Organizing the Church
The basis of Luther’s beliefs and the Protestant doctrine was that one was saved by faith alone. This also meant that salvation by works was frowned upon, which gave a new meaning to the sacraments. They were now seen as symbols of salvation already attained. Luther also said that the idea of transubstantiation was false. He still believed that Jesus’ presence could be felt when communion was taken. Because Luther heavily relied on the Bible as his guide, he denied the fact that the Bible is second to the church’s doctrine. This also meant that priests were unnecessary because a person was their own priest if they followed the Bible. Luther still knew he needed to form an organized church. Because he denied the need for priests, many of the princes and state authorities organized new Lutheran churches. The princes then would hire people to oversee the church and to guide them as a church body. This meant that the churches in Germany were territories, and were ruled over by the princes in those territories. Luther decided to replace the Catholic Mass with new services that were centered around the reading of scripture, preaching, and songs. In 1525, Luther married Katherina von Bora, and showed Protestant ministers a model of family life as well as marriage.