The Harmony of the Four Evangelists, volume 1

After Martin Luther, Martin Chemnitz and Johann Gerhard are often recognized as the two greatest theologians of the Lutheran Church. Both men served as Superintendents (Bishops) of the Lutheran Church, and Chemnitz distinguished himself through his labors as one of the authors of the Formula of Concord and through his numerous erudite private writings, including his Loci Theologici. Gerhard was renowned throughout the Lutheran world from the 17th century down to the present, in part because of his more‘academic’ works such as the Loci Theologici, but also because of his devotional works, such as the Sacred Meditations and the Daily Exercise of Piety. Only one published work was the fruit of the labors of both Chemnitz and Gerhard: The Harmony of the Four Evangelists. Chemnitz’s incomplete work was continued by his successor to the office of Superintendent of Braunschweig, Polycarp Leyser, but it’s completion awaited the arrival of a theologian equal to the task of finishing such a monumental undertaking. The Harmony, in short, takes the text of all four Gospels and arranges them in chronological order, and then accompanies the complete text with annotations and commentary by Chemnitz, Leyser and Gerhard. Throughout, The Harmony benefits from the authors’ encyclopedic knowledge of the writings of the Church Fathers, and their pastoral insights explaining the texts in a way which is extremely beneficial for clergy and laity alike.