Then Luther talked briefly about how the other party had attempted to prove that the words of Christ, “This is my body.This is my blood…” permit and demand another interpretation than what we believe and teach. We diligently inquired of the others about what had been discussed on Saturday morning before our arrival: First the prince’s chancellor had talked about why the prince had called them together, reminded them of the importance of the topic, and beseeched them above all to strive for the glory of God, the common Christian good, and brotherly unity. Otherwise no one was admitted, perhaps because of the deaths, for, as we only found out as we were leaving, the English sickness was raging. The prince was personally present from beginning to end, as were the courtiers and the Hessian pastors who had come for that purpose and we who had been summoned extra by the prince for the colloquy. Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon, Justas Jonas, Friederich Myconius, and Caspar Creuziger had arrived in Marburg on Thursday morning, and Martin Luther had spent Friday in closed consultation with Zwingli and Oecolampadius, but he said that it had not been fruitful so that a public, friendly, non-argumentative conversation (as they called it) had been planned for Saturday morning at six o’clock. We were seated near Doctor Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon to listen and, if need be, to speak. Steffen (namely, Agricola) from Augsburg, Johannes Brenz from Halle, and I arrived in Marburg on Saturday afternoon and were announced at the court, we were soon sent for and taken into the prince's chamber, where Luther was already debating against Zwingli and Oecolampadius. I learned with particular pleasure and gratitude that you, honorable and wise, desire a short account of the proceedings in Marburg, which I hereby send you, honorable and wise. Martin Pfinzing has informed me, among other things, about the order which you gave him for me. Andreas Osiander (1498-1552) sent this eyewitness report on the Marburg Colloquy to his masters, the city council of Nuremberg.Īstute, honorable, wise, gracious dear lords, Mr. Their acceptance of a compromise document, the Marburg Articles, was brief and without influence.

Luther and Zwingli debated the correct interpretation of Christ’s words regarding the Eucharist – “this is my body” – with Zwingli taking a spiritualist line and Luther insisting on a literal interpretation. Landgrave Philip of Hesse (1504-67), anxious to restore unity and to form a Protestant military alliance, invited Luther, Zwingli, and others to a colloquy in Marburg in October 1529. In the late 1520s, this debate (and the campaign against sectarian groups) distracted Protestants from their attack on Rome and Catholicism. The Marburg Colloquy – Report by a Lutheran Eyewitness (1529)Īfter the Lutherans raised their protest at the Imperial Diet of Speyer in 1529, thus giving rise to the name “Protestant,” the doctrinal quarrel between Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) of Zurich escalated. From the Reformation to the Thirty Years War (1500-1648)

Marburg colloquy