Martin Luther’s Interpretation on Magnificat. Vademecum of Christian Education for Rulers

Considering the ethical, anthropological and theological perspectives on the institution of a secular leader, as they are presented in Martin Luther’s writing “Das Magnificat verdeutschet und ausgelegt”, (1521) this paper aims to emphasize his contribution to the contemporary political anthropology and European culture. Presenting Mary’s canticle as a vademecum of educating secular leaders, Luther highlights the need of spiritual substantiation of the education of the secular leader and identifies mens cordis as the active and reactive center of the human being, from which all counsels and all reigns must be derived. While still preserving parts of mysticism, mystical and ascetic sources for the Christian education of rulers, thus a fragment of the universal Christian tradition, as they were developed and contextualized in Western Europe, this work by Luther could be a significant impulse for the renewal of the dialogue between Lutheran tradition and Orthodoxy.