This Week in Christian History: George Washington, Martin Luther, Pope Comes to US

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, September 30, 2018

Colloquy of Marburg Ends – October 4, 1529

Protestant Reformer Ulrich Zwingli, (1484-1531). | (Photo: Public Domain)

This week marks the anniversary of when a meeting was held between Protestant leaders Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, which tried but failed to unite the Reformation.

Held in Germany from Oct. 1-4, the goal of the Colloquy was to unite Swiss Protestants under Zwingli and German Protestants under Luther.

While the meeting found both sides agreeing on 14 points of belief, the two leaders ended up failing to reconcile their two camps due to differing views on Communion, specifically Jesus referring to bread and wine as His body.

Luther believed that the Lord's Supper literally became the body and blood of Christ, whereas Zwingli believed that the terminology was only symbolic.

"Both men believed that they were right and the meeting only served to demonstrate that the Protestant world was a divided one especially over interpretation," explained The History Learning Site.

"Luther refused to shake hands with Zwingli when he departed and he made his dislike of Zwingli very public. With Luther's standing in northern Germany so high, it is easy to understand why the beliefs of Zwingli did not take root there."