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Broadcast live on Sunday November 6th 1983 at 8:00pm to churches through a network of volunteers, with music sung by four choirs and a parade of both friends and foes, this one-hour Martin Luther Jubilee Festival provided a look at the real Luther. The occasion was the 500th anniversary of the birth of Luther and was part of the U.S. national celebration. The live action took place before a capacity audience in Washington's (Roman Catholic) National Shine of the Immaculate Conception. Written by Emmy Award-winning screenwriter, Allan Sloane who renewed an old collaboration with the show's producer, Lothar Wolff. The two first worked together in 1953 on Irving Pichel's highly acclaimed movie Martin Luther. Shot in black and white, the film showed the atmosphere of the times, the mindset of the people, and particularly Luther's own mental anguish about the condition of the Christian church. No expense was spared to present the wide range of political and religious figures with whom Luther interacted. Executive Producer, Robert E. A. Lee, as executive director of the Office of Communication and Interpretation for the Lutheran Council in the USA, commented, "The church is wedding state-of-the-art technology with its massive volunteer resources to build a one-time network unlike any put together before. Portraying the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther in the special drama telecast, David Soul, had always had a fascination for his character, he could relate to him as driven, dedicated but frail. Like Soul, he took his shots and risks and was moved by his heart, conscience and faith. Luther was committed to his time in the way Christ was here for others. Upon being queried about playing Luther, David Soul volunteered to do it gratis. Aspects of himself that he hoped to bring to the performance included "wonderment and a passion for life." The son of a Lutheran pastor and educator, Soul grew up in Germany in the shadow of some of the places where the cataclysmic events of the Reformation happened nearly five centuries ago. "In and out of our home in Berlin came modern-day pilgrim followers of Luther from what are now East and West of the then divided country," he stated. "I learned the songs Luther wrote, and I memorized his explanations of the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the creed which people of so many denominations share. In my heart I'll always carry a part of the Luther legacy." As part of the festival, David Soul also introduces Irving Pichel 1953. He remarks, "many prophets today predict - and many believers pray - that the world will not have to wait centuries more for the healing of the breach [between Roman Catholics and Protestants]. Instead it may come, God willing, in the immediate decades ahead or maybe even as soon as our entry into the 21st century." "Putting yourself into the hands of God is sometimes difficult." Soul observed. "In the script for A Parade Of Witnesses, Luther as a monk says to his vicar: 'this is my unpardonable sin, Father. I cannot love God.' Luther finds that he cannot deny that he's a human being; his relationship to God is in his humanity. That search I find very strongly in myself. "Luther is more than a spokesperson for the Protestant church; he represents universal man. He's more than a theologian one identifies with history. He's alive because people today identify with his struggle."
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