Andreas Osiander
German Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer
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Career
Born at Gunzenhausen, Ansbach, in the region of Franconia, Osiander studied at the University of Ingolstadt before being ordained as a Catholic priest in 1520 in Nuremberg. In the same year he began work at an Augustinian convent in Nuremberg as a Hebrew tutor. In 1522, he was appointed to the church of St. Lorenz in Nuremberg, and at the same time publicly declared himself to be a Lutheran. During the First Diet of Nuremberg (1522), he met Albert of Prussia, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, and played an important role in converting him to Lutheranism. He also played a prominent role in the debate which led to the city of Nuremberg's adoption of the Reformation in 1525, and in the same year Osiander married.
Osiander attended the Marburg Colloquy (1529), the Diet of Augsburg (1530) and the signing of the Schmalkalden articles (1531). The Augsburg Interim of 1548 made it necessary for him to leave Nuremberg, settling first at Breslau (Wrocław), then, in 1549, at Königsberg (Kaliningrad) as professor of the newly founded Königsberg University, appointed by Albert of Prussia. Osiander lived and worked in Königsberg until his death in 1552.
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Theology
Osiander was a Christian mystic and his theology incorporated the idea of mystical union with Christ and the Word of God. He believed that justification for a Christian believer resulted from Christ dwelling in a person. Contrary to Luther's belief that justification was imputed by God's grace, Osiander believed that the righteousness of a believer was accomplished by the indwelling of God; thus, God finds one righteous because Christ is in that person. Calvin rejected these views of Osiander, as did Melanchthon and Flacius. Flacius' opposing view was that God justifies us by Christ's work of obedience on the cross, not by his presence in us.
Translated works
- "Andreas Osiander's Disputatio de iustificatione: An English Translation." In Challenging the Traditional Interpretations of Justification by Faith, Part 2, 315–322. Anaheim, CA: Living Stream, 2023.
Family
He was the father of theologian Lucas Osiander the Elder. His grandsons Andreas (1562–1617) and Lukas (1571–1638) also worked as theologians. His niece Margarete married the future Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.