Philip Melanchthon (
Philippus Melanchthon) (; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560), born
Philipp Schwartzerdt , was a German reformer, collaborator with
Martin Luther, the first systematic
theologian of the
Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the
Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems. He stands next to Luther and
Calvin as a reformer, theologian, and molder of Protestantism. Along with Luther, he is the primary founder of
Lutheranism. They both denounced what they believed was the exaggerated cult of the saints, asserted
justification by faith, and denounced the coercion of the conscience in the sacrament of penance by the
Catholic Church, that they believed could not offer certainty of salvation. In unison they rejected
transubstantiation, the belief that the bread from the Lord's Supper becomes
Christ's body when consecrated. Melanchthon made the distinction between law and gospel the central formula for Lutheran evangelical insight. By the "law", he meant God's requirements both in Old and New Testament; the "gospel" meant the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.