General Editors John Baillie (1886-1960) served as President of the World Council of Churches, a member of the British Council of Churches, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and Dean of the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. John T. McNeill (1885-1975) was Professor of the History of European Christianity at the University of Chicago and then Auburn Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Henry P. Van Dusen (1897-1975) was an early and influen- tial member of the World Council of Churches and served at Union Theological Seminary in New York as Roosevelt Professor of Systematic Theology and later as President. THE LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN CLASSICS Melanchthon and Bucer Edited by WiLHELM PAUCK ThD © 1969 The Westminster Press Paperback reissued 2006 by Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky. All rights reserved. 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ISBN-13: 978-0-664-24164-3 ISBN-10: 0-664-24164-6 Xll CONTENTS The Difference Between the Old and New Testaments and the Abrogation of the Law 120 The Old Man and the New 131 Mortal and Daily Sin 132 Signs 133 Baptism 136 Repentance 140 Private Confessions 143 Participation in the Lord's Table 145 Love 147 Magistrates 148 Offense 150 MARTIN BUCER: DE REGNO CHRISTI Editor's Introduction 155 De Regno Christi, translated by Wilhelm Pauck in collabora- tion with Paul Larkin BOOK ONE Preface 174 Chapter I. Names of the Kingdom of Christ. . . 176 Chapter II. What the Kingdom of Christ and the Kingdoms of the World Have in Common and What They Do Not 179 Chapter III. Some More Eminent Passages of Holy Scripture Concerning the King- dom of Christ, in the Light of Which What We Have Proposed Can Be Better Understood . . . 192 Chapter IV. The Various Periods of the Church . . 207 Chapter V. What the Kingdom of Christ Is, and What Is Necessary for Its Restora- tion 225 Chapter VI. The Dispensation of the Doctrine of Christ 232 Chapter VII. The Administration of the Sacraments 236 Chapter VIII. The Ministry of the Discipline of Life and Manners 240 Chapter IX. The Ministry of the Discipline of Pen- ance 242 Chapter X. Reforming the Churches' Ceremonies: CONTENTS Xlll First, the Hallowing of Church Buildings 248 Chapter XI. Setting Aside Certain Times for the Worship of God 250 Chapter XII. Lent and Other Fasts, and the Taking of Food 253 Chapter XIII. The Regulation of Ceremonies . . . 255 Chapter XIV. Care for the Needy 256 Chapter XV. How Salutary It Is for All Men to Have the Kingdom of Christ Firmly Re- stored Among Them and How Necessary It Is for Salvation that Every Christian, According to His Place in the Body of Christ and the Gifts He Has Received from Him, Aim and Work Toward This with Deepest Concern 259 BOOK TWO Chapter I. By What Ways and Means the King- dom of Christ Can and Should Be Reformed by Devout Kings . . 266 Chapter II. Who Are to Be Used as Advisers for the Reestablishment of Christ's King- dom 267 Chapter III. The Kingdom of Christ Must Be Re- newed Not Only by Edicts but Also by Devout Persuasion . . . 268 Chapter IV. Approved Evangelists Must Be Sent Out to All Parts of the Realm . . 269 Chapter V. The Kingdom of Christ Must Be Re- formed by Devout Persuasion and an Accurate Preaching of the Gos- pel, Rather than by Decrees . . . 271 Chapter VI. Where Suitable Evangelists Are to Be Sought, and the Matter of the Reformation of the Schools of Higher Learning 273 Chapter VII. The Source and Support of the Evan- gelists and Pastors of the Churches 277 Chapter VIII. How the Full Restitution of Religion Must Be Advocated and Enacted 279 Chapter IX. The First Law: Children Must Be Cat- echized and Educated for God . . 280 CONTENTS Chapter X. The Second Law: The Sanctification of Holy Days 280 Chapter XL The Third Law: The Sanctification of Churches 283 Chapter XII. The Fourth Law: The Restoration of the Ministries of the Church . . 283 Chapter XIII. The Fifth Law: Claiming Ecclesiastical Goods for Christ the Lord, and Their Pious Use 295 Chapter XIV. The Sixth Law: Poor Relief . . .. 306 Chapter XV. The Seventh Law: The Sanctification and Regulation of Marriage . . 315 Chapter XVI. What Must Be Established Concerning the Contracting and Entering of Holy Marriage 317 Chapter XVII. Which Persons It Is Proper to Join in Matrimony 317 Chapter XVIII. Marriages Should Not Be Held Valid Which Are Contracted Without the Consent of Those Who Have Power Over the Ones Who Make the Contract, or Without Suitable Advisers 320 Chapter XIX. Whether It May Be Permitted that the Promise of Marriage May Be Re- scinded Before It Is Fulfilled . . 324 Chapter XX. The Celebration of Nuptials . . .. 326 Chapter XXL The Preservation of Holy Marriage . . 327 (Chapters XXII through XLVI not translated) Chapter XLVII. Conclusion of the Entire Tract on Marriage 332 Chapter XLVIII. The Eighth Law: The Civil Education of Youth and the Suppression of Idleness 333 Chapter XLIX. The Restoration of Various Crafts and Honest Pursuits of Profit . . . 337 Chapter L. The Reform of Marketing . . .. 342 Chapter LI. The Care of Public Inns 345 Chapter LII. Those Who Have No Aptitude for Honorable Skills Should Be Re- duced to Manual Labor and Hum- ble Tasks 345 CONTENTS XV Chapter LIII. Prefects Must Be Appointed for Skills and Labor 346 Chapter LIV. Honest Games 346 Chapter LV. The Ninth Law: Controlling Luxury and Harmful Expenses . . .. 354 Chapter LVI. The Tenth Law: On the Revision and Elaboration of Civil Laws . . . 357 Chapter LVII. The Eleventh Law: The Appointment of Magistrates 361 Chapter LVIII. The Twelfth Law: The Establishment and Correction of Tribunals and Judges 374 Chapter LIX. The Thirteenth Law: The Custody of Accused Persons 377 Chapter LX. The Fourteenth Law: The Modifica- tion of Penalties 379 Final Chapter. Conclusion of the Work 384 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 395 INDEXES 401 ABBREVIATIONS CR Corpus Reformatorum: Philippi Melanchthonis Opera quae supersunt omnia, ed. by C. G. Bretschneider and H. E. Bindseil (Halle, 1834 ff.). GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte (Berlin, 1897 ff.). LW Luther's Works, American edition, ed. by Jaroslav Peli- kan and Helmut T. Lehmann, 55 vols. (St. Louis and Philadelphia: Concordia Publishing House and Muhlen- berg Press, 1955 ff.). LCC The Library of Christian Classics, ed. by John Baillie, John T. McNeill, and Henry P. Van Dusen, 26 vols. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1950 ff.). MPG J. P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Graeca. MPL J. P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina. WA Luthers Werke (Weimar Ausgabe, 1883 ff.). WA Tr Table Talk WA Br Letters MARTIN BUCER De Regno Christi De Regno Christi EDITORS INTRODUCTION I. MARTIN BUCER, AUTHOR OF On the Kingdom of Christ Martin Bucer,1 for many years the most prominent leader of the Reformation in Strassburg and, indeed, throughout southern Germany, deserves to be better known. Next to Luther, Melanch- thon, Zwingli, and Calvin, he was the most influential of the Protestant Reformers. He helped to introduce the Reformation in Strassburg and then became the chief builder and spokesman of the Reformed Church in that city. He represented and defended it at many important political and ecclesiastical meetings during the Reformation period. Because of his accomplishments in Strass- burg, he became an organizer of Protestant churches in many places, e.g., in Hesse and in such important cities as Ulm, Augs- burg, and Constance. He spent much time and energy in order to obtain unity in the ranks of the Reformers through the reconcilia- tion of Luther and Zwingli. Indeed, he hoped to unite the Ger- man and the Swiss movements of the Reformation. At the same time, he was ready to negotiate with Roman Catholic churchmen in order to bring about a reunion between Protestantism and the Roman Catholic Church. He spared no effort in order to over- come differences. He held innumerable "conversations'* and was involved in arguments with defenders of all kinds of religious and ecclesiastical causes—Anabaptists and Spiritualists, trained and untrained theologians, clergymen and laymen, political leaders as well as the common people. Many were suspicious of him because he was so indefatigable in his readiness to settle disputes. They did not trust him, for he 1 Cf. Heinrich Bornkamm, Martin Bucers Bedeulung fiir die europdische Reformationsgeschichte (Giitersloh, 1952).