Dr. Eric W. Gritsch

Who Knows Whether It’s True?

Luther and the Scala Sancta

The Annual Eric W. Gritsch Memorial Fund Symposium

was held on Saturday, March 19, 2022
 OUR FIRST LIVE ZOOM PRESENTATION  

Dr. Carl P.E. Springer, SunTrust Chair of Excellence in the Humanities at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, spoke on his recently published book, Luther’s Rome Rome’s Luther from Fortress University Press, 2021.

Dr. Springer critically examined anew Luther’s famous trip to Rome as a young priest and how it shaped his attitude to the dynamic and venerable. Rome was much more than just the seat of the Papacy for Luther; it was a contested site of literature, antiquity, traditions, and faith. Luther standing before the Scala Sancta, or Holy Steps –once thought to be tread by Christ on his way to the cross and transported to Rome– has come down to us a decisive moment in his questioning of his faith, but things were more complicated than that. 

2022 Symposium Available on the Eric W. Gritsch YouTube Channel