The Fifth Elephant

11

The Diet of Worms (or Reichstag zu Worms as the Germans refer to it) was a political council (influenced by the Roman Catholic church) that took place in the town of Worms in 1521. It was during this session that Martin Luther was called upon to defend his Reformist teachings against Pope Leo X’s threat of excommunication. When he refused to recant, he was ordered to leave and declared to be an outlaw as per the Edict of Worms.