In 1549, Bucer made his way across the English Channel to London, where he would spend the remaining two years of his life. Martin Bucer (November 11, 1491 – February 28, 1551) was a Protestant Reformer, scholar and pastor who is best known for reconciling differing Reform groups and contributing to the development of various Protestant traditions.. Under the influence of Erasmus, he had accepted the ideals of Christian humanism and the Renaissance, which called for a rebirth of what the humanists believed was the true good, the original rightness, in humans and society. Bucer’s policy of agreement by compromise was seen in a better light when it was applied to the problem of religious toleration. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Professor of Church History, San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, California. Bucer entered the Dominican monastic order in 1506. In 1543, Bucer was appointed preacher in Bonn by Hermann von Wied, archbishop of Cologne, to help reform the diocese. 1551) is one of the most important, though neglected, Protestant reformers of the 16th century. Britannica now has a site just for parents! When Charles used Bucer’s rather far-reaching concessions in his secret negotiations with the liberal Catholics as the basis for an official solution of the controversy over the Reformation, Bucer, taken by surprise, denied any participation in a scheme for union. The agreement affirmed Luther’s language of a sacramental union of the elements with the body and blood of Christ, then used that to embrace both the Wittenberg insistence on the Real Presence and the Strasbourg emphasis on the mystery of the sacrament and the preparation of the believer for reception. Bucer, with Luther and other reformers, rejected marriage as a sacrament. He was again defeated, this time due to opposition from his former collaborator at Regensburg, Gropper, who refused to allow Cologne to go Protestant. Editor of. In 1518, he found himself in Heidelberg at the Augustinian chapter house with Luther himself. He was born in 1491 and died in 1551, and he, like Martin Luther, was an Augustinian monk. Most scholarship on Bucer has generally followed three main trajectories. The Second Prayer Book of Edward VI (1552), utilizing Bucer’s criticism, offended the conservatives in the English church and did not satisfy the more radical reformers; it remained in force for about eight months. Luther, in satisfaction over the apparent agreement that Bucer and Melanchthon had helped to bring about, declared, “We are one, and we acknowledge and receive you as our dear brethren in the Lord.” Bucer is reported to have shed tears at Luther’s words. The Reformation, Women, & Women in Ministry On a fall day in 1541, Martin Bucer stood beside his wife’s bed. Summary : Martin Greschat's seminal work is the first biography of the important Protestant reformer to be written in over seventy years. In the same year, Bucer was conscripted into the Protestant controversy over the Eucharist. First, in 1540 he joined the heated religious colloquies between Protestants and Catholics that were held at Worms, then the next year in Regensburg. Martin Bucer was the leading reformer in Strasburg. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Now translated into English, this work--"the most comprehensive account of Bucer's place within the context of the history of the Reformation" (The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation)--transcends normal biographies by providing … As a result, the various reforming parties could not present a unified stance before the emperor, Charles V, at the 1530 Diet of Augsburg. This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of one of the Reformation's greatest liturgists—Martin Bucer, a pioneer in the formation of Protestant worship patterns. Despite such a meagre pedigree, he was trained at the renowned Latin school in his hometown run by the local Dominican cloister, where he would take vows in 1506 at the age of only fifteen. We wrote an evangelical order for mass in 1525, as well as several catechisms for use in instruction. After Queen Mary rose to the throne, she exhumed his remains and had them burned in 1556. Along with fellow reformer, Johannes Sturm, he turned the old Latin school in Strasbourg into a preparatory school in 1538, later also establishing a seminary with Sturm in 1544. The following comes from draft of a paper I presented at conference Reformation Reverberations: Consequences and Challenges of Change at APU commemorating the 500th anniversary of Luther 95 theses. In 1529 Landgrave Philip of Hesse invited Zwingli and Luther, as well as other reformers, to Marburg to see if the conflicting opinions about the Lord’s Supper could be reconciled, which Bucer believed was possible. Both Catholics and Protestants rejected the Regensburg Book. Bucer would remain concerned with education and catechesis. Bucer led the charge in Strasbourg to resist the emperor, but Johannes Sturm—again, a former colleague—negotiated a settlement with Charles against Bucer’s wishes. Martin Bucer While not as recognizable as contemporaries Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, or even Philipp Melanchthon, Martin Bucer’s influential role in the early Protestant Reformation may only stand behind that of Luther himself. Bucer’s policy of pragmatic solutions of problems proved to be especially controversial in the case of the bigamy of Philip of Hesse. And in so doing they worked to undue the ecclesial authority over marriage by seeking to make marriage a civil arrangement. Since Bucer regarded these compromises as tailored to local circumstances, he soon was charged by all parties as having no conviction except that the end justifies the means. Skip to main content. Martin Bucer Martin Bucer was one of the leading lights of the Reformation in Strasbourg. Bucer finally made his way to Strasbourg and quickly became a leading proponent of reform in the city. Under Bucer’s policies there was less persecution of Anabaptists and other minority groups in Strasbourg than in most of Europe. Omissions? This brings us then to the aim of this book. Bucer was one of the Reformers. Fearing a Turkish invasion of central Europe, he wanted to restore unity between the princes of Germany. When talks broke down over questions of church authority, however, the colloquies fell apart. Charles settled the matter for a time by subduing the Protestant powers, which would not accept any religious compromise, by military force and by enforcing his own compromise scheme, the Augsburg Interim of 1548. In 1521 Bucer withdrew from the Dominicans and entered the service of the count palatine of the Rhine, one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman emperor. He also sought to expel Anabaptists from the city, though opposing the more harsh capital measures taken against them elsewhere in Germany. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. BUCER, MARTIN. Martin Bucer: Ecumenist of the Reformation. Johannes Bugenhagen. At Basel in 1536, Bucer participated in the writing of the First Helvetic Confession, a document that was considered by many Reformed theologians to veer too much toward Luther’s views, especially regarding the Lord’s Supper. Bucer turned Strasbourg into a key Reformation hub and played a pivotal, though unsuccessful, role as mediator between Luther and the Swiss in their eucharistic disputes. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. He would redouble his efforts to create inner-Protestant unity during the ensuing years. He joined the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans, as a novice in 1507. Apart from promoting intra-Protestant union, Bucer had long dreamed of healing the Protestant-Catholic rift, and, in an effort to bridge these differences, he engaged in secret negotiations with certain liberal, reform-minded Catholics. Following Queen Elizabeth’s accession, however, she rehabilitated him by ceremony in 1560. item 6 Martin Bucer and the English Reformation, Hopf, Constantin 9781620326695 New,, 5 - Martin Bucer and the English Reformation, Hopf, Constantin 9781620326695 New,, … Bucer aided Philip in persuading Luther, Melanchthon, and others to sanction a second wife for him on the basis of Old Testament plural marriages. He was born at Schlettstadt in Alsace (today Sélestat, in France), in 1491. He was at times befriended, at other times distrusted, by the more famous Martin. As Herman J. Selderhuis notes in the introduction to this volume, “research of the biography and theology of Martin Bucer … can still be called rather new” (p. 15). For more on Martin Bucer:The Reformation: A History by Diarmaid MacCullochReformers in the Wings by David C. Steinmetz. Martin Bucer, Bucer also spelled Butzer, (born November 11, 1491, Schlettstadt (now Sélestat), Alsace—died February 28, 1551, England), Protestant reformer, mediator, and liturgical scholar best known for his ceaseless attempts to make peace between conflicting reform groups. Bucer, a master in Theological Studies and a Strasbourg Reformer, left behind no Bucerianism and no church or sect. Martin Bucer (or Butzer) was a German Protestant reformer, probably best known for his efforts at ecumenical unification among the various emerging branches of reformed denominations. Introduction One of the charges which Rome leveled against the Reformers was the serious accusation that the Reformation tore the fabric of the church and destroyed the unity of the body of Christ. Philipp Melanchthon, a Lutheran theologian to whom he has often been compared, also attended the conference. His assessment, the Censura, delivered to the Bishop Ely a month before Bucer died, pointed out the vague Lutheranisms of the prayer book. He would soon marry a former nun from Lobenfeld, Elizabeth Silbereisen. In his defense he claimed that each of these compromises was only a temporary measure, that he hoped that further changes gradually would be made. Corrections? https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Bucer, The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of Martin Bucer, Martin Bucer - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). While Bucer is not well known in comparison to other major Reformers, he is arguably one of the most influential of them. Introduction Martin Bucer (b. So Bucer … Although the Augsburg Interim did not concede much more to Catholicism than had some of his own earlier compromise solutions, Bucer vigorously opposed its acceptance by Strasbourg. Caught up in the enthusiasm of the Reformation that was rapidly spreading in central Europe, Bucer became a Protestant reformer. Melanchthon subsequently drew up the Wittenberg Concord incorporating the agreement, but, to Bucer’s and Melanchthon’s disappointment, it failed to effect a lasting union. At Wittenberg in the same year, Bucer took part in a conference between Lutheran and Swiss–South German theologians. But it was a paper by Professor Brian Cummings (University of York), on Parker, Bucer, and the Book of Common Prayer, which got me thinking about a set of books in the University Library with resonant connections to the English Reformation in Cambridge. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The following year he became pastor of Landstuhl, where he married a former nun. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. These representations have led to the view that Bucer was a theological light-weight, rightly placed in the shadow of Luther and Calvin. In an effort to keep the scandal of Philip’s bigamy secret, evasive statements were made, and the matter caused the reformers’ reputations much harm. Reformation Church | church history review. Bucer's fingerprints are all over Calvin's Form of Church Prayers (1542) as well as the Book of Common Prayer (1552, 1559, 1662).Calvin acknowledges that most of his Form was borrowed from Bucer, while Bucer… Proving to be an excellent young student and thinker, by 1516 he was transferred to the Blackfriars house in Heidelberg to continue his education. Martin Bucer and the English Reformation, by Constantin Hopf Constantin Hopf Snippet view - 1946. Finally, back in Strasbourg Bucer found a new opponent in Charles V. Having emerged victorious in war with the Protestant Schmalkaldic League, the emperor instituted the 1548 Augsburg Interim, which forced Protestants to return to Catholic practice with very limited concessions. Bucer was born on … He was such a star on the continent, and he got invited over to Cambridge during the time of the young Edward VI, who was a godly young king in between Henry and Queen Mary. Martin Bucer and the English Reformation, by Constantin Hopf Constantin Hopf Snippet view - 1946. He envisioned a renewal of the individual and society that was based on his earlier humanist views, and he believed that such a renewal would result from the preaching of the true Gospel and from faithful adherence to the divinely given pattern of living found in the Bible. Elizabeth knew she was dying. The plague that had killed so many in Strasbourg, including three of their children, was now killing her. Even though Bucer was criticized for his evasive approach and concealment of the issues in the controversies between the adherents of Zwingli and Luther, the civil authorities in many southern German areas sought his advice and guidance in arranging compromises based on edicts by local authorities. He led in the shadow of the other German giants Luther and Melanchthon, but he manned the helm of what became, at least for a time, the capital city of the Protestant world. On April 29, 1521, Bucer became pastor at Landstuhl, a parish under the care of the powerful German knight, Franz von Sickingen. Martin Bucer is not as well known as Martin Luther and John Calvin but he did make an impact on Strasburg until he was forced to flee the city. Although he is not as well known as other Protestant reformer, like Martin Luther and John Calvin, he had a significant influence over the French city.. Born on 11 November 1491, Martin Bucer entered the … Marshall Segal (@marshallsegal) is a writer and managing editor at desiringGod.org. While the north German princes supported Melanchthon’s Confessio Augustana (Augsburg Confession),and the reformed Swiss cantons threw their lot in with Zwingli’s Fidei Ratio, Bucer drafted the Confessio Tetrapolitana, a statement affirmed only by the four cities of Strasbourg, Constance, Memmingen, and Lindau. As a result, Bucer was forced to leave Strasbourg, never to return. The young friar was quickly swayed by Luther’s opinions and, against the objections of his Dominican superiors, obtained a papal dispensation releasing him from his vows. Best known as the chief reformer of the Free Imperial City of Strasbourg, Bucer illustrates the combining of Martin Luther's evangelical theology with aspirations and traditions that predated the Reformation. Born November 11, 1491, in the town of Schlettstadt near Strasbourg, Bucer was the son of a poor cobbler. Ago – Faith & Prayer Magnolia, Steven Ozment to Lecture on Luther and Cranach, The Protestant Reformation and the Arts – Discoveries, Luther’s Pastor. His view was that even a poor compromise was justified if it made some progress toward reform but that Strasbourg accepting the Augsburg Interim would be a step backward. Martin Greschat's seminal work is the first biography of the important Protestant reformer to be written in over seventy years. Martin Bucer was born in1491 in the city of Sélestat, an imperial free city in Alsace (today in northeastern France). BUCER, MARTIN (1491 – 1551), Christian humanist and reformer. The First Prayer Book of Edward VI (1549), the liturgical book of the newly Reformed English church that contained evidence of Lutheran influence, was submitted for formal criticism to Bucer, who could not speak English. Martin Bucer, Bucer also spelled Butzer, (born November 11, 1491, Schlettstadt (now Sélestat), Alsace—died February 28, 1551, England), Protestant reformer, mediator, and liturgical scholar best known for his ceaseless attempts to make peace between conflicting reform groups. During a short stay at Weissenburg, Bucer preached sermons on 1 Peter and Matthew and also drafted his first theological treatise. At Heidelberg, he studied Greek under the future reformer Johannes Brenz and also came under the spell of Erasmus of Rotterdam, the most famous humanist of the day. It appeared for a time as though Bucer and Melanchthon were about to achieve their goal of ending the dispute over the Lord’s Supper, a dispute that had split the Reformation on the Continent into two major groups. The Contributions of Martin Bucer to the Reformation - Volume 24 Issue 1 - Hastings Eells. Nonetheless, despite his own personal rapport with Zwingli, he was not able to bring the Swiss theologian and Luther to agreement at the 1529 Marburg Colloquy. As a parish pastor, reformer, diplomat, preacher, and scholar, the former Dominican Bucer would help initiate and stabilize reform throughout the Holy Roman Empire, but chiefly in the imperial free city of Strasbourg. His role during this time was significant, and only recently has he been given the attention he deserves. Martin Bucer may be the most important Reformer you’ve never heard of. Martin Bucer played a part in the Reformation and his impact was in the city of Strasburg. He published Latin translations of Johannes Bugenhagen’s Psalms commentary and Luther’s sermons, and he wrote commentaries of his own on the synoptic Gospels, Ephesians, John, Zephaniah, and Psalms. Bucer, MARTIN (also called BUTZER), one of the leaders in the South German Reformation movement, b. November 11, 1491, at Schlettstadt, Alsace; d. February 28, 1551, at Cambridge, England. Believing that the rift between the two strands of the reform movement could be bridged, Bucer participated in nearly every meeting on religious questions held in Germany and Switzerland between 1524 and 1548. Bucer’s later years, however, saw his influence wane as he suffered failure on numerous fronts. Later, Bucer met Martin Luther and heard him teach. My thoughts here are mostly dependent on the excellent study by Herman J. Selderhuis, Marriage and Divorce in the Thought of Martin Bucer, trans. However, De Regno Christi is important for understanding the English Reformation and it is well worth the read, but it does require some patience. There he would serve multiple parishes, draft liturgies, church orders, and catechisms, and work in tandem with some of the more prominent intellectuals of his day, including Calvin, Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples, Wolfgang Capito, and Johannes Sturm. Affairs at Landstuhl grew tense, however, when Sickingen helped lead the Knights’ War against the elector of Trier. The Swiss were unhappy that Bucer had made concessions that leaned toward the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and some thought that he should formally recant his statements as they were incorporated in the Wittenberg Concord. Martin Bucer (early German: Martin Butzer; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer in the Reformed tradition based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. He had a direct hand in starting reform at Ulm, Frankfurt am Main, Augsburg, Hamburg, and Cologne, while also contributing to its adoption and progress in Hanau-Lichtenberg, Baden, Württemberg, and Hesse. Answer: Martin Bucer (1491—1551) was a German Protestant Reformer. Bucer’s adopted city, Strasbourg, lay between the area influenced by the most important Swiss reformer, Huldrych Zwingli—southern Germany and Switzerland—and the area influenced by Luther—central and northern Germany. Under his reign, the Reformation flourished. The Holy Roman emperor Charles V, for political reasons, pursued similar aims. There Bucer supported the offical, cautious reform program of Cranmer and the scholarly Nicholas Ridley against the more radical reform of the English church urged by the Zwinglian John Hooper and the Scottish reformer John Knox. He was named pastor of St. Aurelia’s in 1524, serving until 1531. The work was received with great acclaim by King Edward VI and led to a doctor of divinity awarded by Cambridge, but soon after its completion Bucer fell ill. He never recovered, dying on February 28, 1551, and receiving committal at Great St. Mary’s in Cambridge. At the end of the colloquy, Zwingli and Bucer proffered their hands in fellowship to Luther, who refused their offering. Shortly thereafter, he was forced to leave for Strasbourg, but along the way he was enlisted by Heinrich Motherer to help with the work of reform in Weissenburg. As part of the colloquies, he drafted the infamous “Regensburg Book” with Johannes Gropper, a Catholic theologian from Cologne. Charles selected three Catholic and three Protestant theologians (including Bucer) to discuss an anonymous document called the Regensburg Book, which proposed steps toward Catholic-Protestant union. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. He lectured at Cambridge, assisted Thomas Cranmer in revising the Book of Common Prayer, and composed his own magnum opus, De Regno Christi. This reform through conversion, piety, and discipline found its fullest expression in the massive program for the reformation of England that he presented to King Edward VI of England in 1551. Martin Bucer and the English Reformation Constantin Hopf Limited preview - 2012. Bucer was originally a member of the Dominican Order, but after meeting and being influenced by Martin Luther in 1518 he arranged … In the various colloquies between Protestants and Catholics or between German Lutheran and Swiss Reform churchmen, Bucer often advocated the use of obscure language and ambiguous formulas when explicit agreement between the opposing parties was impossible to attain. In De Regno Christi, Bucer laid out his vision for the reform of both the British church and the British government. He was sent to study at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where he became acquainted with the works of the great humanist scholar Erasmus and of Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant Reformation. 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