Bibliander e Lutero (1543), Lepanto 1571

BIBLIANDER AND LUTHER (1543),
LEPANTO (1571)

As a Christian, at this point I would like to say: yes, throughout history violence has also been committed in the name of the Christian faith. We acknowledge this with deep shame. Yet it is absolutely clear that this was an abuse of the Christian faith, in evident contradiction to its true nature.

The God in whom we Christians believe is the Creator and Father of all people; from Him, all human beings are brothers and sisters and together form one single family.

— Pope Benedict XVI, Address at Assisi, 27 October 2011.

THE LATIN TRANSLATION OF THE QUR'AN BY BIBLIANDER (1543)

Theodor Bibliander, active in Zurich, is notable for his Latin edition of the Qur'an, based on the earlier translation by Robert of Ketton (1143), and printed in Basel in 1543 by Johannes Oporinus.

The work included the Qur'an, additional Islamic texts, and Christian polemical writings, and it contributed significantly to the spread of knowledge about Islam in early modern Europe.

The “Turkish Threat”

In the sixteenth century, Europe was dominated by the perception of the “Turkish threat”, regarded as the greatest political and religious danger of the time, especially after events such as the siege of Vienna in 1529.

The Ottomans—identified broadly with Islam—were labeled as “Saracens,” “Mohammedans,” or “infidels,” becoming a symbolic concentration of all perceived threats, the enemy to be defeated, and the embodiment of heresy. Anti-Turkish rhetoric was widespread, intense, and charged with both political and theological hostility.

Luther’s Preface to Bibliander’s Qur'an

Within this context also stood key figures of the Reformation. Martin Luther wrote the Short Book on the Religion and Customs of the Turks (1530) and the Exhortation to Prayer against the Turks (1541). His most significant contribution, however, is the In Alcorani Praefatio, the preface to Bibliander’s edition of the Qur'an.

The Battle of Lepanto (1571)

The Battle of Lepanto is often cited as a major political and symbolic clash between Christian Europe and the Muslim East. It took place on 7 October 1571 in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece.

The Ottoman fleet confronted the Christian fleet of the Holy League, which united under papal auspices several European powers, including the Republic of Venice, the Spanish Empire (with the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily), the Papal States, the Republic of Genoa, the Knights of Malta, the Duchy of Savoy, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the Duchy of Urbino. The Republic of Lucca financed the Genoese fleet.

Lepanto and the Rosary Tradition

In memory of the victory of the Holy League, Pope Pius V (1504–1572):

• modified the text of the Hail Mary into its current form;
• added the Litanies of Loreto to the Rosary, including the invocation Auxilium Christianorum (“Help of Christians”);
• established 7 October as the feast of Saint Mary of Victory.

Later, Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585) renamed it the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, still celebrated in the Catholic liturgical calendar on 7 October.

In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI (1897–1978), during an audience with the new Turkish Ambassador to the Holy See on 19 January 1967, chose to return—symbolically as a gesture of fraternity—“an ancient standard taken at the time of the Battle of Lepanto, which had since been preserved in the Vatican collections.”