Over the following years Luther worked closely with Philipp Melanchthon. Together, they reformed the church, school and social welfare systems. For example, Luther placed the emphasis of the church service on the sermon, gave mass in German and wrote numerous hymns in the language for his congregations, including "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God". The two professors wrote school regulations and pressed for the foundation of girls' schools. They were also behind the introduction of the common chest in 1523, which transformed the organisation of poor relief in
Wittenberg.
The translation of the Bible into German proved to be the key work of the
Wittenberg reformers. Their complete German Bible was printed in the town in 1534. The book had an unprecedented influence on the development of German and paved the way for the translation of the Bible into many other European languages.
But this period was not without setbacks for Luther. Both his stance in the Peasants' War of 1525 and his written attacks on the Anabaptists lost him a great deal of support.
