Those who adhered to the doctrine of Luther; so called because, in 1529, they protested against a decree of the emperor Charles V. and of the diet of Spires, and declared that they appealed to a general council. The name is now applied indiscriminately to all the sects, of whatever denomination, who have seceded from the Church of Rome. Enc. Lond. See Hale v. Everett, 53 N. II. 9. 10 Am. Rep. 82; Appeal of Tappan, 52 Conn. 413.