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Concept
Johann Tetzel
Summary
Johann Tetzel (c. 1465 – 11 August 1519) was a German Dominican friar and preacher. He was appointed Inquisitor for Poland and Saxony, later becoming the Grand Commissioner for indulgences in Germany. Tetzel was known for granting indulgences on behalf of the Catholic Church in exchange for money. Indulgences grant a remission of temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven. This largely contributed to Martin Luther writing his Ninety-five Theses. The main usage of the indulgences sold by Tetzel was to help fund and build the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Tetzel was born in Pirna, Saxony, and studied theology and philosophy at Leipzig University. He entered the Dominican order in 1489, achieved some success as a preacher, and was in 1502 commissioned by Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, later Pope Leo X, to preach the Jubilee indulgence, which he did throughout his life. In 1509 he was made an inquisitor of Poland and, in January 1517 was made commissioner of indulgences for Archbishop Albrecht von Brandenburg in the dioceses of Magdeburg and Halberstadt.
He acquired the degree of Licentiate of Sacred Theology in the University of Frankfurt an der Oder in 1517, and then of Doctor of Sacred Theology in 1518, by defending in two disputations, the doctrine of indulgences against Martin Luther. The accusation that he had sold full forgiveness for sins not yet committed caused a great scandal. It was believed that all of the money that Tetzel raised was for the ongoing reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica, although half the money went to the Archbishop of Mainz, Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg (under whose authority Tetzel was operating), to pay off the debts incurred in securing Albert's appointment to the archbishopric. Luther began to preach openly against him and was inspired to write his famous Ninety-five Theses in part due to Tetzel's actions, in which he states,27. They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.
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