St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • Research Centres and Institutes
  • St Andrews Reformation Studies Instititute
  • St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute Theses
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • Research Centres and Institutes
  • St Andrews Reformation Studies Instititute
  • St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute Theses
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • Research Centres and Institutes
  • St Andrews Reformation Studies Instititute
  • St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute Theses
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The Bernese disputations of 1532 and 1538 : a historical and theological analysis

Thumbnail
View/Open
StephenEccherPhDThesis.pdf (2.584Mb)
Date
11/2011
Author
Eccher, Stephen Brett
Supervisor
Gordon, Bruce
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Given the relative paucity of treatments relating to both the 1532 and 1538 Bern Gespräche, alongside a growing historiography which has offered a clearer understanding of the backdrop around which these two debates were held, the focus of this research project will be to provide a comparative analysis of the recorded dialogues from the debates at Bern. This ecclesiologically focused comparison aims to discern whether the debate relating to the nature of the church at the 1538 session was merely a redundant exercise and continuation of the earlier 1532 disputation or whether the latter debate offered anything substantively new to the ongoing religious dialogue between these two groups. Furthermore, all of the respective views on the nature of the church manifest in these debates will be examined in light of the preceding Anabaptist/Reformed dialogue of the period to determine their place contextually. Having embarked upon the aforementioned goals several conclusions may be definitively drawn. First, the major ecclesiological suppositions expressed by both the Anabaptist and Reformed participants at the 1538 debate were, in fact, retained using the same core theological elements employed by their predecessors at the 1532 debate. Yet, despite this striking similarity, the independent nature of these debates must also be acknowledged. This may primarily be found in that both groups expressed their retained ecclesiologies with notable variation in things such as language, argumentative content, biblical corroboration, and illustrative evidence. Finally, both the similar and independent nature of these events will be shown to have been largely derived from the Anabaptist/Reformed dialogue already begun as the Swiss Brethren movement emerged from under Zwingli’s reform efforts in Zürich. Each of these conclusions should help to paint a more accurate portrait of not only what was accomplished through these debates, but where each stands contextually during the period.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Collections
  • St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute Theses
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/2566

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter