A letter from the community of Orlamünde to the people of Allstedt concerning how one should fight in a Christian way.

Divine peace through Christ, our lord. Dear brothers, we have read carefully the letter which you sent us, and we have perceived the reason why you wrote it, which is the violent persecution of Christians in your surroundings. With this letter we are complying with your request to write you a reply to what you wrote. In brotherly fidelity we do not want to conceal from you that we cannot help you with armed resistance (if we have understood your letter correctly). We have not been commanded to do this, for Christ ordered Peter to sheath his sword [Mt. 26:52] and would not permit him to fight for him, because the time and the hour of his suffering were near. Thus, when the time and the hour arrive that we must suffer for the sake of divine justice, let us not reach for knives and spears and drive out the eternal will of the father with our own violence, for daily we pray [Mt. 6:10], “Thy will be done.” If you want to be armed against your enemies, dress yourself in the strong, steel-like and unconquerable armor of faith, about which St. Paul writes to the Ephesians in chapter 6[:13–17]. Then you will conquer your enemies vigorously and destroy them, so that they will not harm even a single hair on your head.