Schleitheim article

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The so-called Schleitheimer Articles , actually: Brotherly unification of etzliche Kinder Gottes / Siben Artickel , (also called Schleitheimer Confession or - Latinized - Confessio Schlattensis ) form the first fully formulated confession of the Anabaptist movement . They are named after their place of origin Schleitheim , a Swiss municipality near Schaffhausen .

History of origin

Michael Sattler , one of the leading figures in the Swiss Anabaptist movement, was expelled from the city of Zurich on November 18, 1525 because of his beliefs and ended up in Württemberg , where he undertook extensive missionary work. In order to give a theological direction to the young Anabaptist movement, which had formed independent communities in many places in southern Germany and in Switzerland within a very short time, Sattler invited an Anabaptist conference. This met on February 24, 1527 in Schleitheim. During this meeting, the delegates from the Anabaptist congregations who were present decided on a creed, the first in the history of the Anabaptist movement. It was titled Fraternal Union of God's Really Children siben Artickel . The confessional document spread extremely quickly for the conditions at the time. In 1527 the Basel reformer Johannes Oekolampad still had a copy of the Siben Artickel and passed it on to Huldrych Zwingli . Only a few days later he received another copy of the Confession from Bern . Thereupon Zwingli wrote his anti-Anabaptist work In Cata Baptistarvm Strophas Elenchus . After he had completed it, he had a total of four copies of the Schleitheim articles, which had been sent to him by various senders.

Between 1527 and 1529 the Schleitheim articles appeared in printed form at Peter Schöffer the Younger in Worms . Two copies of this edition are in the possession of the Bavarian State Library in Munich . An identical text appeared in 1533, but supplemented by a treatise on divorce. This printed edition was published by Jacob Cammerlander from Strasbourg . Another German-language edition appeared in 1550, and a few short texts were added. Only two copies of this font are known, one of which is in the Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College and the other in the Schleitheimer Heimatmuseum. In 1560 an edition of the Schleitheim article appeared in Dutch.

The Schleitheim Confession, printed in 1550, exhibited in the Anabaptist room of the Schleitheim Local History Museum

Authorship

The union of God's fatal children does not name any particular author of the Siben Artickel . The authorship of the Schleitheim Confession rests with the "Children of God" who gathered in Schleitheim in February 1527. In any case, this is referred to in the first person plural, in which - with one single exception - the entire document is written. This exception can be found in the preface to the Schleitheim article ; Here it says: "[...] jr understood me wol." This "me", which was obviously overlooked during the creation of the final version, refers, according to Fritz Blanke, to the author of a draft whose name is unknown, the Schleitheim Synodal served as a basis for discussion for the creation of their Siben Artickel . There are a number of reasons for assuming that this unknown author is Michael Sattler. The origin of the Schleitheim Confession is already associated with Sattler in ancient traditions . A comparison of the views held by Sattler with the Siben Artickels also confirms this tradition. A comparative study of the two well-known Sattler writings on the one hand with the Schleitheim Confession on the other hand suggests the same author, especially with regard to the choice of words and style.

content

In the following, the structure of the fraternal union is retained and its doctrinal statements are briefly summarized.

  • According to Article 1 of the Schleitheim Confession, baptism is linked to three conditions. First, they are said to have been taught about repentance and change of life and to truly believe that their sins are removed through Christ. Second, they must want them to walk in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and be buried in baptism with Jesus Christ to be resurrected with Him. Thirdly, in this opinion they should desire baptism through themselves and demand it from the Baptist. The infant baptism as the Bapsts highest and first Grewel is discarded.
  • Parishioners who slip away and fall into fall and sin should first be secretly admonished twice. If these warnings remain fruitless, the parishioners should be publicly challenged according to the rule of Christ ( Mt 18 : 15-17  LUT ) set out in the 18th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew . The person concerned will remain here without repentance , there is excommunication , or spell . This is to be done before the celebration of the breaking of bread , so that a holy church may break bread and eat and drink of a cup in love .
  • Looking at the world, the Schleitheim articles expect the members of the Anabaptist movement to separate themselves and not have fellowship with those who are not in Christ . The segregation relates above all to social intercourse outside the congregation, the assumption of political responsibility and belonging to the papal and reformed church.
  • The shepherd is said to be a man of good repute . He is called ( ordained ) by the local church . His office consists primarily read (biblical writings;. Erg) , vermanen and sized, manen, streamline, capture in the gemeyn ... brothers and sisters all for improvement vorbeten, dz raise bread to break ... . The community has to provide for the shepherd's livelihood, but not through taxes and fiefs . If a shepherd the martyrdom suffered, to take his place immediately, another shepherd, so that the church is not destroyed.
  • It is true that God used the sword outside the church of Christ to maintain law and order ( Rom 13, LUT  EU ). Within the community there may only be the ban as an educational and pastoral measure. Members of the Anabaptist Congregation are prohibited from wielding the sword and doing military service. They are based on the example of Christ and his nonviolent life.
  • Christians must under no circumstances raise their hands to take an oath , because Jesus Christ expressly forbids the oath on his disciples. Only God can swear, since he is not subject to any limitations and can fully carry out his intentions.

Effects

The Schleitheim articles quickly found dissemination and acceptance - not only in Anabaptist circles, but also beyond. So Huldrych Zwingli felt compelled to deal with them. In the second part of his Elenchus (published 1527) he made a refutation.

Even John Calvin went to the schleitheim confession one. In his polemical text against the Anabaptists, A Brief Instruction, published in 1544 , in order to arm all good believers against the errors of the communist sect of the Anabaptists , he deals with the Anabaptist Confession.

For the Hutterites , the Amish and traditionalist Mennonites , such as the Mennonites of the old order or the old colonial Mennonites , the Schleitheim articles form an important basis for their doctrine up to the present day. For many free church movements, especially the Baptists , the fraternal unification is an early evidence of the demand for the separation of church and state and the postulate of religious freedom that they also made .

Trivia

As part of the Schaffhausen Regional Nature Park , the Anabaptist Trail was expanded for the Reformation anniversary in 2017 and makes the history of the Anabaptists on the Randen tangible. The path leads from Merishausen resp. Hemmental to Schleitheim to the local museum. The life and suffering of the Anabaptists are explained on information boards at four stations.

literature

Text output (with explanations)
  • Heinold Fast (Hrsg.): Sources on the history of the Anabaptists in Switzerland. Vol. II. Zurich 1973, pp. 26–36. (Original language).
  • Otto Clemen (ed.): Pamphlets from the first years of the Reformation. Vol. II. Halle 1907–1911, reprint Nieuwkoop 1967, pp. 277–316. (Original language).
  • Beatrice Jenny: The Schleitheimer Anabaptist Confession 1527. Thayngen 1951 (= separate print from issue 28, 1951 of the Schaffhauser contributions to patriotic history , pp. 5–81), (original language).
  • Heinold Fast (ed.): The left wing of the Reformation (= classic of Protestantism , Vol. IV). Bremen 1962. (Modernized in terms of language).
  • The Schleitheim Confession 1527. Introduction, facsimile, translation and commentary. Ed. Urs B. Leu, Christian Scheidegger, Zug o. J. [2004], ISBN 3-905351-10-2 (original language [as facsimile] and linguistically modernized).
  • Karl-Hermann Kauffmann: Michael Sattler, a martyr of the Anabaptist movement. Life story including the Schleitheimer articles. Brosamenverlag Albstadt, Albstadt 2010, ISBN 978-3-00-032755-1 .
Secondary literature
  • Heinrich Böhmer (ed.): Documents on the history of the peasant war and the Anabaptists. Berlin 1933, pp. 28-33.
  • JC Wenger: The Third Reformation. Introduction to the history and teaching of the Anabaptist movement. Kassel 1963.
  • Hans Stricker: Michael Sattler as the author of the "Schleitheimer Artikel" , in: Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter (Ed. By the Mennonitisches Geschichtsverein ), 21st year, 16/1964 (new series No. 16), pp. 15-18.
  • Hans Rudolf Lavater: The Bernese Anabaptists in their Swiss environment II: Theology and creed. In: The truth is deadly. Bernese Baptist in the past and present. Edited by Rudolf Dellsperger, Hans Rudolf Lavater, Bern 2007, ISBN 978-3-908152-16-3 , pp. 29-70.

See also

Web links

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Spelling corresponds to the original; see picture
  2. ^ Wilhelm Balke: Calvin and the Anabaptists. Gospel or religious humanism (original title: Calvijn en de dooperse radicalen ; translated from Dutch by Heinrich Quistorp), Minden (Westphalia) 1985, p. 150.
  3. ↑ Explanations of the printed text of the Schleitheim articles ; accessed on March 10, 2015
  4. ↑ Unless otherwise stated, the information in this section is taken from the following article: Hans Stricker: Michael Sattler as the author of the “Schleitheimer Artikel”. In: Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter , Volume 21, 16/1964 (New Series No. 16), pp. 15-18.
  5. ↑ Fritz Blanke: Observations on the oldest Anabaptist confession 1527. In: Archive for Reformation History , Marburg 1940, p. 244 (note 1)
  6. ↑ Examples are: Sebastian Franck ( Chronica. Zeytbuch and geschychtbibel , p. 406b), Leupold Scharnschlager , Abraham Hulshof (1555 in an interrogation)
  7. ^ (1) Sattler's letter to the Strasbourg preachers; (2) Sattler's letter to the community in Horb
  8. ↑ The literal quotations can be found in Heinrich Böhmer (ed.): Documents on the history of the peasant war and the Anabaptists , Berlin 1933, pp. 28–33.
  9. ↑ Schaffhausen Nature Park: Anabaptist Path