The Colloquy of Worms was the last

colloquy Colloquy may refer to: * Colloquy (religious), a meeting to settle differences of doctrine or dogma * Colloquy (company), a loyalty marketing company based in Milford, Ohio * Colloquy (law), a legal term * Colloquy (IRC client), an IRC client for ...

in the 16th century on an imperial level, held in

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

from September 11 to October 8, 1557. At the

Diet of Augsburg The Diet of Augsburg were the meetings of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in the German city of Augsburg. Both an Imperial City and the residence of the Augsburg prince-bishops, the town had hosted the Estates in many such sess ...

in 1555 it had been agreed that the dialog on controversial religious issues should be continued. A resolution was passed at

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

in 1556, and the next colloquy took place in Worms in 1557. The Catholics

Michael Helding Michael Helding (1506 – 30 September 1561) was a Roman Catholic bishop, scholar, writer and humanist.
'' ...

, John Gropper, and

Peter Canisius Peter Canisius ( nl, Pieter Kanis; 8 May 1521 – 21 December 1597) was a Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest. He became known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Swit ...

met with the Protestants

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...

Johannes Brenz Johann (Johannes) Brenz (24 June 1499 – 11 September 1570) was a German Lutheran theologian and the Protestant Reformer of the Duchy of Württemberg. Early advocacy of the Reformation Brenz was born in the then Imperial City of Weil der S ...

and

Erhard Schnepf Erhard Schnepf (1 November 1495, Heilbronn – 1 November 1558, Jena; also ''Erhard Schnepff'') was a German Lutheran Theologian, Pastor, and early Protestant reformer. He was among the earliest followers of Luther convinced to his views at t ...

. They first discussed the relation between the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

. When Canisius alluded to differences among the Protestants themselves in their doctrine of

original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...

and justification, which they could not overcome, the meeting was dissolved. Other participants present at this Colloquy included

Julius von Pflug Julius von Pflug (1499 in Eythra – 3 September 1564 in Zeitz) was the last Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Naumburg from 1542 until his death. He was one of the most significant reformers involved with the Protestant Reformation. Life H ...

Kaspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig Caspar (or Kaspar) Schwen(c)kfeld von Ossig () (1489 or 1490 – 10 December 1561) was a German theologian, writer, physician, naturalist, and preacher who became a Protestant Reformer and spiritualist. He was one of the earliest promoters of ...

, Johannes Pistorius,

François Hotman François Hotman (23 August 1524 – 12 February 1590) was a French Protestant lawyer and writer, associated with the legal humanists and with the monarchomaques, who struggled against absolute monarchy. His first name is often written 'Francis' ...

Maximilian Mörlin Maximilian Mörlin ( 14 October 1516, Wittenberg, Electorate of Saxony — 20 April 1584, Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach ) was a Lutheran theologian, court preacher, Superintendent in Coburg, and Reformer. Life Maximilian grew up with his ...

, and

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza ( la, Theodorus Beza; french: Théodore de Bèze or ''de Besze''; June 24, 1519 – October 13, 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformatio ...

References

Conferences of Worms
article in ''Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge'', vol. 12, pp. 431–433. {{Germany-hist-stub Reformation in Germany Schmalkaldic War Worms, Germany 1550s in the Holy Roman Empire 1557 in Christianity