Being an outlaw affected everything that Luther did, but he continued to publish his writings and support the civil government as well as the church.

On Maundy Thursday 1521, the name of Martin Luther was solemnly read in St. Peter's at Rome, along with all others who had been excommunicated since the previous reading. Leo X's papal bull excommunicating Luther had been issued in 1520. By church law and tradition the next step would be the ban of the Holy Roman Empire, declaring him an outlaw.

Declared an outlaw

On April 18, 1521, the excommunicated professor appeared before the Imperial Diet (the Empire's legislative body), meeting that year at Worms. Luther hoped for a theological debate but was simply commanded to retract the books and pamphlets he had published. When he refused to do so, he was placed under the imperial ban as a notorious heretic. In the view of Emperor Charles V, Luther was even more dangerous to the civil than to the ecclesiastical power. The Diet issued an edict forbidding anyone to harbor him, condemning his followers, and commanding that his books be eradicated. He was now an outlaw, no longer protected by imperial authority.

As Luther was returning from the Diet of Worms, he was "kidnapped" and taken to the Wartburg Castle. In fact, Elector Frederick had arranged to keep him in protective custody. Frederick made it a point not to know exactly where his illustrious subject was, so that he could honestly say he did not know Luther's whereabouts.

Living outside the law

The ban was something Luther had to keep in mind for the rest of his life. As he accepted invitations to preach or lecture, attended meetings, and continued to publish his writings, the ban was a factor to be considered. When he contemplated marriage, he had to weigh what his outlaw status could mean to a wife and family.

Luther never again left Saxony. Three prince electors in succession protected him, and Emperor Charles V was never in a position to enforce the ban. As king of Spain he needed the support of the Saxon princes during a series of wars with France. As emperor of Germany he needed them whenever Turkish invasion threatened. He could not hope for their help unless he tacitly accepted the continued existence and activity of Luther. Between the Diet of Worms in 1521 and the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, Charles never set foot in Germany.

It is ironic that the man who understood and clearly taught the doctrine of God's two kingdoms—civil government and the church—never got a public hearing before a council or even a church committee. Lutheran doctrine did get a hearing at the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1530, but Luther could not be present (because he was an outlaw).