II. The Augsburg Interim. After the duke of Alva, through tlie treacherj' of IMaurice of Saxony, had broken the power of the Protestants at the battle of Miihlberg, and, by the overthrow of the Smalkald league, the emperor had brought them helpless at his feet, Charles V, seeing that the pope had not acted in accordance with his wishes at the Council of Trent, decided to attempt by still other conferences to reunite the two contending parties, or at least '• to keep matters quiet until the final verdict of that oecumenical council which constantly vanished in the distance." For that purpose he called the three divines, viz. Julius Pflug, bishop of Naumburg; Michael Helding, titidar bishop of Sidon ; and the Protestant John Agricola, preacher to the elector of Brandenburg, to agree upon a series of ar- ticles concerning the points of religion in dispute be- tween the Catholics and Protestants. The controverted points were, the state of Adam before and after his fall ; the redemption of mankind by Jesus Christ; the justifi- cation of sinners ; charity and good works ; the confi- dence we ought to have in God ; that our sins are re- mitted ; the Church and its true marks, its power, its authority, and ministers; the pope and bishops, the sacraments ; the mass ; the commemoration of saints ; their intercession, and prayers for the dead. The result of their discussions was the agreement drawn up in twenty-six articles. These the emperor submitted to the pope for his approbation, and sent copies of them also to the electors of Saxonj' and of Brandenburg, and to other evangelical princes. But both the pope and the German theologians refused to adhere to them. The emperor i^ext had them revised by two Dominican monks, who made several alterations, and the}' were then promulgated as an imperial constitution, called the "Interim," wherein he declared that "it was his will that all his Catholic dominions should, for the future, in- violabh' observe the customs, statutes, and ordinances of the universal Church ; and that those who had sep- arated themselves from it should either reunite them- selves to it, or at least conform to this constitution; and that all should quietly expect the decisions of the gen- eral council ;" and it was published in the diet of Augs- burg, jMay 15, 1548. To the Protestant clergy it grant- ed, for the time being, the right of the matrimonial state, and to the Reformed laity communion of both kinds. It was truly a standard of faith put forth by the emperor independent of Rome, as the pope refused to sanction it; and in the face of the bitter complaints that came to him that the power and property of the Church should be left in the hands of its present possessors, he showed the pope that he too, like Henry VIII, coidd regulate the' consciences of his subjects, and prescribe their religious faith. The elector of Mentz, quite con- trary to the wishes of the other members of the Diet, and of the people there represented, announced the ac- ceptance of the interim by the states, and it was conse- quently declared law, and printed in Latin and in Ger-
INTERIM
621
INTERMEDIATE STATE
man. Both Protestants and Catholics began, however, violently to attack it ; the Komanists complained of the concessions made to the Protestants, while tlie Protes- tant princes (John Frederick of Saxony, the landgrave of Hesse, the margrave John v. KUstrin, the elector AVolf- gang V. Zweibriicken) declined introducing it in their states ; the only princes who submitted to it were the elector of Brandenburg, the elector of the Palatinate, the count of Wlirtemberg, and the cities of Augsburg, Halle, etc. (the latter by compidsion).
HI. Thk Leipzig Interim. — The Lutheran theologi- ans openly declared they would not receive the Augsburg interim, alleging that it re-established popery: some chose rather to quit their chairs and livings than to subscribe it. Calvin and several others wrote against it. On the other side, the emperor was so severe against those who refused to accept it, that he disfranchised the cities of Magdeburg and Constance for their opposition. Most important, however, for the Protestant cause, and impossible for Charles to pass unheeded, was the oppo- sition against the Augsburg interim by Maurice of Sax- onjf, who denied the right of the elector of Mentz to give himself the approval to an act that demanded the concurrence of the states directly and not indirectly. To fortify himself more strongly in his position, Mau- rice entered into correspondence with Melancthon, and called a council of state and of prominent theologians at Leipzig and other cities. In the conference at Leipzig it was decided, Sept. 22, 1548, that the Augsburg interim could not be accepted. Yet, for fear of incurring the displeasure of the emperor, a compromise was effected. In a series of resolutions which were adopted, they ad- mitted a great part o\ the Roman Catholic ceremonials, and tacitly acknowledged also the power of the popes and bishops, but yet well guarded (!) the creed of the Reformers. These resolves of the conference were pub- lished as the Leipzig Interim, Dec. 22, 1548. Subse- quently it was divided into a lesser and greater interim. The first was based on resolutions passed at the confer- ence of Cellc, and was published by an edict of the elec- tor, and this ultimately became the basis of the great- er Leipzig Interim. It was prepared by Melancthon, Eber, Bugenhagen, ISIajor, and prince George of An- halt. It restored some Roman Catholic practices; direct- ed that mass should be celebrated v.'ith ringing of bells, lighted tapers, and a decorated altar, accompanied by singing, and be performed in Latin by priests in canon- icals ; that the Horce canonicce and psalms should be sung according to the custom of each place ; the old festivals of Mary, etc., were re-established, and meat forbidden on Fridays and fast-days, etc. These decisions, which were promulgated in March, 1549, met with nuich opposition in Saxonj', yet they were strictly enforced, and such ministers as refused to submit to the interim were de- posed, as, for instance, Flacius of Wittenberg. The lat- ter then put himself at the head of the opposing party, called by the partisans of the interim Adiaphorists. See Adiaphoric Controversy. Another treacherous ac- tion of Maurice, which secured his services anew to the Reformers, undid all the work already accomplished bj' Charles V; "and while Henry II was winning, at the expense of the empire, the delusive title of conqueror, Charles found himself reduced to the hard necessity of restoring all that his crooked policj' had for so many j'ears been devoted to extorting." In 1552 the interim was necessarily revoked, and, by the transaction of Pas- sau, August 2, 1552, fidl liberty of conscience secured to all the Lutheran states ; and .Sept. 21, 155.5, at the Diet of Augsburg, was finalh^ confirmed the right of the states and cities of the Augsburg Confession (q. v.) " to enjoy the practices of their religion in peace." Compare Menzel, Xetie Geschichte, vol. iii ; Robertson, Charles V (Harper's edit.), bk. ix, especially p. 377 sq. ; and see Bieck, Ueber d. Interim (Leipz. 1727, 8vo); Hirch, Ueh. d. Liferim (Lpz. 1753) ; Baumgarten, Gesch. d. Bel. Par- iheien, p. 1163 sq. ; Sehriickh, Kirchenf/esr/i. .«. d. Ref. i, 592, 674 sq., 683, 686 sq. ; Zeitschrift f. hist, theol. 1868, p.