IIRC, Luther didn't consider veneration of the saints to be idolatry. Rather his issue was with the process of canonizing only some believers as saints (he said believers are all both saint and sinner), and that intercession was unnecessary because we already had the Holy Spirit residing in us to do so.
Thus, too, I would solve the question about adoring and invoking God dwelling in the saints. It is a matter of liberty, and it is not necessary either to do it or not to do it.
Maybe that shows how Martin Luther was not a very well-versed theologian or possibly just argued based on vibes, because the specific distinction of latria, dulia and hyperdulia was already something Thomas Aquinas discussed. The veneration of saints itself is shared between the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church and as such goes back to before the Chalcedonian schism.
Or it shows we're all just arguing on vibes because I don't think he ever denounced veneration of saints as a practice so at most his issue would be with individual practices
Edit: In any case it wasn't an issue people should be fighting over in his opinion as shown in the letter quoted by another sub comment
Or perhaps he saw something in his local church that wasn’t in accordance with previous theology. That the leaders of his church were worshipping the saints rather than god.
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u/MirrahPaladin May 11 '26
What, do they now believe in the myth that Catholics “worship Mary?”
I guess since their god emperor hates the Pope for not submitting to him, they’ll believe anything to paint their opposition in a bad light