the shackles of the State control that Löhe lamented in the shape of the “supreme episcopate of the princes.” Moreover, his hopes of a renewed Lutheranism, centred in the sacrament of the altar, gladly and unforcedly practicing “unmixed eucharistic fellowship” (his term for our “closed communion”), and moving toward a greater fullness of liturgy, polity, and life than was achieved in the 16th century, have been sadly disappointed. Both sets of Aphorisms emerge from this context of conflict and expectation. With one foot in both Lutheran Orthodoxy and Lutheran Pietism (he would not see these successive ecclesial phenomena as alternatives), Löhe reached back behind these powerful factors in his formation to the New Testament text, his prime motivation being loyalty to revealed truth. From the communion of saints he surely bids us test his assertions against the yardstick of the inspired text."

Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe (1808–1872) was one of the pivotal nineteenth century theologians in the struggle to restore a confessional identity to the Lutheran churches of Europe and North America. In an age when the doctrine of the ministry was contended on both sides of the Atlantic, Loehe fou....

11/27/2023

Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe (1808–1872) was one of the pivotal nineteenth century theologians in the struggle to restore a confessional identity to the Lutheran churches of Europe and North America. In an age when the doctrine of the ministry was contended on both sides of the Atlantic, Loehe found himself in a protracted struggle with theologians of the State Churches of Europe and various synods in North America over the nature and work of the pastoral office. As the translator for the 1849 Aphorisms notes in his preface: “Both sets of Aphorisms are not to be seen in isolation, but rather in intimate connection with the “churchly program” that Löhe developed with great energy (yet without detriment to his parish duties) in the years when he was most crippled with devastating grief over his wife’s early death. The political crisis of 1848 awoke unfounded hopes in Löhe’s breast that his “churchly program” might in fact be realised sooner rather than later. In the end of the day, perhaps only half of Löhe’s aspirations turned into hard fact, namely, the establishment of the order of deaconesses and the er****on of the “caritative” institutions bound up with the “procession of diakonia from the altar.” To this day much of Lutheranism in the old world remains under the shackles of the State control that Löhe lamented in the shape of the “supreme episcopate of the princes.” Moreover, his hopes of a renewed Lutheranism, centred in the sacrament of the altar, gladly and unforcedly practicing “unmixed eucharistic fellowship” (his term for our “closed communion”), and moving toward a greater fullness of liturgy, polity, and life than was achieved in the 16th century, have been sadly disappointed. Both sets of Aphorisms emerge from this context of conflict and expectation. With one foot in both Lutheran Orthodoxy and Lutheran Pietism (he would not see these successive ecclesial phenomena as alternatives), Löhe reached back behind these powerful factors in his formation to the New Testament text, his prime motivation being loyalty to revealed truth. From the communion of saints he surely bids us test his assertions against the yardstick of the inspired text."

https://www.amazon.com/Aphorisms-Testament-Offices-Relationship-Congregation/dp/1891469371/

11/17/2023

Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) has long been recognized as the greatest theologian of the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy (1580–1713). In 1611, Gerhard published a summary of Christian dogmatics under the title, Aphorismi Succincti et Selecti... A generation later, Ralph Winterton published an abridged English title of this work under the title, "A Golden Chaine of Divine Aphorismes" (1632). However, a complete translation has been unavailable until now.

Gerhard's "Succinct and Select Theological Aphorisms" was written during a particularly significant period in the theologian's work when he produced books such as "On the Legitimate Interpretation of Sacred Scripture" (1611) and "A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper" (1610). Gerhard's "Succinct and Select Theological Aphorisms" provides a thorough summary of classical Lutheran dogmatic theology divided into twenty-three chapters.

https://www.amazon.com/Succinct-Select-Theological-Aphorisms-Twenty-Three/dp/1891469762/

11/14/2023

In "The Method of Theological Study," Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) sets forth the aims and topics of theological study which form a five year educational program for the preparation of Candidates for the Office of the Holy Ministry. In the words of Gerhard, “Speaking concisely and by way of outline, the study of theology is the remedy for our innate ignorance of spiritual matters and for the inherent disorder in our emotions; the stronghold for the cultivation of holiness and piety; the means for listening to God daily in the Word and for speaking to God daily in prayers; and, finally, a sort of prelude to that most holy and blessed society which we await in heaven.”

Since 1993, Repristination Press has led the effort to publish English translations of classics from the Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy (1580–1713).

https://www.amazon.com/Method-Theological-Study-Johann-Gerhard/dp/1891469754/

11/13/2023

An abridgment of J.A. Quenstedt's chapter on Creation from Theologia Didactico-Polemica (1696). Quenstedt was one of the most accomplished of the Lutheran theologians of the late seventeenth century.

https://www.amazon.com/Creation-Theologia-Didactico-Polemica-Chapter-Third/dp/1891469770/

11/09/2023

Written in 1561, Martin Chemnitz's "Repetition of the Sound Doctrine Concerning the True Presence of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Supper” provided a thorough examination of the teaching of Holy Scripture concerning the Sacrament of the Altar. During the 1560s, controversies raged within the Evangelical Lutheran Church on this topic, but Chemnitz and other faithful teachers of the Church brought unity in the divine Truth and helped to guide the Church toward the clear confession contained in the Book of Concord (1580).Chemnitz provides a comprehensive presentation of the teachings of Holy Scripture, and demonstrates that the doctrine of the Church Fathers concerning the Lord's Supper is most faithfully upheld among Evangelical Lutherans. Chemnitz offers a summary of the controversies concerning the Lord's Supper which have arisen since the second century, and presents a thorough examination of Sacramental theology in light of orthodox Christology.

Written in 1561, Martin Chemnitz's "Repetition of the Sound Doctrine Concerning the True Presence of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Supper” provided a thorough examination of the teaching of Holy Scripture concerning the Sacrament of the Altar. During the 1560s, controversies raged within ....

11/08/2023

In “A Comparison of the Roman and Evangelical Churches also known as A Brief and Careful Description” (1629) by Nicolaus Hunnius and “A Catholic Answer to the Heretical Question of the Jesuits: Where Was the True Religion and Church before the Time of Luther?” (1627) by Balthasar Meisner, one encounters two examples of a defense of the existence of the Evangelical Lutheran Church against the ongoing polemical assaults of the Papacy, which are written in such a way as to be accessible to a primarily lay audience. Writing in the midst of the time of the Thirty Years’ War, both Meisner and Hunnius defended the biblical understanding of the nature of Christ's Church. Modern Ecumenists might blanch at such honesty, but the ongoing existence of the Church of the Augsburg Confession is testimony to the importance of such confessional integrity.

Two Books Against the Papacy