Zur Entwicklung der habsburgischen Überlegungen für eine außerkonziliare Überwindung der Kirchenspaltung bis zum „Religionsgespräch“ in Hagenau

In the 1530s, when the popes were reluctant to convene a general council, Emperor Charles V and his brother Ferdinand corresponded several times about how to arrange discussions with the German Protestant estates. Their aim was to regain a unified Christendom and so ensure peace in the Empire. The political result of their considerations was the conference at Haguenau in the summer of 1540, which was presided over by Ferdinand. The brothers’ intention was to take the preliminary results reached by some committees during the Imperial diet of 1530 in Augsburg as the starting point for the conference, but to discuss only those problems that did not touch on fundamental positions of the Roman Catholic church. This strategy was endorsed by several Catholic theologians. The Habsburgs succeeded in getting the support of several Catholic princes, but the Protestant estates refused to cooperate. Außerkonziliare Überwindung der Kirchenspaltung ARG_109_Inhalt_DD.indd 125 10.09.2018 12:49:34