Oxford Treatise and Disputation on the Eucharist, 1549

The Peter Martyr Vermigli Library, Volume 7

By Peter Martyr Vermigli
Edited by Joseph C. McLelland

Published November 18, 2025

About this book

The English Reformation’s Pivotal Debate: Vermigli’s Oxford Treatise and Disputation

This seventh volume of The Peter Martyr Library presents one of the most significant theological controversies of the English Reformation. In 1549, Peter Martyr Vermigli, as Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, engaged in a public disputation on the Eucharist that would influence English church doctrine for centuries to come.

The twin texts presented here—the Treatise on the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Disputation on the Eucharist—emerged from Vermigli’s lectures on 1 Corinthians at Oxford during the turbulent reign of Edward VI. When Vermigli’s Reformed views on the Lord’s Supper sparked controversy and near-riots among students and faculty, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer arranged for a formal academic debate that would become legendary.

These documents provide a wealth of information about the theological climate of 1549 England, Vermigli’s masterful use of patristic authorities, and his systematic refutation of transubstantiation. The Treatise offers biblical and patristic arguments against the traditional doctrine, while the Disputation presents the actual record of the dramatic three-day debate that pitted Vermigli against the leading conservative theologians of Oxford.

This fresh translation by Joseph McLelland, with full annotations, makes available for the first time in modern English one of the early benchmarks in the history of the English church. These texts reveal why Vermigli was considered one of Cranmer’s “secret weapons” in the English Reformation and demonstrate the crucial role of Continental reformers in shaping Anglican theology.


Paperback | 225 pages | 6×9 | Published November 18, 2025 | ISBN-10 1-949716-50-3 | ISBN-13 978-1-949716-50-4

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FROM THE BOOK

“Two reasons have moved me to write about the Eucharist: the slanders of evil men and the desires of my friends. To slight the one would be a matter of discourtesy, to neglect the other a lack of faith, since it is clear that no small hindrance to the religion of God hangs on it… But it is Christ’s cause and not my own that is present here; not my name but the Word of God is being mocked.”

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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: DISPUTATION ON THE EUCHARIST, 1549

  • The Beginning of the Disputation
  • The First Day
  • The Second Day
  • The Third Day
  • Conclusion of the Disputation

Appendix: Contemporary Accounts

Bibliography

Scripture References

Classical, Patristic, and Medieval References

Index

Praise for this work

“Peter Martyr Vermigli was everywhere in the sixteenth century—abbot of a monastery in Naples, teacher and colleague of Cranmer in Oxford, pastor and theologian in Zurich. His erudition was immense, from Aristotle and Augustine and Aquinas to Bucer and Zwingli, not to mention his biblical commentaries. These nine volumes will be a major resource for all who seek to learn from the leading figures of the sixteenth century and, in our own context, to foster ecumenical conversations rooted in the love and truth of Christ.”

– Matthew Levering

James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

“Legend has it that Peter Martyr Vermigli wandered out of the Italian Alps as the ‘ready-made reformer,’ a fact confirmed by the respect he commanded among sixteenth-century Reformed churches. A theologian of the first order, trained in catholic theology and fully committed to the Reformation, students of Scripture would do well to read, mark, and meditate upon the biblically faithful, theologically insightful, and practically oriented work of this great theologian.”

– J. V. Fesko

Harriet Barbour Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi

“Peter Martyr is a name too little known and appreciated, but his clarity, rigor, and meaningful contribution to early Reformation theology make his work well worth our time. Whether he is carefully navigating the hypostatic union, the eucharist, or questions about justification, this powerful Reformer helps us better appreciate not only 16th-century Reformed distinctives, but why it all might matter for Christian life. I am thrilled that the Davenant Institute is now making these significant volumes available as high-quality hardback reprints. I hope they will fill the shelves of many personal and professional libraries.”

– Kelly M. Kapic

Professor of Theological Studies, Covenant College

“There are few servants of the Reformation era who had such theological insight and widespread influence as Peter Martyr Vermigli. Yet his labours have never truly received either the attention or the appreciation that they deserve. It is therefore a delight to see this stunning new edition of his works come to publication, which will hopefully inspire fresh engagement with his ideas and his legacy. There are treasures here – for Christians and for churches – that will amply reward careful reading and judicious reflection.”

– Professor Paul T. Nimmo

King’s Chair of Systematic Theology, University of Aberdeen

“This is a wonderful collection from an exemplary Hebraist, exegete, preacher, theologian and controversialist. Forced to move between the Continent and British Isles following his conversion to the Reformation, Vermigli impressed people wherever he went and will undoubtedly impress readers today. The Florentine was a trained Dominican and Renaissance humanist. He exhibited deep familiarity with the Patristic, Classical, and Scholastic corpora. He is not for the faint-hearted, but the effort of reading him will be rewarded 1000-fold.”

– Christina Larsen

Associate Professor of Theology, Grand Canyon Theological Seminary & College of Theology

“The very fact that Peter Martyr Vermigli has become something of a household name in Reformed theology is due in large part to the Davenant Institute’s republication of his various works at a reasonable price. The Peter Martyr Vermigli Library covers a whole panoply of this Italian Reformer’s writings, ranging from exposition of Aristotle’s moral philosophy to the catechetical theology of his commentary on the Apostles’ Creed. Vermigli—more so than Calvin—represents the intellectual and theological high-mark of early, 16th century Reformed orthodoxy. This collection has and will continue to provide theologians, ministers, or even those simply interested in Reformational Protestantism a one-stop shop for early modern theological, philosophical, and biblical reflection. With pleasure I say: Tolle lege!”

– Michael Lynch

Professor of Christian History, Davenant Hall

“Peter Martyr Vermigli was one of the preeminent theologians of the Protestant Reformation. For far too long his contributions to the development of Reformed theology have been neglected. With the publication of this library, his rich, thoughtful, and textured theology and philosophy will finally be widely available!”

– Gayle Doornbos

Associate Professor of Theology, Dordt University

“Peter Martyr Vermigli must be listed among the most remarkable men who shaped one of the most remarkable centuries in the long span of human history. The fact that the man and his writings have been barely known is a scandal and that is why the publication of The Peter Martyr Vermigli Library is such good news. Vermigli was one of the most important figures in the Protestant Reformation and, strangely enough, in the formation of what became the English constitutional tradition. The Peter Martyr Vermigli Library represents a great recovery and is to be celebrated.”

– R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

President & Centennial Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“This is a wonderful collection from an exemplary Hebraist, exegete, preacher, theologian and controversialist. Forced to move between the Continent and British Isles following his conversion to the Reformation, Vermigli impressed people wherever he went and will undoubtedly impress readers today. The Florentine was a trained Dominican and Renaissance humanist. He exhibited deep familiarity with the Patristic, Classical, and Scholastic corpora. He is not for the faint-hearted, but the effort of reading him will be rewarded 1000-fold.”

– Jon Balserak

Visiting Lecturer, University of Illinois at Chicago (History dept), Senior Research Fellow, University of Bristol

About the Editor

Joseph C. McLelland  (1925-2016) earned his Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh under T.F. Torrance and became the preeminent interpreter of Vermigli’s Eucharistic theology. This is the third time McLelland has worked with these materials—first as a doctoral student almost fifty years ago, then providing a translation for the Sutton Courtenay Library of Reformation Classics, and now offering this fresh translation with full annotations for The Peter Martyr Library. He served as one of the general editors of The Peter Martyr Library series.


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