TheSacramentarianswereChristiansduring theProtestant Reformationwho denied not only theRoman Catholictransubstantiationbut also theLutheransacramental union(as well as similar doctrines such asconsubstantiation).[1]
During the turbulent final years ofHenry VIII's reign an influential faction of religious conservatives had dedicated themselves to rooting out what they consideredheresyin English society, including the denial of thereal presencein thesacramentof theEucharist( "sacramentarianism" ). The king had stopped burning heretics in 1543 and within a few years the divide between religious parties in English society gave rise to intense conflict, and ten radical Christians were executed. Women were less likely to be among those so condemned; even so,Anne Askew,a writer from an importantLincolnshirefamily with family connections to the royal household, was tortured and burned on July 16 as part of a campaign to undermine QueenKatherine Parr,herself suspected by certain factions of harboring heretical beliefs.[2]
Sacramentarians comprised two parties:[1]
- the followers ofWolfgang Capito,Andreas KarlstadtandMartin Bucer,who at theDiet of Augsburgpresented theConfessio Tetrapolitanafrom the cities ofStrasbourg,Konstanz,LindauandMemmingen.
- the followers of the Swiss reformerHuldrych Zwingli,includingJohannes Oecolampadius.Zwingli presented his own confession of faith at theDiet of Augsburg.
The doctrinal standpoint was the same – an admission of a spiritual presence of Christ which the devout soul can receive and enjoy, but a total rejection of any physical or corporeal presence.[1]
After holding their own view for some years the four cities accepted theConfession of Augsburg,and were merged in the general body of Lutherans; but Zwingli's position was incorporated in theHelvetic Confession.[1]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, an inversion of terms has led to the name "Sacramentarians" being applied to those who hold a high or extreme view of the efficacy of thesacraments.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcdeOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Sacramentarians".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 979.
- ^Loewenstein, David (2013).Treacherous Faith: The Specter of Heresy in Early Modern.p. 70.
