The Strasbourg Consensus was a joint statement of doctrine by Reformed and Lutheran theologians, signed in Strasbourg in March 1563. The signing of the Strasbourg Consensus resolved the open struggles in Stasbourg, with both factions signing a joint statement on the “disputed issues of

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 G ...

, the

perseverance of the saints Perseverance of the saints (also called preservation of the saints) is a Christian teaching that asserts that once a person is truly "born of God" or "regenerated" by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they will continue doing good works and beli ...

, and the

Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

.” (This should not be confused with the European Union's Strasbourg Consensus of 1983.) From 1561 to 1563, theological controversy between the prominent pastor

Johann Marbach Johann Marbach (14 April 1521 – 17 March 1581) was a German Lutheran reformer and controversialist. Life He was born at Lindau in Bavaria. He began his studies at Strasbourg in 1536, and three years later went to Wittenberg, where he shar ...

and Professor

Girolamo Zanchi Girolamo Zanchi (Latin "Hieronymus Zanchius," thus Anglicized to "Jerome Zanchi/Zanchius"; February 2, 1516 – November 19, 1590) was an Italian Protestant Reformation clergyman and educator who influenced the development of Reformed theology dur ...

of the Strasbourg Academy divided the Church in the city of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. In February, 1562, the Basel city council had offered to send theologians to mediate the dispute between the Strasbourg clergy and the Academy. Strasbourg agreed and a year later

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

sent

Simon Sulzer Simon Sulzer (23 September 1508 – 22 June 1585) was a Reformed theologian, Reformer, and Antistes of the Basel church. Life Sulzer was born in Schattenhalb, the child of a priest. He was educated in Bern and Lucerne. The sudden death of hi ...

and others. The mediators then met separately with each group and drafted several articles on main issues. “A general paragraph was later added to this document stating that the Lord's Supper would be taught in conformity with the

Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...

, its Apology, and the

Wittenberg Concord Wittenberg Concord, is a religious concordat signed by Reformed and Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose e ...

. This paragraph corresponded with a decision of the Strasbourg city council that the Augsburg Confession and its Apology, rather than the city's own

Tetrapolitan Confession The Tetrapolitan Confession ( la, Confessio Tetrapolitana, german: Vierstädtebekenntnis), also called the Strasbourg Confession or Swabian Confession, was an early Protestant confession of faith drawn up by Martin Bucer and Wolfgang Capito and pre ...

, would serve as the doctrinal standard for the arbiters.” Sulzer repeatedly reassured Zanchi that he and the other mediators were there in Strasbourg to draw up a common statement “which would end the controversy and reconcile the two sides, not to reach a final agreement on the doctrinal issues. At the official ceremony of reconciliation, Zanchi was unwilling to shake hands with Marbach, who still condemned Zanchi's teachings... At this point Sulzer took Zanchi aside and told him that the handshake did not mean that the two parties agreed on doctrine; such agreement could only be reached at a general synod. Instead, the handshake would signify two things: that Zanchi accepted the Consensus' formulation of doctrine, and that he sincerely forgave the other party for wrongs committed against him in the course of the controversy.” The agreement ended the controversy in Strasbourg, but undermined the unity of the four evangelical German-speaking cities of Switzerland. One of its signatories was

antistes Antistes (from Latin ''ante'' "before" and ''sto'' "stand") was from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century the title of the head of a church in the Reformed Churches in Switzerland. It was the highest office in churches with synodal church gover ...

of the Basel church and rector of the city's university, and he was regarded as a theological enemy by other churches. “Their failure set the stage for Basel's gradual alienation from the other Reformed churches and cities in Switzerland over the next two decades.” p. 155. Burnett, Amy Nelson. 1992. Simon Sulzer and the Consequences of the 1563 Strasbourg Consensus in Switzerland. ''Archive for Reformation History'' 83: 154–179
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References

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Literature

* Kittelson, James M. "Marbach vs. Zanchi: The Resolution of Controversy in Late Reformation Strasbourg." ''Sixteenth Century Journal'' 8 (1977): 31–44. Reformation in Switzerland Christian statements of faith