A History of the Reformation in the 16th
Century
Book 11 - Switzerland - Germany
(1523-1527)
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 1
The Reformation was a unified movement in diversity.
Though Luther and Zwingli had come to understand the basics of
the Gospel message and the truth of justification, the manner in which
they came upon such truths was not the same, though they discovered such
truth at relatively the same time.
Error would have raised its head if either reformer would have
tended to an extreme, of unity or diversity.
Instead, a proper balance between the two is what is essential in
holding to sound doctrine. The Reformation restored liberty to the church expressed in
its diversity. This is one
of the characteristics of Protestantism, and also in it is extreme form,
one of its dangers.
Zwingli was advancing in his studies and coming to a greater
knowledge of Christ, where Luther has been freed from the bounds of
monkery in Erfurth. However,
the enemies that were rising up to surround Zwingli were many and he was
becoming discouraged. Myconius
had left and gone to Einsidlen replacing Juda, but God providentially
brought Zwingli Leo Juda in Zurich.
Juda was a forcible preacher and spoke out against the
Augustinian friar who was preaching that men could satisfy the justice
of God on their own. Juda
corrected him and placed the people in an uproar.
Zwingli sided with Juda and wrote up sixty-seven theses
concerning the truth on this matter to present it before the council.
Faber was present at this council, and Zwingli pressed into him,
as well as some of the other doctors present, the truth of the
satisfaction of Jesus Christ. Faber
declined to debate and said he would wait for the Diet that should be
scheduled in the next year. The
council decided Zwingli should preach the Gospel openly without
hindrance on this doctrine.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 2
Rome had nothing to say to Zwingli at the Zurich council; their
ignorance preceded them on this “new doctrine.”
Afterwards, though, the plot thickened.
Though they were attacking Luther out rightly and with harshness,
they attacked Zwingli with gentleness.
Even Adrian VI called Zwingli “his son” in a papal brief.
Faber hated the fact that Adrian was lowering himself before the
reformer. Every day, against Roman tyranny, the Gospel was making
progress throughout the land.
Various lesser known and more fanatical men attempted to
implement reforms, but in intemperate manners.
Louis Hetzer wrote a treatise in German called The Judgment of
God Against Images, and produced a great impression upon the people.
A man named Claude Hottinger was so moved by the treatise that he
saw himself as the destroyer of images, and counseled a miller to take
down the large crucifix affixed on his land at Stadelhofen.
Rome was outraged to the point that they thought all of religion
would be overthrown. Zwingli
did not condone his actions, and though they may be punished for not
acting in accordance with permission from the magistrate, but he
certainly did not think they were worthy of death, as Rome did.
Other outbursts in this way emerged around Switzerland as a
result of the Reformation, and such acts seems to add a burden to the
work rather than a help.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 3
During the disputation many priests stood up to defend the use of
images, but they did not use the Bible as their authority.
Zwingli overpowered them with the Holy Scriptures every time.
The pronouncement of the Council was to pull down every image in
the city and rid Christendom of violating the commandments. Instead of running after idols, commander Schmidt said,
Christians should find Jesus Christ in their hearts. From this time forward Zurich now rested on the Word of God
instead of the dictates of the Pope.
Zwingli did not allow himself to become overjoyed with victory,
but continued to press the Reformation onward by moderation and wisdom.
Certainly this was a victory for the Reformation, but the
continued hand of moderation would be the steady guide to ultimate,
long-lasting faithfulness to Christ.
In all of this, Zwingli had another comrade return to him,
Myconius, who had been dispelled from Lucerne.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 4
Though Zurich had decided in favor of Protestantism, the Roman
church had to respond in some selfish manner. They held a Diet in
Lucerne where they drew up nineteen articles and had them approved in
all of the states except Zurich. Hottinger
received news of this while paying a visit to his friend John Schutz of
Schneyssingen. He was
testifying to the reality that the priests were interpreting Scripture
wrongly, and as a result had a warrant out for his arrest. He traveled to the other side of the Rhine, but was arrested
upon his return. The Diet
at Lucerne determined Hottinger should be beheaded for being a heretic,
and his head rolled upon the scaffold after giving glory to Christ.
After the death of Hottinger, the Diet decided that the heresy
should be crushed in Zurich itself, since that is where it is spawning.
The Diet sent legates to Zurich to petition the council to remove
Zwingli, and any others who stood for this Reformation, from their
positions. The Council
wasted no time in defending them and pronounced that they would not do
anything contrary to the Word of God.
The Council continued to enact reforms and gave an edict stating
that all images and relics should be removed from the church.
This is where the Reformed Church differed greatly with the
Lutheran church. Luther
would do anything God had not expressly forbidden in the Word of God in
worship. Zwingli would not do anything not commanded or allowed by God
as stated in the Holy Scripture. One
was bound by the truth, the other was freed by the absence of a command.
Zwingli, then, established the sovereignty of God over the
worship of the Church. This
was in direct opposition to both Roman worship and Lutheran worship,
which, in some way, exalted man.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 5
Rome began a ploy to persecute the citizens of the cantons who
held to the new principles founded in the Reformation.
Oexlin, a friend of Zwingli was arrested from his house in the
dead of night and carried off. The
pastor’s people and congregation desired to raise up arms to gain him
back. Adrian and John, two
priests who were preaching the Gospel in Stammheim, joined the crowd
with halberds ready to fight. However,
though they desired to help their pastor, the people became more of a
riotous mob than a helpful congregation and began ransacking the
convents and burning books, which John found distressed that Christians
would act in such a manner. The
next day, the Wirths, John, Adrian and their father, were arrested for
both being part of the mob, and preaching the Word of Truth, and thrown
into prison.
Zurich stepped into this and required the prisoners sent to Baden
to stand trial as to whether they had done anything wrong at all.
They arrived Friday evening, and were put to torture by the Roman
delegates, attempting to gain a confession of their involvement in the
pillaging at Ittingen. The
more they stated they were innocent, the greater the torture became.
They were sentenced to death by the Roman bailiff and their heads
rolled on the scaffold not long afterwards.
The blood of the martyrs baptized Switzerland at the hand of the
Roman tyranny yet again. The
Wirth family was yet another testimony, to the realties and soundness of
the Gospel and its advancement throughout the world.
Their blood, along with others, marked the blessing of God on the
building of the true Church against the false Rome.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 6
The time had come to overthrow the Mass in Zurich.
It was not fitting that such an overthrow should immediately
happen after the destruction of relics and images, but now the time had
become ripe, and Zwingli took the occasion to the Christian church
straight on this important sacrament.
The three pastors of the city, aided by Megander and Myconius,
addressed the council and explained the realties behind the Lord’s
Supper as a memorial. It
would not actually be Christ’s body in the Mass that people were
eating. Rather it remained
a memorial concerning the death of Christ and what he had done for the
Christian. Zwingli did not
stop at leaving the decision solely up to the Council, but addressed the
people of the city in his preaching.
He preached this message from the pulpit and seemed to win
everyone over to his point of view on the Supper.
As a result of unanimity, the altars were replaced by the simple
table touting bread and wine. The
celebration of the Lord’s Supper was now something that filled the
people with joy. Here we
found people crowding around the table expressing themselves to one
another in true Christian brotherhood.
They partook of the Lord’s Supper together in harmony.
Though Christians were now meeting in evangelical brotherhood
around the table in Zurich, political strains caused Zwingli to jump
towards his sword in other areas of Switzerland.
Zwingli had a habit of picking up political agitation being the
patriot he was, and he took to the sword, and political involvement, in
order to remedy other evils around the state.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 7
The Gospel struggled most intensely at Berne.
Two parties rivaled one another for the sake of the Gospel.
John Weingarten, Bartholomew may, his sons Wolfgang and Claudius,
and his grandsons James and Benedict, were the family of Wattevilles who
contending for the truth. Nicholas,
James’s son who was siding with Rome at first, was exposed to the
light of the Gospel and was converted.
He held privileged positions as result of Rome, and now, armed
with the Gospel, he was Rome’s enemy.
One Watteville was head of state, and the other head of the
church in the canton. Rome’s
party was equally strong in the city.
Thus, these two parties opposed one another for the fate of
Berne.
The ministers of Berne underwent a political persecution to be
deposed of their authority in the city, since Rome saw their presence as
a threat, among whom were Bertrand Haller.
The smaller council of the city desires to depose them, but
Zurich would not allow this. The
Great Council could not depose men who were preaching the Word of God,
and the smaller council was overthrown in Berne. The ministers were allowed to continue their preaching, and
the Reformation underwent a great victory in gaining Berne for the
truth.
In the convent of the city, the abbess there Catherine of
Waldburg wrote to Zwingli and sided with the freedom of the Reformation.
The Watteville sisters who remained in the convent were allowed
to leave to aid their family in the pressures of the Reformation.
Berne found nuns leaving a nunnery difficult, but then allowed
them their freedom in this regard, even raising their pay and abolishing
fasting requirements.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 8
In Basle Christopher of Utenheim, bishop of the city, desired to
gather about him learned men. He
called Wolfgang Capito and Oecolampadius to this court.
Oecolampadius found Christopher delightful and attached himself
to him. In 1517 Oecolampadius left for Weinsburg, his native home,
where he found the city in disorder and profanity.
In 1518 Oecolampadius was invited to Augsburg as their cathedral
preacher, and was in favor of the Reformation under Zwingli.
However, he believed he needed more time to study and entered
into the monastery in 1520. At
this time, Oecolampadius was neither reformed or following Rome.
He remained two years in the monastery here in spiritual growth.
In 1522 Sickingen offered Oecolampadius asylum in Ebernburg, and
during his stay at the monastery he wrote vehemently against Rome and
their abuses. People in the city were shocked at his treatises.
However, he felt confined at Ebernburg and left for Basle.
He arrived there November 16, 1522.
He preached in the pulpit there to a capacity crowd every time.
His leaning and sermons stretched forth over the country in
printed form, even into the hands of Luther who spoke to Melancthon
about him daily.
Ulrich
Hutten also followed Oecolampadius to Basle and dialogued with Erasmus,
who lived there, as a former friend.
However, their views were too different and Hutten too forceful.
The city magistrate required him to leave and he went to Zurich
and met with Zwingli. Through
other circumstances he was forced to flee again and resided at the home
of John Schnepp. He died
August in 1523 with nothing but a pen in hand.
The valiant noble and reformer was removed from the scene of
history.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 9
It was time for Luther and Erasmus to exchange blows.
Though Luther desired Erasmus to unite with him against Rome,
Erasmus was too timid in character to be a reformer.
At first, Luther had made this known to Erasmus in a letter that
if Erasmus would not write anything against him or the Reformation, he
would not write against Erasmus. The
letter by Luther struck Erasmus in the heart and caused him anger since
Luther saw Erasmus as spineless. However,
after much prodding by the Roman court, Erasmus, the peaceable man, took
up his pen against Luther. He
could not defend the abuses of the Catholic Church.
What, then, would he write against the Reformer?
In 1524 Erasmus finished and published The Dissertation on the
Freedom of the Will. It
was a hefty blow for Erasmus and against the Reformation, or the
faction, as he called it. It was a treatise sustaining the free will of man over a
foundational doctrine of the Reformation, the depravity of man’s soul.
Luther knew he had to answer this scholar, but did not do so
until 1525.
Luther wrote the Bondage of the Will in response to
Erasmus’ Diatribe. He defended the grace of God over and against the free will
of man. Erasmus was
overthrown. Luther
responded to every argument and then laid forth the evangelical
doctrines of God’s grace which rescues man from the depravities of his
own fallen nature. Erasmus
replied again in his work Hyperaspistes, but only railed against
Luther as purporting blasphemies and barbarisms.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 10
The Anabaptists who had bothered Luther, and were extinguished by
his return to Wittenberg, reappeared in Switzerland to bother Zwingli
and the Reformers there. Felix
Manz and Conrad Grebel desired Zwingli to join them and their cause. The
reformer refused and they began petitioning and preaching before the
people. Being rejected by
Zwingli, Conrad Grebel joined with Rubli and Louis Herzer, and they
received him with great eagerness.
They decided to create an independent church, dissenting from the
establish church of the reformers, and said their church would be made
up of believers only. They
rejected infant baptism as heretical, and saw no warrant for it in the
New Testament. Zwingli
attempted to intercede and convince them of their grievous error and
sin. However, the
negotiations were not helpful and the men did not listen to Zwingli’s
counsel. The Zurich counsel
stepped in and allowed the Anabaptists to have a hearing, since they
continually stated they remained unheard.
The Anabaptists did not simply keep to explaining infant baptism;
rather, they also desired to disassociate the state with the church.
They desired to overthrow the civil order.
They were overthrown by the council and told to leave.
They, in turn, did not. Mantz
was arrested and cast in the river and drowned.
Later, the Roman church caught Blaurock and he was burnt alive.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 11
Though Baptism was a great stir with Zwingli and the Anabaptists,
the greater doctrinal problem arose with Luther over the Lord’s
Supper. Luther simply
modified what he did not like about the Roman doctrine of the Mass,
though he claims he abolished it. He
modified transubstantiation to consubstantiation.
Here was the argument over the corporeal presence of Christ in
the supper itself. Was
Jesus Christ present and eaten in the wafer?
Zwingli was more affected by the historical church and its
position on the Supper in the writings of Wycliffe, Ratram and Peter
Waldo. Though Luther had
been given the chance to read Wessel and his position, which was more
akin to Zwingli’s he had passed the opportunity by.
Luther sent two visiting brothers from the Netherlands, Rhodius
and Sagarus, to Switzerland. They
went to Zurich to meet Zwingli, and immediately turned the conversation
to the Lord’s Supper. Wessel’s
writing made a deep impression on the Zwingli, but Zwingli also turned
the two men from the errors of Christ’s manducation.
However, according to Melancthon, Zwingli confessed his view of
the Lord’s Supper sprung from Erasmus more than they did Wessel.
The dispute between Zwingli and Luther on this topic took its
first form in the various treatises they wrote explaining their views.
Others also jumped into the mix, and Luther’s friend Pomeranus,
attacked Zwingli for holding heretical views.
Oecolampadius wrote to Zwingli to enforce their position
together, which caused a great stir both in Germany and Switzerland.
Luther and Melancthon, and Zwingli and Oecolampadius were now set
against one another on this issue.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 12
Zwingli had much to contend with in three areas: the rationalism
of Erasmus, Rome’s man made traditions, and the fanatics’ new
doctrines surrounding mysticism. Upon
arriving at Tockenberg he was faced with dealing with all three.
Two men appeared in the town debating over whether Zwingli was a
heretic or not. Zwingli’s
uncle heard of it and arose to put a stop to it and have them recant.
Many of the town followed him over, but the men scuttled off to
Schwytz on horseback before anything could be done.
The government of Schwytz wrote a letter to the people of
Tockenberg threatening them for this disturbance, but Zwingli intervened
and encouraged the council there not to listen to the false accusations
against him.
As a result of the uproar that this caused, a meeting was held in
Ilantz for a public disputation. Hofmeister
and Amman of Zurich were present, in order to keep the peace upon the
Holy Word while toting their Greek and Hebrew Bibles.
The commander of the town, who was also the moderator of the
council, silenced the schoolmaster of Coire who desired to uphold the
Romish doctrine. He was
asked about Elijah and John the Baptist and whether or not John was
Elijah, as Christ called him. The
schoolmaster saw where this was going and replied affirmatively, and
then the commander asked him why John then denied the claim. The schoolmaster was silenced and the hall of people laughed.
Seven priests on that day were converted to the evangelical
doctrine of the Supper based on that same reasoning, and liberty was
proclaimed for the people on this doctrine and the Mass abolished in
several churches.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 13
Faber and those holding to the Romish doctrines had the support
of the forest cantons. They
desired Berne to reject the Gospel of the Reformers and overthrow the
work already accomplished there. A
new mandate of 1526 was written up and Berne’s council said it would
uphold this new mandate, overthrowing the evangelical one that had been
given in 1523. Rome needed
to have a powerful council in a city that was mainly Romish for it’s
authority. They decided in
their Great Council at Zurich, the Roman council there, to send Dr. Eck
to Baden on May 16th. The
cantons surrounding Baden were the most loyal to the Pope, and would
have looked unfavorably on the Reformation as whole.
The council of Baden summoned Zwingli to come and dispute under
safe-conduct, but his brother in law, Leonard Tremp, wrote him from
Berne expressing concern on his safe arrival, and that they would not
honor such a safe conduct. Zwingli
did go against such advice. Oecolampadius
and Haller were present and they took up arms to debate Eck for eighteen
days. Oecolampadius argued
so mildly, patriarchal and courageously that those on the Romish side
wished they had him as an ally. He
pressed Eck so hard that all Eck could do was fall back on his knowledge
of the Fathers. Haller also
debated Eck on a number of issues.
The discussions surrounded images, the Supper, invocation of the
saints, purgatory. Zwingli
also took a large part in the debates.
It is said that the Roman doctors argued the loudest, but with
the weakest arguments. In
any case, charges were still brought up against the Reformers by the
Roman Church.
History
Of The Reformation Of The Sixteenth Century:
Book 11, Chapter 14
The outcome of this conference at Baden affected Oecolampadius
first. Oecolampadius
returned to Basle reluctantly, but after arriving preached with more
fervor and zeal than he had before, though many in the city opposed him.
Similar results for Haller appeared at Berne where the small
council there pressed him to celebrate the Mass.
Haller spoke to them with emotion and many of the council were
affected. They deprived him
of his canonry but made him preacher of the city.
Haller’s most vehement enemies quit the city and renounced
their citizenship seeing it was turning towards the Reformation.
Baden, Berne and Basle were not the only cites affected by the
conference. Priests in St. Gall removed images and relics from the
churches, and at Mulhausen the Gospel was proclaimed with liberty.
Zwingli, giving praise to God for seeing what real triumphs came
from the conference, and was exceedingly pleased with the outcomes of
the Gospel in these cities.
Zurich had been left out of the Diet by the Romish cantons
desired to hold a Diet in Zurich itself in order to gain a greater
footing on political and religious matters across the whole country.
It convened in 1527, and the deputies from Berne, Basle,
Schaffhausen, Appenzell, and St. Gall attended it.
They desired nothing more than to uphold the Word of God. The
deputies who attended, vowed to take these considerations surrounding
the faithfulness to the Word into great consideration back in their
respective cites and cantons.
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