Synod of Homberg

The Synod of Homberg was a Catholic synod held in Homberg (present-day Germany) from October 20 to 22, 1526. It was attended by clergy, nobility, and representatives from several European cities. ^[1] Its primary objectives were the reform of church governance structures and clerical discipline. The synod was convened in response to theological disputes arising from the introduction of Zwinglian reforms in Zurich.

In the early 1520s, governmental authorities in the Holy Roman Empire, France, and England had extended influence in ecclesiastical affairs. The Diet of Speyer (August 27, 1526) resolved that each territorial authority could determine its own religious policy, pending a general council, provided that it remained accountable to God and its sovereign. This decision contributed to the development of the principle of territorial authority in religion during the Reformation.

The synod was convened by Landgrave Philip of Hesse who summoned "spiritual and temporal estates" to Homberg, "to deal, by the grace of the Almighty, with Christian matters and disputes." Proceedings began on October 21 in the town church. The former Franciscan preacher François Lambert, then a Protestant reformer, presented 158 theses (known as paradoxa), which were posted on the church doors of Homberg. ^[2][3]

Following an opening address by the Chancellor, Johan Friis, Lambert read his theses with reference to scripture. Later that day, Adam Kraft of Fulda translated the text into German and invited objections from those who considered the propositions inconsistent with biblical teaching. The following day, Nicholas Ferber of Marburg, a Franciscan prior from Marburg, challenged Landgrave Philip of Hesse's authority to hold a synod or legislate on matters of faith, asserting that such powers belonged to the Pope and clergy.

Ferber later departed from Cologne, where he published Assertiones trecentat ac viginti adversus Fr. Lamberti paradoxa impia ("320 assertions against Brother Lambert's impious arguments") and subsequently Assertiones aliœ ("Other assertions"). On the synod's final day, Waldau's Master Johann Sperber cited the Gospel of Luke's Hail Mary, attempting to justify the invocation of Mary, mother of Jesus.^{[citation needed]}