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The writings in this first of four volumes of Luther's Works on Word and Sacrament are for the most part from a fifteen year span- from the year of the Leipzig Debate to the publication of Luther's German Bible. All twelve are translated either for the first time or in revised form by the editor.

The conversations selected for this volume of Luther's Works have been carefully chosen from among more than seven thousand entries of the Weimar Edition with two aims in veiw: historical perspective and contemporary relevance. The annotations are precise and are related directly to the material at hand.

This volume includes selections from the Christmas Postil, specifically sermons on the Gospel lessons for Christmas Eve, the Early Christmas Service, St. Stephen's Day, the Sunday after Christmas, New Year's Day, and the Festival of the Epiphany.

This volume contains a selection of forty- three sermons arranged in chronological order. Beginning with what may be Luther's earliest extant sermon and ending with the last he delivered before his death, this collection of sermons can give the reader a glimpse into the Reformer's development as a preacher. The forty-three sermons in this volume represent but a fragment of Luther's total output. Even the two thousand sermons or more contained in the Weimar Edition of Luther's writings do not include all of Luther's sermons.

Luther wrote the 119 letters in this volume between 1507 and 1522, during the momentous years that saw him change from an obedient and determined priest of his Order to a vigorous critic of the sale of indulgences and finally to the leader of a reformed church. In these letters Luther discusses his posting of the Ninety-five Theses, the disputations at Heidelberg, Augsburg, and Leipzig, and the bull excommunicating him.

Conflict between the church of Rome and the reformers reached its most violent peak in the five years before the Council of Trent in 1545, a council the pope had been delaying for years. Luther had not only given up hope for a "free, Christian council," but had also come to the conclusion that the authority of such a council was limited to reaffirming the ancient faith of the apostles. This radical departure from Rome's interpretation of its own authority forms the basis of Luther's new doctrine of the church -- and also of his advice to Protestant princes on the problems of ecclesiastical property. It is this doctrine of the church which is the theme of the three treatises written during this period and included in this volume.

This volume includes two writings dealing with the plight of the common person who Luther felt had become a victim of the ecclesiastical establishment. These are followed by treatises taken from Luther's literary feud with three staunch supporters of Rome: Augustine Alveld, Jerome Emser [the "Leipzig goat"], and Albrecht of Mainz. The final treatise contains Luther's argument for congregational authority.

The final volume in the section entitled "Word and Sacrament" of Luther's Works traces the development of Luther's concept of the Lord's Supper from the time of the Marburg Colloquy in 1529 down to 1544, two years before his death.

Included in this volume therefore are four of the debates or disputations held in Wittenberg University between 1535 and 1542. Thirteen of the fourteen treatises appear in their entirety in an English translation for the first time with publication of this volume.

Six major movements of the resultant symphony are included in this volume, all dealing with the doctrine of the Lord's Supper. In addition to providing observations on vows, sin, celibacy, sainthood, and spirits, Luther expresses his views concerning authority in the church, the place of Scripture, and the merits and limitations of a "Lutheran" confession.

Luther stands out as the defender of his understanding of the Christian faith in this volume. What he had said and written was attacked by leaders of the Roman Church and the Holy Roman Empire. Though friends and enemies sought to deflect him from his purpose, he remained steadfast so that what took place at the Diet of Worms has a become a watershed in the history of Christendom.

For the first time, all of Luther's chants and hymns are here available with their music in modern notation. This volume also contains all of his liturgical writings. Along with the basic works in which Luther developed some general premises for liturgical reform, with practical suggestions for their realization, this volume includes orders for the occasional services, such as baptism, private confession, and marriage, collects and other prayers, prefaces to hymnals and a brief motet Luther composed.

This volume in Luther's Works contains writings of Luther directed for the most part against the fanatical front on the left. In denying the reality of the church, the validity and need of the office of the ministry, the fanatics relegate the sacraments to a secondary position, thus bypassing the Word as God's means of communication to men.