Description
Joseph C. McLelland, trans. & ed.
Few issues in the Reformation provoked so much controversy—or spilled so much blood—as debates over the Eucharist. For the Roman Catholic Church, the doctrine of transubstantiation was the keystone of the whole sacramental system through which the Church claimed spiritual authority as the mediator of salvation. For many Protestants, however, it was an absurdity contrary to both reason and sound theology, and obscured the central role of faith in receiving Christ and His benefits. One of the most significant Reformation-era texts on the Eucharist, The Oxford Treatise and Disputation on the Eucharist displays Peter Martyr Vermigli at the height of his powers. This volume is essential reading for any who wish to understand the contours of this crucial doctrinal controversy.
Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499–1562) is considered to be one of the most important Italian reformers of the early modern period. Martyr is the subject of renewed interest for historical and theological scholars. The Peter Martyr Library, a series of critical English translations of the chief works of Peter Martyr Vermigli, allows his own words in context to speak for themselves.
Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies, Vol. 56
Contents
Abbreviations Used in This Volume
General Editors’ Preface
Translator’s Preface
Translator’s Introduction
Part One: Treatise on the Sacrament of the Eucharist
Peter Martyr’s Prefaces
Treatise on the Sacrament of the Eucharist
Transubstantiation
Arguments for Transubstantiation
Arguments against Transubstantiation
Patristic Evidence
Refutation of Arguments for Transubstantiation
Rules for Patristics
Analysis of the Patristic Evidence
Alternatives to Transubstantiation
The Lutheran Teaching
The Zwinglian Teaching
Conclusion
Part Two: A Disputation on the Sacrament of the Eucharist
Letter from the Royal Legates
Questions Proposed For Discussion
First Day
(A) Chancellor Cox
(B) Peter Martyr’s Preface
(C) Prayer
(D) William Tresham’s Address
(E) The Disputation Begins
(F) Second Question
Second Day
(A) Dr. Peter Martyr
(B) Preface of William Chedsey
(C) Peter Martyr vs. William Chedsey
(D) Second Question
(E) Nicholas Cartwright vs. William Chedsey
(F) Peter Martyr vs. William Chedsey
Third Day
(A) Peter Martyr vs. Philip Morgan
(B) Peter Martyr vs. Tresham
(C) Peter Martyr vs. Philip Morgan
(D) Peter Martyr vs. William Tresham.
Fourth Day
(A) Preface of William Chedsey
(B) Preface and Prayer of Peter Martyr
(C) Peter Martyr vs. William Chedsey: Confirmation of the First Question
(D) Confirmation of the Second Question
(E) Second Question Resumed
(F) Summation by Chancellor Cox
About the Translator
Scripture References
Index of Names, Including Classical and Patristic References
General Index
Authors
Joseph C. McLelland is emeritus professor of McGill University and of The Presbyterian College, Montreal, and general editor of the Peter Martyr Library. His writings in philosophy and theology include The Visible Words of God: The Sacramental Theology of Peter Martyr Vermigli (1957) and The Life, Early Letters and Eucharistic Writings of Peter Martyr (with G. E. Duffield; 1989).