Martin Bucer: Difference between revisions

'''Martin Bucer''' ([[Early New High German|Early German]]: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German [[Protestant]] reformer based in [[Strasbourg]] who influenced [[Lutheran]], [[Calvinist]], and [[Anglican]] doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a member of the [[Dominican Order]], but after meeting and being influenced by [[Martin Luther]] in 1518 he arranged for his [[monastic vows]] to be annulled. He then began to work for the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], with the support of [[Franz von Sickingen]].

In the 16th century, the [[Holy Roman Empire]] was a centralised state in name only.  The Empire was divided into many princely and city states that provided a powerful check on the rule of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]].  The division of power between the emperor and the various states made the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] in Germany possible, as individual states defended reformers within their territories. In the [[Electorate of Saxony]], [[Martin Luther]] was supported by the elector [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony|Frederick III]] and his successors [[John, Elector of Saxony|John]] and [[John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony|John Frederick]]. [[Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse]]—whose lands lay midway between Saxony and the Rhine—also supported the Reformation, and he figured prominently in the lives of both Luther and Bucer. The Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] had to balance the demands of his imperial subjects. At the same time, he was often distracted by war with France and the [[Ottoman Empire]] and in Italy. The political rivalry among all the players greatly influenced the ecclesiastical developments within the Empire.

In addition to the princely states, [[free imperial city|free imperial cities]], nominally under the control of the Emperor but really ruled by councils that acted like sovereign governments, were scattered throughout the Empire. As the Reformation took root, clashes broke out in many cities between local reformers and conservative city magistrates. It was in a free imperial city, [[Strasbourg]], that Martin Bucer began his work. Located on the western frontier of the Empire, Strasbourg was closely allied with the Swiss cities that had thrown off the imperial yoke. Some had adopted a reformed religion distinct from Lutheranism, in which [[Renaissance humanism|humanist]] social concepts and the communal ethic played a greater role. Along with a group of free imperial cities in the south and west of the German lands, Strasbourg followed this pattern of Reformation. It was ruled by a complex local government largely under the control of a few powerful families and wealthy guildsmen. In Bucer's time, social unrest was growing as lower-level [[artisan]]s resented their social immobility and the widening income gap.  The citizens may not have planned revolution, but they were receptive to new ideas that might transform their lives.

Martin Bucer was born in [[Sélestat]] (Schlettstadt), [[Alsace]], a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. His father and grandfather, both named Claus Butzer, were [[Cooper (profession)|coopers]] (barrelmakers) by trade. Almost nothing is known about Bucer's mother. Bucer likely attended Sélestat's prestigious [[Latin school]], where artisans sent their children. He completed his studies in the summer of 1507 and joined the [[Dominican Order]] as a [[novice]]. Bucer later claimed his grandfather had forced him into the order. After a year, he was consecrated as an [[acolyte]] in the [[Saint William's Church, Strasbourg|Strasbourg church]] of the [[Hermits of Saint William|Williamites]], and he took his vows as a full Dominican [[friar]]. In 1510, he was [[ordination|ordained]] as a [[deacon]].

By 1515, Bucer was studying theology in the Dominican monastery in [[Heidelberg]].  The following year, he took a course in [[dogmatics]] in [[Mainz]], where he was ordained a priest, returning to Heidelberg in January 1517 to enroll in the [[Heidelberg University|university]]. Around this time, he became influenced by [[Renaissance humanism|humanism]], and he started buying books published by [[Johannes Froben]], some by the great humanist [[Desiderius Erasmus|Erasmus]]. A 1518 inventory of Bucer's books includes the major works of [[Thomas Aquinas]], leader of medieval [[scholasticism]] in the Dominican Order.

In April 1518, [[Johannes von Staupitz]], the vicar-general of the [[Augustinians]], invited the [[Wittenberg]] reformer [[Martin Luther]] to argue his theology at the [[Heidelberg Disputation]]. Here Bucer met Luther for the first time.{{Sfn |Eells|1931|p=4}}{{Sfn |Greschat|2004|pp=26–7}}  In a long letter to his mentor, [[Beatus Rhenanus]], Bucer recounted what he learned, and he commented on several of Luther's ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]''. He largely agreed with them and perceived the ideas of Luther and Erasmus to be in concordance. Because meeting Luther posed certain risks, he asked Rhenanus to ensure his letter did not fall into the wrong hands. He also wrote his will, which contains the inventory of his books. In early 1519, Bucer received the ''[[baccalaureus]]'' degree, and that summer he stated his theological views in a disputation before the faculty at Heidelberg, revealing his break with Aquinas and scholasticism.

The events that caused Bucer to leave the Dominican Order arose from his embrace of new ideas and his growing contact with other humanists and reformers. A fellow Dominican, [[Jacob van Hoogstraaten]], the [[Grand Inquisitor]] of [[Cologne]], tried to prosecute [[Johann Reuchlin]], a humanist scholar. Other humanists, including the nobles [[Ulrich von Hutten]] and [[Imperial Knight]] [[Franz von Sickingen]], took Reuchlin's side. Hoogstraten was thwarted, but he now planned to target Bucer.  On 11 November 1520, Bucer told the reformer [[Wolfgang Capito]] in a letter that Hoogstraaten was threatening to make an example of him as a follower of Luther.  To escape Dominican jurisdiction, Bucer needed to be freed of his monastic vows.  Capito and others were able to expedite the annulment of his vows, and on 29 April 1521 he was formally released from the Dominican Order.

Sickingen also offered to pay for Bucer to study in Wittenberg. On his way, Bucer stopped in the town of [[Wissembourg]], whose leading reformer, Heinrich Motherer, asked him to become his chaplain. Bucer agreed to interrupt his journey and went to work immediately, preaching daily sermons in which he attacked traditional church practices and monastic orders. On the basis of his belief that the Bible was the sole source for knowledge to attain salvation (''[[sola scriptura]]''), he preached that the Mass should not be considered as the recrucifying of Christ, but rather the reception of God's gift of salvation through Christ. He accused the monks of creating additional rules above what is contained in the Bible. He summarised his convictions in six theses, and called for a public disputation. His opponents, the local [[Franciscan]]s and Dominicans, ignored him, but his sermons incited the townspeople to threaten the town's monasteries. The bishop of [[Speyer]] reacted by [[Excommunication|excommunicating]] Bucer, and although the town council continued to support him, events beyond Wissembourg left Bucer in danger. His leading benefactor, Franz von Sickingen, was defeated and killed during the [[Knights' War]], and Ulrich von Hutten became a fugitive. The Wissembourg council urged Bucer and Motherer to leave, and on 13 May 1523 they fled to nearby Strasbourg.