Johann Marbach (14 April 1521 – 17 March 1581) was a German

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

reformer and controversialist. Johannes-Marbach

Life

He was born at

Lindau Lindau (, ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. He began his studies at

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

in 1536, and three years later went to

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

, where he shared a house with

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

and took his doctor's degree in 1543. After holding temporary positions at

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

and Isny, in 1545 he accepted a call to Strasbourg. Here, from 1545 to 1558, he was pastor of the Church of St. Nicholas; canon at St. Thomas' from 1546; professor from 1549, and from 1551 president of the Church Convocation. In 1551 he was an envoy from Strasbourg to the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. Until

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...

's departure for England (1549) Marbach was on good terms with him as the recognized head of the Strasbourg Church, and remained a regular correspondent. Gradually, however, Marbach developed a more exclusive

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

than that represented by other Strasbourg Reformers. In the position to the Swiss, Calvinistic, and Unionistic elements in Strasbourg, Marbach was the leader. The outcome of this conflict was evidenced in the Strasbourg ''Kirchenordnung'' of 1598, principally Marbach's work. From 1553 complaints began against the pastor of the local French refugee

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

congregation, Jean Garnier, because he did not hold the doctrine of the Strasbourg church on the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. He was obliged to leave Strasbourg in 1555. Also that year Peter Martyr, a teacher at the High School, left for

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

to escape making declarations on the same topic. The last prominent advocate of Unionistic-Calvinistic theology at Strasbourg was Jerome Zanchi, also a teacher of the High School, and a member of the French congregation. When in 1560 Marbach reprinted at Strasbourg the treatise of the Lutheran

Tilemann Hesshusen Tilemann Heshusius (also ''Hesshus, Heßhusen, Hess Husen, Heshusen'') (3 November 1527 in Wesel — 25 September 1588 in Helmstedt) was a Gnesio-Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer. Life Heshusius came from an influential family in ...

, ''De præsentia corporis Christi in cœno Domini'' with the author's vehement preface against

Frederick III, Elector Palatine Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (14 February 1515 – 16 October 1576) was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, specifically the cadet branch of Palatinate-Simmern- Sponheim. He was a son of John II of S ...

and his theologians in Strasburg, open conflict broke out between Zanchi and Marbach. The main points of contention were the doctrines of the Eucharist, of Ubiquity (just then coming into prominence), and of the perseverance of the elect and

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...

. Marbach advocated his views in three major works. He combatted not only the Calvinists but the

Schwenkfeldians The Schwenkfelder Church () is a small American Christian body rooted in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation teachings of Caspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig (1489–1561). They originated in southern Germany and were among the first to bring saf ...

and

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. The term (tra ...

, who were still active at Strasbourg; and introduced the Lutheran catechism (1554). He instituted private confession in the Church of St. Nicholas, and kept up the rite of

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

when it began to fall into disuse in other Strasbourg churches. Marbach also took an active part in bringing about the acceptance of the

Formula of Concord Formula of Concord (1577) (; ; also the "''Bergic Book''" or the "''Bergen Book''") is an authoritative Lutheran statement of faith (called a confession, creed, or "symbol") that, in its two parts (''Epitome'' and ''Solid Declaration''), makes up ...

; and prevailed on the Strasbourg theologians to sign the

Zerbst Formula Zerbst () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until an administrative reform in 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the former Anhalt-Zerbst district. Geography Zerbst is situated in the Anhalt-Wittenberg regio ...

(1571), while the official acceptance of the Formula of Concord was opposed by the town council. In the Palatinate he assisted Louis VI in 1576 to restore Lutheranism after the death of Frederick III. He died at Strasbourg.

References

*https://archive.org/stream/newschaffherzog00haucgoog#page/n195/mode/2up ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Marbach, Johann 1521 births 1581 deaths People from Lindau German Lutheran theologians Participants in the Council of Trent 16th-century German Protestant theologians German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German male writers 16th-century Lutheran theologians