Corpus Evangelicorum

The Corpus Evangelicorum was a league of Protestant imperial states within the Holy Roman Empire that came into existence on 22 July 1653. Its progenitor was King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden who proposed the Corpus as a body of Protestant states who were allies, or were potential allies, against Ferdinand II, the Holy Roman Emperor, during the Thirty Years' War. Gustavus Adolphus proposed that the Corpus Evangelicorum was to be the civil administration alongside the Corpus Bellicum which would be responsible for military concerns. The presidency of the Corpus Evangelicorum became associated with the Electorate of Saxony. The Corpus lasted until 1806 and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.[1][2]

From its foundation, religious matters in the Holy Roman Empire were decided on only with an agreement from both Corpus Evangelicorum and Corpus Catholicorum (a similar league for Catholic imperial states). When Augustus the Strong converted to Roman Catholicism in order to become King of Poland in 1697, Brandenburg-Prussia and Duchy of Württemberg unsuccessfully tried to take over the presidency for themselves, but this eventually failed.

Elector of Saxony was always presiding over this body since its inception until the Holy Roman Empire ended.

Notes

  1. ↑ Christian Cyclopedia.
  2. ↑ Trueman 2016.

References

  • Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (2016), "Corpus Evangelicorum", Christian Cyclopedia, retrieved 14 May 2016
  • Trueman, C.N. (3 March 2016), "Gustavus Adolphus and Sweden", History Learning Site, retrieved 14 May 2016

Further reading

  • Kalipke, Andreas (2010), "The Corpus Evangelicorum", in Coy, J.P.; Marschke, B. Benjamin; Sabean D.W., The Holy Roman Empire, Reconsidered, Berghahn


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