[THE 500Th ANNIVERSARY of the BIRTH of MATTHIAS FLACIUS ILLYRICUS] Labin, 3. 3. 1520. the Scientist, Theologian and Reformer

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[THE 500th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF MATTHIAS FLACIUS ILLYRICUS] ✒ Labin, 3. 3. 1520. The scientist, theologian and reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Labin, March 3, 1520. - Frankfurt a/M, March 11, 1575.) is the most famous historical figure of Labin whose national and international celebration of the 500th birth anniversary lasts from March to October 2020. Due to his education and work Matthias Flacius Illyricus was an erudite man of European dimensions and a citizen of Europe, and because of his extraordinary influence on the philosophical and theological doctrine of the 16th century, the interest in his work does not cease to this day. Celebrating Flacius' year will begin on his birthday on March 3, with the day of the Matthias Flacius Primary School in Labin, and in March there will be a promotion of the Student Handbook and the premiere of the documentary. The 5th International Science Conference on Matthias Flacius Illyricus will take place in April, with about twenty scientists from Croatia, Europe and the United States, a premiere of a theatre play and a documentary exhibition at the European Parliament in Brussels. Summer cultural programs organized by the Town of Labin will also be dedicated to Flacius at the Labin Art Republic in the Spheena Dox program and at the annual art exhibition Uzlet likovnosti. Theatrical performance dedicated to Flacius will also be played in July and August on Špina stage. There will also be a booklet with a lecture by Mate Balota held in Labin in 1962 on the topic of three famous Labinians: Baldo Lupetina, Matthias Flacius Illyricus and Giuseppina Martinuzzi. The National Museum of Labin, in cooperation with the University Library of Pula, will organize an exhibition of Flacius' books from their holdings. www.flacius.info #visitLabinRabac .

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Competing Views of Original Sin and Associated Arguments and Meanings
CHAPTER TWO COMPETING VIEWS OF ORIGINAL SIN AND ASSOCIATED ARGUMENTS AND MEANINGS The dispute over the definition of original sin, or more precisely, Matthias Flacius Illyricus’s1 controversial explanation of this doctrine, originated at the University of Jena in 1560 among the highest levels of the Lutheran academic world. It did not enter the territory of Mansfeld until a decade later. There it first claimed the attention of those clerics who operated in intellectual circles that went beyond the territory’s borders. But divisions within this ecclesiastical leadership soon spread throughout the territory’s entire pastorate. It may seem strange to begin a discussion of lay religiosity with elite theologians debating abstract points of doctrine in ivory towers. But in order to understand why the laity of Mansfeld became deeply involved in the controversy, it is important to start at the beginning with the central intellectual premise, and work outward to the various meanings and connotations it came to encompass. Only then can the laity’s association with one side or the other begin to make sense. The assumption here is that a purely intellectual weighing of the validity of the two definitions of original sin was not the only aspect of the debate 1 Matthias Flacius Illyricus (1520–1575) was born in Croatia, but studied in Venice, Basel, and Tübingen, before matriculating in Wittenberg in 1541. He eventu- ally became a professor of Hebrew there, where he was influenced by both Luther and Melanchthon, the former particularly with regard to pastoral care, the latter with regard to theology. After Emperor Charles V’s defeat of the Lutheran princes in the Schmalkald War (1547), as Melanchthon was urging a conciliatory policy, Flacius took up the banner of complete resistance.
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