Synod of Homberg

1526. Called by Philip of Hesse to reorganize the church in his territory. At the synod a Frenchman, Francis Lambert,* formerly of the Franciscans, was mainly responsible for producing an ambitious scheme of church reform. This developed the logic of the priesthood of all believers, creating a democratic church in which the local congregation had the right of appointing pastors and excommunicating, and the general supervision was given to an annual synod, which appointed three visitors to examine local churches. The scheme was abandoned when Luther rejected the proposals on the grounds that the time had not yet come for such definitive legislation, but also because, since the Peasants' War, he had become more skeptical of the mass of the laity and more dependent on princes.