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October 1529 A.D. Marburg
Colloquy Breaks Down—Luther Abusively Reviles Zwingli, a Frequent Pattern with
Him
No author.
“Marbury Colloquy Failed to Reach Consensus.” Jul 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/marburg-colloquy-failed-to-reach-consensus-11629947.html. Accessed 26 Mar 2014.
From the earliest days of the church, differences
have arisen over how the Scriptures are to be interpreted. For example, Paul's
teaching of salvation apart from the law of Moses was
offensive at first to some of the Christian leaders in Jerusalem, all of them
Jews, but after a meeting and discussion together, they came to a decision
which would allow Paul's work among the Gentiles to continue. This Council of
Jerusalem was the first of many councils in church history to settle
differences among Christians.
The Colloquy of Marburg which began on this day, October 1, 1529, and ran through the
4th of the month, was the first council of Protestants. It was an attempt to
resolve the controversies which had arisen between the two Reformers Ulrich
Zwingli and Martin Luther.
Zwingli in Switzerland and Luther in Germany had
each come to recognize the errors and corruption of the medieval church. Both
had sought to bring the church back to the profound simplicity of faith in
Christ alone for salvation. Both firmly believed the Scriptures alone were
God's Word of guidance and direction for the Church. Yet, strong disagreement
arose over the meaning of holy communion.
The Roman Catholic church taught that in the
ceremony of the mass, the priest was given special powers so that the bread and
wine were transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ. Neither
Zwingli nor Luther found that view acceptable or supported by Scripture. Christ
had ascended into heaven and his body was in heaven, not on earth. Luther
believed that Christ's body was present "in, with and under" the
bread and wine. Zwingli believed the whole ceremony of communion was a memorial
of Christ's death for us; Christ was present in the hearts of believers. In his
view, when Christ said, "This is my body" or "This is my
blood" at the Last Supper, he was not speaking any more literally than
when he said, "I am the vine" or "I am the door". Neither
Zwingli nor Luther could accept the other's viewpoint, and the debate often
became harsh.
Philip of Hesse, one of the German rulers, invited
the Reformers to come to his territory to resolve their differences. Behind
Philip's desire for peace between Zwingli and Luther was the hope that a
political alliance of the Protestant states might eventually be made, thus
weakening the Catholic Hapsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire.
Luther went to Marburg very reluctantly. Zwingli,
however, was eager for peace. At the conference he prayed, "Fill us, O
Lord and Father of us all, we beseech Thee, with thy gentle Spirit, and dispel
on both sides all the clouds of misunderstanding and passion. Make an end to
the strife of blind fury...Guard us against abusing our powers, and enable us
to employ them with all earnestness for the promotion of holiness."
Peace was not to be had, however. Though the
reformers could agree on doctrines about the Trinity, the person death and
resurrection of Christ, justification by faith, original sin, the Holy Spirit,
and the number of sacraments, they could not agree on the details regarding
communion. Zwingli wished to be forbearing with others on such issues. Luther
thought Zwingli was not attaching enough significance to his doctrine and would
not accept Zwingli's hand in Christian brotherhood. Protestantism remained
divided and God has continued to work in His church through a diversity of
denominations.
Bibliography:
1. Adapted from an earlier Christian
History Institute story.
2. Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand,
a Life of Martin Luther. New York: Mentor, 1950.
3. "Marburg, Colloquy of."
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by E. A. Livingstone and F.
L. Cross. Oxford, 1997.
4. McGiffert, Arthur Cushman. Martin
Luther, the man and his work. New York: Century, 1911.
5. Zwingli. Christian History
Magazine Vol 3. No. 1
6. Various histories of the church.
Last updated July, 2007.
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