Hermann Sasse

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Hermann Otto Erich Sasse (July 17, 1895—August 9, 1976) was a Lutheran theologian and author. He was considered one of the foremost confessional Lutheran theologians of the 20th Century.

Born in Sonnenwald, Germany, Sasse began his career under the influence of the classical liberalism of his teachers, such as Adolf Harnack. After spending a year as an exchange student at Hartford Theological Seminary in the United States (1925-1926), Sasse returned to Germany to take up a teaching position at Erlangen. During this period, he became an active participant in the ecumenical movement. In the early 1930s, he emerged as a vocal critic of the National Socialist Party and Germany’s new chancellor, Adolf Hitler. While he did not sign the 1934 Barmen Declaration, he did author, with Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others, the first draft of the lesser known Bethel Confession of 1933.

In 1949, Sasse emigrated to Adelaide, Australia, where he served on the faculty of the seminary of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia (later merged into the Lutheran Church of Australia) until his death in 1976.

[edit] Selected bibliography

• This Is My Body: Luther's Contention for the Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Altar. (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001) ISBN 1-57910-766-4
• The Lonely Way: Selected Essays and Letters of Hermann Sasse: 1941-1976 (Concordia Publishing House, 2003) ISBN 0-7586-0004-6
• The Lonely Way: Selected Essays and Letters of Hermann Sasse: 1927-1939 (Concordia Publishing House, 2002) ISBN 0-570-01640-1

[edit] External links

• Sasse, Hermann Otto Erich (1895 - 1976) (Australian Dictionary of Biography)
• Hermann Sasse and the Liturgical Movement by John T. Pless
• Selection of Prof. Dr Hermann Sasse's Writings (Confessional Lutherans Australia)
• Luther's Legacy to Christianity: We Are Beggars by Hermann Sasse
• Church and Lord's Supper by Hermann Sasse
• We Are Not Ashamed of Their Ardent Struggle by Hermann Sasse
• Hermann Sasse on "Lies"
• Herman Sasse on "Controversies in the Church"
• Preface to Vom Sakrament des Altars by Hermann Sasse
• History and content of the 1933 Bethel Confession

Persondata
NAME	Sasse, Hermann Otto Erich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Lutheran theologian, considered one of the foremost confessional Lutheran theologians of the 20th Century
DATE OF BIRTH	July 17, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH	Sonnewalde, Lower Lusatia, Germany
DATE OF DEATH	August 9, 1976
PLACE OF DEATH	North Adelaide, South Australia, Australia