Hermann Sasse

Hermann Otto Erich Sasse (17 July 1895 – 9 August 1976) was a Lutheran theologian and author. He was considered one of the foremost confessional Lutheran theologians of the 20th century.^[1]

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 University of 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.^[1]

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), retiring in 1969. He died in a fire at his home in 1976.^[1]

References

1. Maurice Schild, 'Sasse, Hermann Otto Erich (1895–1976)', (2005), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Supplementary Volume, Melbourne University Press, online National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 13 October 2015.

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
• Christ and His Church: Essays by Hermann Sasse: Vol. 1, Union and Confession (Office of the President LCMS © 1997

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" at the Wayback Machine (archived November 22, 2003)
• Herman Sasse on "Controversies in the Church" at the Wayback Machine (archived November 22, 2003)
• Preface to Vom Sakrament des Altars by Hermann Sasse
• History and content of the 1933 Bethel Confession