In early Lutheranism, the Gnesio-Lutherans like Joachim Westphal and Andreas Musculus had a 'high' understanding of the sacraments, but were strongly opposed to any compromise with Calvinism and Zwingliism, as well as with Roman Catholic doctrine. In the era of Lutheran orthodoxy, theologians Martin Chemnitz and Johann Gerhard (especially in his Confessio Catholica) were deeply rooted in patristic theology. They saw the continuity of Catholicism in Lutheranism, which they understood not as a re-formation of the Church, but rather a renewal movement within and for the Catholic Church, from which they had been involuntarily and only temporarily separated.
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