A statue of Philip Melanchthon by sculptor Ville Vallgren inside Helsinki Cathedral.
"The Lutheran Cathedral was built in 1830-1852 to replace an earlier church from 1727. The church is Greek cruciform in shape, and the original neoclassical design by Carl Engel was altered by his successor, Ernst Lohrmann. Lohrmann added four small towers and two side buildings of which one is a belfry, and the other is a chapel. There are statues of the Apostles made of zinc on the roof, and they are the biggest unique set of zinc sculptures in the world. The altarpiece was painted in the 1880s, and the statues of angels on both sides of the altarpiece and the pulpit were designed by Engel. The seating capacity is 1300. The church was called St. Nicholas church until the independence of Finland in 1917. Since 1959, it became a Cathedral, and is called Helsinki Cathedral or the Lutheran Cathedral."
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"Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems. He stands next to Luther and John Calvin as a reformer, theologian, and molder of Protestantism. After Luther himself, he is the primary founder of Lutheranism.
Melanchthon along with Luther denounced what they believed was the exaggerated cult of the saints, asserted justification by faith, and denounced the coercion of the conscience in the sacrament of penance by the Catholic Church, which they believed could not offer certainty of salvation. Both rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation, but not the belief that the body and blood of Christ are present with the elements of bread and wine in the Lord's Supper. The Lutheran view of sacramental union contrasts with the understanding of the Roman Church that the bread and wine cease to be bread and wine at their consecration (retaining the accidents of both). Melanchthon made the distinction between law and gospel the central formula for Lutheran evangelical insight. By the "law", he meant God's requirements both in Old and New Testament; the "gospel" meant the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
In lecturing on the Librorum de judiciis astrologicis of Ptolemy in 1535–1536, Melanchthon expressed to students his interest in Greek mathematics, astronomy and astrology. He considered that a purposeful God had reasons to exhibit comets and eclipses. He was the first to print a paraphrased edition of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos in Basel, 1554. Natural philosophy, in his view, was directly linked to Providence, a point of view that was influential in curriculum change after the Protestant Reformation in Germany. In the period 1536–1539 he was involved in three academic innovations: the refoundation of Wittenberg along Protestant lines, the reorganization at Tübingen, and the foundation of the University of Leipzig.
But before these and other theological dissensions were ended, he died. A few days before his death he committed to writing his reasons for not fearing it. On the left were the words, "Thou shalt be delivered from sins, and be freed from the acrimony and fury of theologians"; on the right, "Thou shalt go to the light, see God, look upon his Son, learn those wonderful mysteries which thou hast not been able to understand in this life." The immediate cause of death was a severe cold which he had contracted on a journey to Leipzig in March 1560, followed by a fever that consumed his strength, weakened by many sufferings. On 19 April 1560 he was pronounced dead.
The only care that occupied him until his last moment was the desolate condition of the church. He strengthened himself in almost uninterrupted prayer, and in listening to passages of Scripture. Especially significant did the words seem to him, "His own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." When Caspar Peucer, his son-in-law, asked him if he wanted anything, he replied, "Nothing but heaven." His body was buried beside Luther's in the Schloßkirche in Wittenberg.
He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod on February 16 (the date of his birth) and of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on June 25 (the date of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession)."
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Suomi -
"Luterilainen katedraali rakennettiin vuosina 1830-1852 entisen kirkon tilalle vuodelta 1727. Kirkko on kreikkalaisen ristin muotoinen, ja Carl Engelin alkuperäistä klassista muotoilua muutti hänen seuraajansa Ernst Lohrmann. Lohrmann lisäsi neljä pientä tornia ja kaksi sivurakennusta, joista yksi on kellotapuli ja toinen kappeli. Katolla on sinkin kaltaisia patsaita patsaita, ja ne ovat maailman suurin sinkki-veistosten joukko. Alttaritaulu maalattiin 1880-luvulla, ja enkelien patsaat alttarikappaleen molemmilla puolilla ja saarnatuoli olivat Engelin suunnittelema. Istuinkapasiteetti on 1300. Kirkko oli nimeltään Pyhän Nikolauksen kirkko, kunnes Suomen itsenäisyys alkoi vuonna 1917. Vuodesta 1959 alkaen se tuli katedraaliksi, ja sitä kutsutaan Helsingin tuomiokirkoksi tai luterilainen katedraali."
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"Philipp Melanchthon (alun perin Philipp Schwartzerd; 16. helmikuuta 1497 Bretten – 19. huhtikuuta 1560 Wittenberg) oli saksalainen humanisti ja Martti Lutherin työtoveri.
Melanchthon toimi Wittenbergin yliopiston kreikan kielen professorina vuodesta 1518 ja tutustui silloin Martti Lutheriin. Hän oli Lutherin mukana jo Leipzigin väittelyssä puolustamassa alkavaa uskonpuhdistusta. Lähinnä Melanchthonin laatimat Augsburgin tunnustus ja Augsburgin tunnustuksen puolustus (1530) ovat luterilaisen kirkon tunnustuskirjoja.
Melanchthon ei Lutherin kuoleman jälkeen pystynyt hallitsemaan nuoren luterilaisen kirkon sisällä syntyneitä opillisia erimielisyyksiä. Opillisten riitojen (muun muassa Augsburgin interim ja Leipzigin interim) aikana huomattiin Melanchthonin haparoivan opillisissa asioissa. Hän halusi luoda rauhaa kirkkokuntien välille, ja tämä näkyi hänen kirjoituksistaan. Hän esimerkiksi olisi suostunut hyväksymään katolilaisia seremonioita ja alamaisuuden paaville ja hänen piispoilleen, mikäli nämä suvaitsisivat luterilaista oppia. Kahdeksan vuoden päästä hän myönsi olleensa väärässä. Jopa reformaattori Jean Calvin kirjoitti Melanchthonille. Kirjeessä hän ”syyttää sinua vasten kasvoja” sekä sanoo ”kenraalin ja johtajan epäröinnin olevan häpeällisempää kuin kokonaisen sotilasrykmentin paon”. Melanchthonin ryhmä nimettiin filipisteiksi, ja aitoluterilaiset asettuivat heitä vastaan. Tuolloin aitoluterilaisten teologisena johtajana toimi Matias Flacius.
Philipp Melanchthonin keskeisimpänä saavutuksena pidetään koululaitoksen uudistamista. Hän saikin kunnianimen ”praeceptor Germaniae” eli ”Saksan opettaja”. Hän korosti humanismia ja eettisen kasvatuksen merkitystä. Melanchthonin ansiosta humanistinen koululaitos levisi Saksasta myös muihin, erityisesti luterilaisiin maihin."
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