Lippe, sometimes also (but less properly) Lippk- Detmold, a small principality of Northern Germany, surrounded on the M''. and S. by WestphaUa, and on the E. and N. by Hanover, Brunswick, Waldeck, and a de- tached portion of Ilesse-Cassel, extends over an area of 432 square miles, and has a population (1871) of 111,153, mainly belonging to the Reformed Church. The earli- est inhabitants were the Cherusci ; subsequently it was a part of the country of the Saxons. The first estab- lishment of Christianity in that province dates back to
LIPPE
450
LIPSCOMB
Charlemagne. In the very beginning of his war against the Saxons, in 772, he took the caslrum j-Ereshurguni (probably Kadtberg, on the Diemcl, near the southern frontier "of the principahty), and there destroyed the statue of the idol Irmansaul. In 770 he went to Lipp- spriiigo, and the following year to I'adrabrun (Fader- born), both on the southern frontier of the province, obliging whole tribes of the con(iuered Saxons to receive baptism. In 783 Charlemagne again vanquished the Saxons in the great battle of Theotmelli (Detmold), in the very heart of the present principalit}% The Saxon army was entirely destroyed, and Charlemagne, in com- memoration of this event, erected a church which is still in existence. The next Christmas he spent at Ski- droburg-supra-Ambram, now Schieder, on the Emmer, where it is said he also erected a church. But his most important measure for Christianizing the country was his establishment of the bishopric of Paderborn, embra- cing the district of Lippe within its diocese, for which the house of the princes of Lippe furnished many a bishop.
The Reformation early found strong supporters in Lippe. The first city of the province to adopt it was Lemgo, moved to such a course by Luther's theses against indulgences. By 1524 the Reformation was further advanced in this part of Germany by the adhe- rents it had gained in the town of Herford, adjoining Lemgo, where the works of Luther and Melancthon liad been circulated freely. Foremost among Luther's supporters there were his colleagues the Augustine monks. One of them, Dr. John Dreyer, a native of Lem- go and a personal friend of Luther, distinguished for his learning and eloquence, was the first to preach the Gos- pel in Herford. In spite of the priests, the people in- troduced the singing of the German hymns of Luther into their churches, and all attempts to put an end to this by violence gave way before the unanimous will of the people. The first to take the decided step of separation was Moriz Piderit, a priest, and formerly one of the most determined adversaries of the evangelical doctrines, and by his influence the city was carried for Luther's doc- trines. Lippstadt embraced them nearly at the same time. The monks of the Augustine convent in that city, who had sent t;vo of their number to Wittemberg to be instructed by Luther, on their return preached the Gospel with great success to the people of Lippe and of neighboring places ; and they so quickly advanced the cause of the Reformers, that when an inquisitor was sent to Lippe from Cologne in 1526 to stay the heresy, he found the evangelical party so strong that he gave up all attempts to control it, and returned to his home. In 1533 the town was besieged by the dukes of Cleves and Juliers, and the count of Lippe forced to surrender. The evangelical ministers were of course driven away, but it was not long before permission was granted for the preaching by Lutheran ministers again. After the death of the zealous Roman Catholic count Simon V, in 1536, the Reformation made more rapid progress in the province. The landgrave Philip of Hessia and count Jobst von Hoya, two determined partisans of the Refor- mation, became guardians of the children of the deceased count, and caused them to be diligently instructed in the Protestant doctrines ; and when, in 1538, both the no- bility and the people loudly demanded a reform in the Church of the count de Hoya, John Timann, surnamed Amstolrodamus, and Adrian Buxschoten, both of Brem- en, were called and sent to Lipjie to frame a plan of evan- gelical church organization, which was submitted to the States and to Luther, and, upon api)roval (1538), it was promulgated throughout the principality, and Protest- ant ministers were everywhere appointed. Under John von Eyter, of Wittemberg, then general superintend- ent of Lippe, a new church organization was drawn up and i)rinted in 1571, with the authorization of the au- thorities, and it is still in our day in force among the Lutheran communities of the country.
In 1600, during the reign of count Simon YI (ruled
1583-1613), who had imbibed Calvinistic views at the court of Cassel, Calvinism found an entrance in Lippe, It commenced by the appointment of a Calvinistic min- ister to preach at Horn in 1602. This preacher at once forbade the use of the Lutheran Catechism ui the schools, administered the sacrament of the Lord's Supper in strict Calvinistic form, and established the Reformed mode of worship in spite of the local authorities and of tlie peo- ple. In 1605 the same step was taken at Detmold, and was supported by the government, notwithstanding the opposition of the people and city authorities. In this manner Calvinism was established throughout the coun- try, the nobility alone and the city of Lemgo remaining Lutheran. It was not, however, until 1684 that Calvin- ism was sanctioned as the state reUgion. In that year comit Simon Henrich promulgated the Reformed eccle- siastical organization, which recognises as its formula of confession the Catechism of Heidelberg, and is in force in our day. The city of Lemgo resisted these meas- ures, and succeeded in obtaining in 1717 an edict assur- ing its inhabitants the fullest religious liberty, the right of appointing their own ministers, etc. But as Ration- alism had obtained lull control of the Reformed Church of Lippe in the 18th century, upon reaction towards the middle of the 19th century the whole countr}-, including Lemgo, was subjected to the Reformed consistory, which, however, by the admission of one Lutheran member, became a mixed consistory. As an outline of doctrine, the Heidelberg Catechism was introduced.