Radical Reformation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Müntzer
Andreas Bodenstein, called Karlstadt

The collective term radical Reformation denotes those Reformation groups that developed in opposition to the Reformation movements of Luther and Zwingli . The term refers particularly to reformers such as Thomas Müntzer , Andreas Bodenstein , Kaspar Schwenckfeld as well as the Anabaptists , the anti-Trinitarians ( Unitarians ) and spiritualists ("enthusiasts").

The term radical reformation was mainly coined by the American theologian George Huntston Williams . The American historian Roland H. Bainton and the German theologian Heinold Fast also referred to the radical Reformation as the “ left wing of the Reformation ”. In order to avoid political connotations and evaluations, the Mainz church historian Irene Dingel uses the term “Reformation dissent”.

Characteristics

What all radical reformers had in common was their disappointment in the development of territorial Protestantism and the demand for further reform of the church. Like the other reformers, they were shaped by humanism and the idea of ​​a return to the ideals of the early Christian communities (restitution). Many of them also shared an apocalyptic view of the world and time (the imminent return of Christ ).

Otherwise, the radical Reformation presented a rather heterogeneous picture. Thomas Müntzer, for example, combined church reform with criticism of the existing political and social conditions, as was expressed in his prince sermon of 1524. Later on, Müntzer was also actively involved in the German Peasant Wars and in the founding of the Eternal Council in the free imperial city of Mühlhausen in Thuringia. Other representatives like Andreas Bodenstein instead concentrated solely on reforming the church.

The Anabaptists played an important role in the radical Reformation . The Anabaptist movement originated in Switzerland in January 1525 and quickly spread to large parts of Germany. Characteristic of the Anabaptists were, among other things, the priesthood of all believers , the autonomy of the congregation , the rejection of the oath and the advocacy of religious freedom . The movement conceived of itself as a voluntary church and free church relatively early , although there were also efforts under Johannes Brötli and Balthasar Hubmaier to establish a territorial church / a 'people's church'. Because the Anabaptists refused to baptize children , they were polemically referred to as Anabaptists. Anabaptist groups still existing today include the Mennonites and the Hutterites .

In addition to the mostly pacifist Anabaptist groups, there were also militant groups such as the strongly chiliastic Anabaptists of Munster , who appeared around 1534. Another radical Reformation group with a strong chiliastic influence were the Zwickau prophets , who appeared in Wittenberg as early as 1521 .

Further radical reformation groups formed the spiritualists and the anti-Trinitarians . The spiritualists were strongly influenced by mysticism and emphasized inner faith. Outward signs such as the sacraments hardly played a role with them. Important representatives of the spiritualism of the Reformation period are Hans Denck , Sebastian Franck and Kaspar von Schwenckfeld . There are still Schwenkfeldians in North America today . Thomas Müntzer and Andreas Bodenstein can also be assigned to spiritualism. There was also some overlap between Anabaptists and spiritualists. The South German Anabaptists , an Anabaptist movement of completely different origin than the Swiss, were particularly influenced by them. In the early years of the South German Anabaptist leaders, Hans Hut was the most important who had inherited Müntzer.

The anti-Trinitarians, who can be traced back to the work of Matteo Gribaldi , Petrus Gonesius and Fausto Sozzini , among others , are included in the radical Reformation. A well-known representative of anti-Trinitarianism is Michael Servetus , who was killed under the influence of Johannes Calvin in 1553. Even Giovanni Gentile Valentino and Ivan Tyszkowic were executed because of their anti-Trinitarian faith. In the case of anti-Trinitarianism, too, there was some overlap with the Anabaptist movement, as can be seen from the example of the Polish Brothers . Unitarian churches like the Unitarian Church of Transylvania still exist today . However, part of Unitarianism has now broken away from its Christian Reformation roots.

persecution

Memorial plaque for Balthasar Hubmaier (Vienna)

The state-critical radical Reformation was mostly understood by the princes as a threat to their own claim to power and pursued accordingly. Many of their representatives were burned, drowned, or expelled from the country. At the Diet of Speyer in 1529 , the Anabaptist mandate was passed, which stipulated the death penalty for Anabaptists. The radical Reformation groups were also persecuted by the Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed churches. The Anabaptists are expressly condemned in the Augsburg Confession adopted in 1530 . Extensive persecution of the radical Reformation began, especially during the Thirty Years' War and the subsequent re-Catholicization . In the 17th century, many Mennonite communities in southern Germany were wiped out. The Hutterites were expelled from Moravia and Slovakia , the Unitarians from Poland-Lithuania and the Schwenkfelder from Silesia . In Switzerland there were some state Anabaptist hunters until the 18th century. The sometimes massive persecution in Europe ultimately led to the emigration of large parts of the radical Reformation denominations to North America.

literature

  • Gottfried Seebaß : History of Christianity . Volume 3: Late Middle Ages, Reformation, Confessionalization . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart et al. 2006, ISBN 3-17-018780-5 ( Theological Science  7).
  • George Huntston Williams : The Radical Reformation . Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Kirksville MO 1992, ISBN 0-940474-27-1 ( Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies 15).
  • Hans-Jürgen Goertz : Radical Reformers. Biographical sketches from Thomas Müntzer to Paracelsus . Beck, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-406-06783-2 ( Beck'sche black series 183).
  • Hans-Jürgen Goertz: The Anabaptists. History and interpretation. CH Beck, Munich 1988, 2nd edition.
  • Heinold Fast (Ed.): The left wing of the Reformation. Testimony of the faith of the Anabaptists, spiritualists, enthusiasts and anti-Trinitarians . Schünemann, Bremen 1962 ( Classics of Protestantism  4, Dieterich Collection 269).
  • Gottfried Sebaß: Müntzer's legacy. Work, life and theology of Hans Hut. Gütersloh Publishing House: Gütersloh 2002.

Web links

Portal: Anabaptist Movement  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the topic of the Anabaptist Movement

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ George Huntston Williams : The Radical Reformation; Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies , Truman State University Press 1992, ISBN 0-940474-15-8
  2. ^ Roland H. Bainton : The Left Wing of the Reformation . In: The Journal of Religion , Vol. 21 (1941), No. 2, pp. 124-134.
  3. ↑ Irene Dingel : Reformation Centers - Actors - Events . 1st edition. Neukirchen-Vluyn 2016, ISBN 978-3-7887-3032-1 .
  4. ↑ The expression "territorial Protestantism" describes Protestantism in the Lutheran and Zwingl form, which was enforced within the individual territories with the help of territorial princes and city councils.
  5. ^ Rudolf Pfister : Church History of Switzerland , Volume 3, 1964, page 123