Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus

by Wade Johnston

As Martin Luther said, Christians are saints and sinners, and perhaps this is best shown in the life of Matthias Flacius Illyricus (1520-75). He worked tirelessly to preserve the Evangelical faith in the years following the death of Luther, but he also inspired antipathy through his brashness and intransigence.

While helping to craft the Magdeburg Confession and resist the imposition of the Augsburg Interim, he also contributed to the fractures that necessitated the Formula of Concord.

Author Wade Johnston presents a balanced exploration of a complex man whose sometimes-controversial positions continue to influence how we live our Christian faith in modern society.

120 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2025

Reviews

[James Rickenbaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rev. Dr. Wade Johnson has provided the church with another masterful and accessible history of the Reformation in the form of a short biography. This excellent, little biography tells the story of a deeply misunderstood genius of early Lutheran history: Matthias Flacius Illyricus. Flacius was perhaps one of the most important Lutheran theologians after Martin Luther himself. He was a brilliant theologian and prolific writer, pioneering the modern iterations of the fields of Biblical hermeneutics and church history. His theology was sound and his heart was true, but his intemperate language around original sin forever stained his legacy. The substance (if you’ll pardon the pun) of his argument was true, but the language he used wasn’t. And because of that, he spent the rest of his life being kicked out of one city after another. He died in ignominy, but his legacy lives on in much of the Formula of Concord. With that said, I contend that Lutheranism would not be what it is today without the life and witness of Matthias Flacius Illyricus. When weighed in the balance, his works proved far more influential and good than troublesome.

Even though I’m lifelong Episcopalian, Flacius and other second generation Lutherans have helped me to become (almost completely) a Gnesio-Lutheran at heart. I highly recommend this book (and everything else Dr. Johnston has written!).

[Jeremiah Gumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent biography of one of the most enigmatic Lutheran figures of the Post-Reformation. Dr. Johnston has done the Christian church a great service with this work that is both accessible and interesting to layperson and theologian alike.