Welcome to the first matchup of the 2026 Saintly Smackdown! Join Fr. Christian and Fr. Michael for a fast, fun season preview as they break down a few favorite matchups and set the stage for another wild ride toward the Golden Halo:
And now to decide between our first pair of saintly competitors...
John Wesley was born in Epworth in 1703 as the 15th (!) child of his parents. His family tree already had many a cleric in its branches. He was educated by his mother Susanna until age 11, then attended boarding school and later Oxford, where he formed and led an organization known as the Holy Club. While the name was likely given to mock him and his cohort as religious fanatics, John Wesley came to take holiness quite seriously. He was profoundly influenced by William Law’s A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, and ordained an Anglican priest in 1728. He would in turn come to exercise a profound influence on the Church.
But first, he would experience colossal failure. He traveled to Savannah, Georgia, to be part of the life of the newly established colony. En route, he encountered two things that would have a lasting impact on his life and ministry: Moravians and a young woman named Sophia Hopkey. The Moravians helped shape his theology, and Sophia captured his heart. However, when he later took advice to break off the relationship, he neglected to mention this to her. She then married another man, and when she eventually attended church again, John denied her Communion. This caused a scandal, and John was placed on trial. He fled back to England after only a couple short years in Georgia.
It was at a Moravian meeting that John’s heart was strangely warmed in his famous Aldersgate conversion experience. He began preaching publicly outdoors but eventually drifted away from the Moravians and formed the Methodist Society. The Methodists, under John’s leadership, allowed lay people to preach and refused to be confined by parish boundaries, both unpopular choices among the religious establishment of John’s day. But their willingness to do what they thought needed to be done, rather than only what the church would permit, led to significant growth in attendance and piety among the budding Methodists, even as it strained relations with the Church of England. When the Bishop of London refused to ordain a Methodist to be sent to the United States following the American Revolution, John Wesley ordained Thomas Coke as a superintendent and a number of others as presbyters, leading church officials to ask, “Wait, can he do that?” and likely cementing the division between the Methodist Society and the Anglicans. John, however, remained an Anglican until his death in 1791.
While portions of John’s life may not be the sort of thing we want to emulate, his influence on the church cannot be denied, and his serious and methodical approach to holiness can have tangible benefits for those who would like to take sanctification seriously.
— Ian Lasch
Collect for John Wesley
Lord God, you inspired your servants John and Charles Wesley with burning zeal for the sanctification of souls and endowed them with eloquence in speech and song: Kindle such fervor in your church, we entreat you, that those whose faith has cooled may be warmed, and those who have not known Christ may turn to him and be saved; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Martin Luther
Priest, theologian, teacher, and excellent list-maker, Martin Luther strove to reform the church he knew, and in the process, reformed the Western Church for all time.
Born to Hans and Margarete Luther in 1483, Martin grew up in what we know now as eastern Germany. Martin succeeded in school early on, and went to the University of Erfurt. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but Martin felt called to the church, becoming an ordained Augustinian friar in 1507. (He doesn’t seem to have been excited about this decision, and described the period pursuing ordination as a time where he had lost contact with Christ the Comforter of his Soul.)
His superiors, worried about him, assigned him to further theological work and teaching, reasoning that this would prevent Luther from further excessive rumination. It only partly worked. Luther continued to excel in theology, teaching at the University of Wittenberg, and receiving his doctorate in 1512. He continued teaching at Wittenberg for the rest of his life.
While he was teaching at Wittenberg, Luther studied the Psalms, Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. It was then that he became convinced that salvation was utterly and entirely a gift of God’s grace. Faith, he argued, is something God gives to the believer rather than a work of human will.
Around the same time, in 1516, Rome sent a Dominican friar to Germany to raise money to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica by selling indulgences. This did not please Martin Luther. He wrote a lengthy letter to his bishop, listing out his objections in detail. This letter was translated and circulated among the towns in Germany, and became known as the 95 Theses.
Luther’s arguments (that the Church should not be charging money for forgiveness of sins, since only God could do that; that the Pope had more than enough money on his own to build buildings; that the Pope and church councils do not have the right to override Scripture and are not infallible; etc.) had been made before. But because of the printing press, the increasing unrest among the peasant class, and now some support among the German nobility, his writing ended up launching what became the Protestant Reformation. Luther was excommunicated by the pope in 1521, but continued his preaching and teaching under the protection of the secular rulers of the area.
By the time he died in 1543, he and his compatriots had laid a firm foundation for a new way of experiencing Christianity and a more gracious way of being in relationship with God.
— Megan Castellan
Collect for Martin Luther
O God, our refuge and our strength, who raised up your servant Martin Luther to reform and renew your church in the light of your word: Defend and purify the church in our own day and grant that, through faith, we may boldly proclaim the riches of your grace, which you have made known in Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
163 comments on “John Wesley vs. Martin Luther”
Excited about this year's match-ups...thanks to the Lent Madness leaders and all who nominated!
There may be a printable bracket link I'm missing, but if not, this was my work-around:
- Click "Bracket" in Lent Madness drop down menu
- Click "Bracket 2026"
- Take a screen shot of the bracket (shift/command/4 on a Mac)
- Save the screen shot; crop it if necessary
- Open a new document and insert the photo you just created
- Print and play!
I miss the booklet!
"excellent list maker..." I'm thinking in light of the strengthening link between Episcopalians and Lutherans, it may be time to lift up Martin Luther.
I have never cared for Luther's antisemitism.
Luther all the way.
Anglican til death, John Wesley gets my vote after reading the blog. I miss the book & the individual scorecard, the Bracket poster is ar church & too big to display at home plus you don't know about who is coming up! Please go back to the old format, I liked reading the book on the Saints’ day if it was on the Kalendar,
2 of my all-time favorites - too bad they didn't meet in the finals
Wesley has my vote, lifelong Methodist that I am; theology because of John and singing because of Charles. Getting off to quite a start with major players not unknowns in Lent Madness this year!
I think well of John Wesley, and the work he did to advance the Word of the Lord.
But my vote goes to Martin Luther, because his commentaries on the Bible helped me in my life during my teenage years. (I was learning German at that time, so I could read him in the original, not in translation).
It is my understanding, that Wesley's heart was "strangely warmed" upon hearing Luther's commentary on Romans from the Moravians. Will have to check this, later today ...
Holy mother if brackets, one these guys isn't even going to make it to the kitsch round.
Looking forward to another (my 10th maybe?) year of Lent Madness! Love the energy Frs. Christian and Michael bring to the practice!
I did miss the Saintly Scorecard! Seems like it would be a good revenue booster for Forward Movement, but I don't know!
Both are major influencers, having formed new denominations. I like Luther for his philosophy of what we call today: separation of church and state. I like his emphasis on scripture and ideas around forgiveness.
I too, miss the printed booklet listing all the saints,etc.
I was raised in the Episcopal church (low-no holy water or lighting of candles) but married a Lutheran. I chose to go through Lutheran adult confirmation and was amazed at how Martin Luther experienced God believing he could never be worthy versus his reading the whole Bible; taking Ephesians 2:8 and Hebrews 11:1 to note that it is FAITH given by God, NOTHING we do to earn it, was a true revelation for him and me. Good works are done because God loved us first so we love others, not to “get into heaven” nor buy indulgences for forgiveness of sins. I became a Lutheran believer in Grace through Faith, not of my own doing, it is the Gift of God.
John Wesley's write up is seriously lacking. Where is all the groundbreaking work in developing disciples through small groups, empowering lay leadership, breaking barriers for the poor to worship, promoting congregational singing? Where is the social justice work with care of the poor, access to healcare, access to education, ending slavery? The methodist movement saved England from a civil war!
John Wesley's mother is the Saint!
One Wesley brother already has a Golden Halo. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a matching set?
When I voted, the button that appeared was 'back to vote', not 'results'. So I voted again, and again. I'm wondering if my vote was recorded or if I should go back to vote for the other guy twice.
SEC: Would you please post on the webpage the bios of the 2026 Celebrity Bloggers? I see that the 2025 list is gone, but that page is now empty. Thanks!
It’s not letting me vote! Need help!!
Ignore last comment. Vote finally worked! Go Luther!!!!
Oh, no! You took my two favorite theologians and pitted them against each other, leading to an immediate elimination of one of them. And I've already had to see this happen to John Wesley on an earlier year, when you pitted him against Charles! Wesley and Luther each have their flaws, but they stood for what they thought was important and made huge changes for the Christians in the west.
Wesley was never a sexist, as one commenter claimed. He was taught theology by his mother Susannah, and he was always at the forefront of allowing for women to lead in the church. The incident with Sophie Hopkey was simply a bad choice made, followed by a broken heart. That was a personal issue which happened at church. He allowed his brother Charles to talk him out of another relationship in England which would have given him the perfect partner and companion in ministry.
Because the church in America needs reformation now, I voted for Martin Luther!
As someone who was a Methodist until a couple of years ago, I expected to vote for John. But I cant get past his denying Communion and denying it out of spite! And who knows what would have happened had Martin not done his thing. (you may know..I don't)
This was an easy choice for me,
I’m 69 years old.
I was born, baptized as infant,confirmed at 12 the year it became United Methodist, studied history polity theology at a Wesleyan seminary, ordained, and appointed to ministry in Free Methodist churches since 1991.
I give huge respect and credit to Luther and the Protest Movement of his day for putting Scripture over dogma…but I am voting for my guy John all the way!
Not easy decision.
Yesterday (Ash Wednesday in 2026) is the date of Luther's "saint day" in church calendars. How fitting to begin Lent Madness with this matchup.
Luther did write terrible antisemitic diatribes. His kidney stones, constipation, and frustration with his movement's effectiveness led him there - not an excuse, just a reminder of his "saintliness." Also, it was Luther's commentary on Romans that had a strangely "warming" effect on Wesley. I see Luther is ahead right now, so the quiet ones (unlike me, who chose to comment) are simply voting.
for those of us with vision problems having to select the images in "I am not a robot" is difficult
I so enjoy "Lent Madness" Thank you.
Wishing you all solemn Lenten greetings.
I cast my vote for John Wesley because through the Methodists and their ministry I was welcomed as a daughter of Christ where I felt safest as a teen, outside of the church. This transformed into knowing I was welcomed inside the church and feeling safe and loved in church as well as outside. And loving people in the church and outside but knowing that God's love shines down wherever you are. If you choose to see it (or not).
John Wesley made foolish choices, like the rest of us. From feet of clay to a saintly halo.
Regarding ML-I do appreciate a good list. He was a terrific disruptor and that is what society and religion need sometimes. Thanks be to God.
So happy to see Happy Lent return. Today is a hard choice between Wesley and Luther. But being a Methodist I had to vote for John Wesley. Can’t wait for the days and saints to come