Andreas Karlstadt

Timeline

1. 1502–1517Wittenberg · Electorate of SaxonyKarlstadt received theological training in Cologne and Wittenberg, earned a doctorate in theology in 1511, and served as theology professor at the University of Wittenberg and dean of the All Saints' Church; initially he and Luther were fellow reformers.
2. 1521–1522Wittenberg · Electorate of SaxonyWhile Luther was hiding at the Wartburg, Karlstadt pushed radical reforms in Wittenberg, including removing icons, abolishing the Mass, and instituting lay communion, provoking controversy at the Saxon court and among the townspeople.
3. 1523–1529Orlamünde · ThuringiaKarlstadt publicly debated Luther over the symbolic view of the Eucharist and reform strategy; after being expelled from Wittenberg he served as pastor in Orlamünde and elsewhere, insisting on a more thorough purification of the church and a vernacular liturgy.
4. 1530–1541Basel · Basel-StadtIn the 1530s Karlstadt went into exile in Basel, Switzerland, where in a relatively tolerant environment he continued pastoral work and writing; his radical reform ideas influenced some lower-class believers in Switzerland and Germany.