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Toward the end of the 16th Century, Lutheran orthodoxy had been defined and articulated in the "Book of Concord, " including the Articles of Visitation (1592). These documents summarized the Lutheran understanding of faith as developed by early Lutheran reformers and its relation to Roman Catholicism and Calvinism. Worship was seen, on one hand, as an essential expression of faith––one in which many of its particulars were considered to be "adiaphora." The result was a wide variety of practice, depending on the resources of the locality, its relation to an academic community, and the size of the congregation. "Orthodox" congregations maintained the full Mass rituals in their normal worship as suggested by Luther. In this Hauptgottesdienst (Main Service of Worship), Holy Communion was celebrated on each Sunday and festival. The traditional parts of the service were retained. Services were conducted in German, but Latin also was present in both the Ordinary and Proper parts of the service. This helped students maintain their familiarity with the language. Influences Orthodox Lutheran worship was weakened by several influences in the course of the 17th Century. The Thirty Years’ War caused major havoc with life and institutions in central Germany. Church life and organization were tragically disrupted. The population was decimated by war and the plague. The reality of death and the hereafter permeated society. Personal, and even mystical devotion, gradually became more important than corporate worship. This tendency was a forerunner of the Pietistic movement that emerged later in the century. Led by Philip J. Spener, this movement emphasized private devotion. The development of concerted music and monody, with its increased potential of expressing personal emotions and reactions, coincided conveniently with the rising influence of Pietism. New texts that offered an opportunity for individual Christians’ reaction were added to Scriptural passages set to music. These were to become especially important in cantata and Passion settings of the Baroque period. The Reformed movement of John Calvin also weakened the hold of Lutheran orthodoxy and traditional worship practice. In Reformed worship, the ceremonies and orders of the Mass were abolished along with instrumental worship music. Only the texts of Scriptural Psalms could be sung in worship. The result was a simplified service with little ceremony and ritual. Calvinists created metrical Psalm paraphrases set to simple, unembellished melodies that were harmonized mostly in four-part style. These French-Genevan tunes and the simplified order of worship proved to be very popular with some Lutheran congregations. The development also lessened the need for, or desirability of, polyphonic or elaborate choral or instrumental music.
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