The Brotherly Union of Schlaten-Am-Randen (Schleitheim), 1527

              INSTITUTE OF MENN01\JITE STUDIES
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
Elkhart, Indiana
(Michael Sattler)
The B:--otherly Unio~1 of Schlaten-am-Randen (Schleitheim)
1527
Anticipatory extract from:
}. Yoder, ed.
The Legacy of Michael Sattler
not to be reproduced or quoted
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2
f. Introduction to Schleitheim Brotherly Union 1
I. The Significance of the Schleitheim Artie!~
At the beginning of 1527 the Swiss Brethren movement stood in serious
danger of disttitegration. The repression from t(1e Protestant side had reached
for the first time the level of capital punishment, with the execution of Felix
Mantz in Zurich, Jam:a.ry 5. In t:astern Switzerland, where the movement had
met with an initial wave of popular success, it had been put down very firmly
in the city of St. Gall but the authorities continued to have difficulty in the sur-rounding
countryside, especially in the canton of Appenzell, whe1e a combina-tion
of state pressure, inadequate leadership, and the socio·economic fermentation
of the times led to a degree of disorder which Conrad Grebel was probably at-tempting
to counteract when he died of illness in the summer of 1526. Stras-bourg
was the place where the greatest likelihood had remained open that an
understanding, or at least a possibility of a continuing conversation, might
be reached, between the Anabaptists and the official reformation; but this
possibility had to be abandoned after Sattler' s visit in Strasbourg. 1
Pressure from the outside, confusion from the inside, loss of the guiding
influence (which had never been especially clear or authoritative) of the ZCirich
founders, and the growing realization that instead of holding forth a vision for
widespread renewal the young movement would have to accept a continuing
separate, suffering iden!:ity, combi.'led to make it quite possible that the entire
movement might tilter away into the sand&.
It was to this need that the Schleit±eim meeting spoke. We know nothing
of how the meeting was called, the precise provocation which led it to take
place JUSt at this moment, or who participated. The tradition according
3
to which Iv1ichael Sattler was the leading spirit in th~ meeting, and the
author ot the aocument reproduced below, is so widespread as to be
worthy of be!ief2, even though none of the early traditions to that effect
are eye witness reports. This tradition :s confirmed by obvious parallels
in thcught and phrasing between the Schleitheim text and the other writings
known genuinely to be from Sattler' s har.d.
The Seven Articles, which are the heart of the text, were presumably
discussed, rewritten, and approved in the course of the meeting. Here
Sattler's contriLution may well have been some drafting prim: to the !lleet-ing.
The Seven Articles are imbedded in a letter writte11 in the first pe.r-son
after the meeting, which is presumably altogether from the pe11 of
s~ttler.
Scholars have for some time been divided about the primary focus of
this meeting. Jan Kiwiet has statea most strongly the argument that
the primary polemic focus was upon the threats from within the Anabaptist
movement, represented by the broader minds of men like Hans Denck in
Germany, with their criticism of the more rigorous discipline of the
Swiss Brethren movement. 3 The strength of this inrerpretation lies not
in the Seven Articles themselves, but in the cover letter, and in the spirit
of some of the other writings in this collection. 4
1
The other interpretation begins with the observation that, differing
from a balanced catechism or creed, Schle.ttheim concentrated upon those
points at which the brethren diffe:ed from the rest of Protestantism, It
was thus a common man's handbook on AnaDaptist distmctives. This
interpretatiox: is supported by the co1tent of the Seven Articles themselves,
4
which often circulated without the cover letter. Is is the way this text was
understood by the reformers5 and ts today supported by Beatrice Jenny. 6
The present editor sees no real need to choose between these two in-terpretations.
If there were persons vying for leadership within the young
Anabaptist movement, the most obvious direction in which they would have
led, in conflict to the orientation set by the Zurich beginners and Michael
Satder, would have been toward a. spiritualizing of the dist:inctiveness of
the Risible Anabaptist congregations, with the effect of greater subservience
at least superficially, to the state church authorities, and greater con-formity
to the pattems of behavior they required. The later documents
in this collection confirm that one of the traits of "false prophets" and
"evil overseers" was that they justified attendance at State church gatherings. 7
E\•en the antinomian "camal b.berty" of those who argued that sil'ce one
is in Christ one can do anything without harm8, may just as appropriately
be applied to arguments for conformity to the state church in externals
as to drunkenness or disorderly social relations. The idea that if one is
a believer one can do anything at all without harm to one's faith was not a
pecatiar and licentioLLs invention of some marginal Anabaptist; it was
(at least according to the misinterpretation of the popular mind) one of the
outworkings cf Lutheran preaching when distorted by the desires of the
li.s tener. 9
There is tr.us no ree.son to ne.:!d to decide between the two foci referred
to above. The clear statement of what distinguishes the Swiss Brethren
movement from the Protestant and Catholic churches was at the same time
the solidest defense against confusion and cross purpc st:s within the ranks
of the brotherhood.
5
The strategic significanc.e of tne acNevemen.t of Schleitheim is well
demonstrated by the rapid and wide circulation of our text. Zwingli re-received
his first copy in April from Johannes Oeko!ampad, who in turn
had received it from Johannes Grell, a c.ountry pastor near Basel; by
the time he wrote his Elenchus in the summer of that year he had in hand
four different copies w.hich had come to him from as many different
sources. We have surveyed above 10 the number of reprint1ngs and transla-tions
which the Brotherly Union, tog~ther wjth some of the other follow-materials,
underwent; always in these pamphlets it was the Scbleitheim
text which appeared first and which gave its name to the title page of the
entire coaection.
According to Zwingli. "There is almost no one among you who does
not have a copy of your so well founded commandments". 11 Calvin des-cribes
the outliue as "seven articles to which all Anabaptists in common
adhere • • • which they hold to be a reve1.at!on come down from neaven. "12
The authority which came to be ascribed to the Seven Articles within the
Anabaptist movement is demonstrated on one hand by the nearly universal
acceptance of the positions it represents, visible even in the repetition of
phrasing and arguments in later documents. Especially is this true with
regard to articles VI and VII, on the sword and the literal oath, and re-suited
in a relatively great uniformity in Anabaptist positions on these mat-ters
from now on (Hildebrand, Stayer).13 As late as 1557, we find the im-portance
of the meeting being underlined by reference to the fact that one
man who attended was the person in whose home the agreement had been
drawn ~p, 14 The text of Schleitheim can also be cited explicitly.15
6
Since its recognition by the Dutch historian Cral'ler, perhaps the
first modern witness to the deep significance of Schleitheim, 16 comments
on the text and ].ts importance have beenflrequent. Several summaries of
the histo1y of the t:ext are available. 17 Modern translations have been
prepared in Eng:iish18 and. Frenc1119 and Heinold Fast has published a
mocerD. Ge:.-man vers.io~. 20
f. Schleitheim Introduction: AIW.otaticn
Prefatory note concen1lng am:otation: numerous of these
notes are incomplete, or refer to other portions of the
complete volume, and are thus not inteLded to be
meaningful in the September 1966 mimeographed
reproduction.
1. See above, Item 1
2. The earliest explicit testimony to this tradition is in a tract of Leopold
Scharnschlager which quotes article VI regarding governmeetl (ARG, 1956,
page 212).
3. Jan Kiwiet, Pilgr~ Marpeck, Kassel 1957, pp. 43ff. ; cf. also Geo. H.
Williams, Radical Reformation, p. 182.
4. See below, especially pages ----
5. "They included ::he s•1m cf what they hold wMch is contrary both to us and to
the papists, in seven a::ticles • • • " John Calvin, Brieve Instruction, page 44.
Thus it was moat appropriate that Calvin should take this text as
I.he outline of his own refutation. Zwingli likewise considered the Seven
Articles a r.ciost appropriate cutline for a :refutation; immediately upon
7
receiving the first manuscript from Berchtold Hal.ler of Bern he responded
at length with a letter, answering point by point, on April 28, 1527 (Z vol IX,
Jetter No., 610, page 108); again the use of the Seven Articles in Zwingli's
Elenchus is a testimony to their representative character. It cannot be
the concern of this volume to r~view at length these refutations by the
Reformers or the substantic:r.l differences between them; we shall refer to
the Zwingli and Calvin texts only as they assist us in textual criticism.
6. Beatrice Jenny, Be!<:enntis. page 39.
7. See below especiaEy pages ----
8. This is evident especially in the introductory paragraphs of Michael Sattler's
cover letter. Reference to a similar concern can be seen as well in the
later tracts (below pages ).
9. Zwingli points to the same danger in his tract of December 1524, Who Gives
Occasion for Unrest (Z Ill pp. 374 ff). A major source c-f social unrest,
Zwingli says, is those persons who misin~erpret gospel preaching as a
loosening of sound moral requirements. This topic was later to become
one of the standing disagreements between the Anabaptists and official
Protestantism (cf. Harold Bender, "Walking in rhe Resurrection," MQR,
XXXV, April, 1961, pp. 96 ff).
The popularity of contextual ethics in .American Protestantism in the
late 1960' s is further testimony that such a position is quite thinkable in
Protestant circles.
lC. Note above pages ___ .. {survey o~ printings).
11. Z, VI, page 106.
12. (Calvin source)
13. James IV~. Stayer, whose work on this theme, The Doctrine of the Sword in
8
the First Decade of Anabaptism, Cornell Ph.D. dissertation 1964, gives
the most attention to chronological development, divides the entire
treatment into the periods "before and after the impact of Schleitheim".
Clarence Bauman, Gewaltlosigkeit im Taufertum, Dissertation in
Theology, Bonn, 1961, calls Schleitheim "the most important document for
the time of the foundinp- of Anabaptism" (p. 5).
Hans J. Hillerbran<l, Die PoUtische Ethik des Oberdeutschen Taufertums,
Leiden/K<nn 1962, and "The Anabaptist View of the State" (MQR XXXII,
Apr:i.11958, 83 ff), disregards the aspect of chronological development and
therefore gives more attention to later and longer texts.
14. Blaupot ten Cate, Geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden in Groningen, emz. 1842,
I, 258ff., and Hulshof, Straatsburg, p. 229. This is a part of a letter re-porting
on the major Anabaptist conference in Strasburg in 1557, one of the
major landmarks in relations between South German Anabaptists and tre
Mennonites of the Netherlands. The letter was translated into Dutxth
before 1587, and has been preserved only in that version.
15. Cf. above Note 2.
16. "In this so brief, so clear, so easily retained way they rendered a service to
the Anabaptists of their day and later, for which they cannot be grateful
enough. Certainly they die what they did in all simplicity of heart, and
with no ideas of world conquest. They were driven by oo other goal than
to !Je respons.ib!e for their church, according to God's will for her. They
had really nothing at all to do wi!h high ideals; they rather set rules, pre-scriptions
and proscriptions., by means of which the church in the present
can guide: her doing and her leaving unc1one. Thereby they accomplished
a gocd wc.rk toward a future d which they themselves hardly thought. They
9
thus brought firmness and definiteness into the spiritual movement
in which they had been placed. They saved it from the danger of be·
coming a chaos of uns~able, confused and co!lfusing ideas, of floating
groups, fostered by the most varied tendencies, mostly contradictory,
even though , they were i mostly (not always) well mear.ing people.
Througr. their formulation they drew the boundaries of their movement
and made it possible that an oxdered fellow3hip, an organization, modest
as it was, came into being. By creati:ag such solid forms for the unique
Christianity of their brotherhood, Sattler and his follow elders preserved
it from diffusion, helped it through the somber days of bloody persecution,
and assured it a future.
Not a sing!e trait of the "Brotherly Union" do we fail to find again in
the later Mennonite brotherhood. Hardly a phrase does not recur."
Cramer, BRN, V, 1909, page 593. Cramer's first statement of the sig-nificance
of Schleitheim is found in his article Mennonite_!! in the Herzog-Hauck,
Realencyk!op~die fUr protestantische Theologie und Ki_!:SEe, 3rd edition,
Vol. XII. 1903, p. 600.
Our own estimation of the significance of the meeting was first stated
independently of Cramer in Taufertum und Reformation; Die Gesprache,
Karlsruhe 1962 ~Schriftenheihe des M<:>nnonitischen Geschichtsvereins), pp.
98f:
"That it could happen, that L.1 the course of a meeting men could
change their opinions and come to unity, is not only a striking rarity in
the history of the Reformationi it is also the most important event in the
whole history of Anabaptism. Had it not happened, the Anabaptism of
Grebel, Blaurock, Mantz and Sattler would have died out together with
10
its founders. But now it has taken on a viable fa. ." Ill and was in a position
to resist the licentiousness of the fanatics, the coercion of christian
governments and the persu.lsiveness of the preachers.''
17. Robert R. Friedmann, "The Schleitheim Confession (1527) and other doctor!-
m~l writings of the Swiss brethren ••• " MQR, XVI, 1942, p. 82ff.
John C. Wenger. "~te Schleitbeim Confession of Faith'', MQR, XIX,
1945, p. 243 ff.
Fritz Blanke, Beobachtungen zum mtesten Tauferbekenntis, ARG, XXXVII,
1940, pp. 242f.f.
ME, Vol. - •
Heinrich Bohmer, Urkunden zur Geschichte des Bauernkrieg::s und der
W1edert'clufer, De Gruyter, Berlin, 1933, page 25ff.
18. Samuel Macauley Jackson, who translated Zwingli's~~ in his Selected
Works of Huldreich Zwingli (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press
and New York, Longmans Green, 1901) pp. 123-258, thereby also translated
the Seven Articles into English at secondhand. Jackson was ignorant of the
existence of the KGerman original and of the document's historical importance.
He referred to the text only as ''the confession of the Bernese Baptists". This
was probably the first English translation of the text, since Calvin's "A Short
Instruction ••• " published in London in 1549, included only snatches from
the Schleitheim text.
W. J. McGlothlin, who was more aware than Jackson of the significance
of the German original, but was still unaware of the existence of several
printings in the sixteenth century,. reproduced· the translation as Jackson had
lifted it from the~~· in his Baptist Confessions of Faith, American
11
Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1911, pages 3 ff.
The translation by Wenger (s. above p. _ ) , which did the most to
make American readers aware of the significance of Schleitheim, has been
broadly reprinted.
19. Pierre Widmer and John Yoder, "~ipes et Doct~ines Mennonites",
Brussels and Montbeli...1.rc:!. l.951? pp._.
20. Heinold Fast, Der linke FH.tge~ Reformation; Klassiker des Protestantismus,
Bend IV; Sammlung Dietrich, Carl SchUnnemann Verlag, Bremen, 1962,
pai;es 60ff.
Brotherly Union of a Number of Children of God Concerning Seven Articles
May joy, peace and mercy from our Father, through the atonement1 of
the blood of Christ Jesus, together with the gifts of the spirit - who is sent
by the ?'ather to all believers to c give 1 strength and consolation and constance
in all tribulation until the end" Amen - Be with all who !o_,.e God and all chi_ldren
of light, who are scattered everywh~re, wherever they mlght have been placed2
by God our Father, wherever they might be gathered in unity of spirit in one
God and Father of us all; Grace and peace of heart be wi!h you all, Amen.
Beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord; First and primordially we are
always concerned for your consolation 8.nd the assurance of your conscience,
(which was sometime confused) so that you might not always be separated from
us as aliens and by right almost completely excluded, but that you might turn
again to be true implanted members of Christ, who have been armed through
patience and the knowledge of self, and thus be again united with us in the power
12
of a godly Christian spirit and zeal for God.
It is manifest with what manifold cunning the devil has turned us aside,
so that he might destroy and cast down the work of God, which in us mercifully
and graciously has been partially begun. But tbe true Shepterd of our souls,
Christ, who has begun such in us, will direct and teach3 the same unto the end,
to his glory and our salvation, Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, we who have been assembled in the Lo::d at
Schleitheim on the Rande 4 made known. in points and articles, unto all that
love God, that as far as we are concerned, we have been united5 to stand fast
in the Lord as obedient children of God, sons and daughters, who have been
a;1d shall be separated from the world in a!l that we do and leave undone, and
(the praise and glory be to God alone) uncontradicted by all the brethren, com-pletely
at peace. 6 Herein we have sensed the unity of the Father and of our
common Christ as present with us in their spirit. For the Lord is a Lord of peace
and not of quarreling, as Paul indicates. 6a So that you understand at what points
this occurred, you should observe and ur.derstand c what follows 1:
A very great offense has been introduced by some false brethren among us,
whereby several have turned away from the faith, thinking to practice and observe
the freedom of the spirit and of Christ. But such have fallen short of the truth
and (to their own condemnation) are given over to the lasciviousness and license
of the flesh. They have esteemed that faith and love may do and to permit every·
thing and that n..:>thing r.an harm nor condem::i them, r,ince they are "believers".
~
Note well, you members' of God in Christ Jesus, that faith in the heavenly
Father through Jesus Christ is not thus formed; it produces and brings foith no
su~h things as these false brothers and sisters practice snd teach. Guard your-selves
and be warned of such people, for they do not serve our Father, but their
13
father, the devil.
But for you it is not so; for they who are Christ's have crucified their
flesh with all its lusts and desi:-es. ?b You understand me8 well. and cknow 1 the
brethren whom we mean. Separate yourselves from them, for they are perverted.
Pray the Lord that they may have knowledge unto repentance, and for us that we
may have constance to per$evere along the path we have entered upon, unto the
glory of God and uf Christ his Son. Amen. 9
The articles we have dealt with, and in which we have been united, 9a are
these: baptism, ban, the breaking of bread, separation from abomination, shep-herds
in the congregation, the sword, :he oath.
I. Notice concerning baptism. Baptism shall be given to all those who have
been taught repentance and the amendment of life and c who 1 believe truly that
their sins are taken away through Christ, and to all those who desire to walk
in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and be bu.cied with him Ltt death, so that they
might rise with him; to all those who with such an understanding themselves
desire and request it from us; hereby is excluded all infant baptism, the greatest
and first abomination of the Pope. For this you have the reasons and the testimony
of the writings and !:he practice of the apostles. 9b We wish simply yet resolutely
and with assurance to hold to the same.
I!. We have been united as follows concerning the ban. The ban shall be
employed with all those who have given themselves over to the Lord, to walk
after c Him 1 lO in His commar.,.dments; those who have bem baptized into the one
body of Christ, and let themselves be called brothers or sisters, and still some-how
slip and fall into error and sin, being inadvertently oYertaken. 11 The same
14
c shall1 be warned twice privately and the third time he publicly admonished before
the entire congregation12 according to the command of Christ (Matt 18)12a. But
this shall be done according to the orderjng of the spirit of God before the
breaking oi bread, 13 so thc;.t we may all in one spirit and in one love break and
eat from one bread and drink from one cup.
III. Concerning the breakbg of bread, we have become one and agree1 4 thus:
Ai! those who desire to break the one bread in remembrance of the broken body
of Christ and all those who wish to drink of one drink in remembrance of the shed
blood of Christ, they must beforehand be united15 in the one body of Christ, that
is the congregation of God, whose head is Christ, and that by baptism. For as
15a
Paul indicates , we cannot be partakers at the same time of the table of the
Lord and the table of devils. Nor can we at the same time partake and drink
of the cup of the Lord a11d the cup of devils. That is: all those who have fellowship
with the dc;.ad ~orks vf darkness have no part in the light. Thus all who follow
the devil and the world, have no part with those who have been called out of the
world unto God. All those who lie in evil have no part in the good.
So it shall and must be, that whoever does not share the calling of the one
God to one faith, to one baptism, to one spirit, to one body together with all
the children of God, may not be made one loaf together with them, as must be
true if one wishes truly to break bread according to the command of Christ.
IV. We have been united corcerning the separation that shall take place from
the evil and the wickedness which the devil has planted in the world, simply
is this; that we have no fellowship with them 17• and do not run with them in the
multitude of their abominations. So it is; since all who have not entered into
the obedience of faith ar,d have not united themselves with God so that they will
15
to do his will, are a great abomination refore God, t.'lerefore nothing e \se can
or really will grow or spring forth from them than abominable things. Now there
is nothing else in the world and all creation than good or evil, believing and un-believing,
darkness and light. the world and those who are , come" out of the
world, God's temple and idols, Christ and Belial, and none will have part with
the other.
To us then the commandment of the Lord is also obvious, whereby he orders
us to be and to become separated from the evil one, and thus he will be our God
and we shall be his sons and daughters. l?b
Further he ac!monishes us therefore to go out from Babylon and from the
earthly Egypt, that we may not be partakers in theiI torment and suffering, which
the Lord wili. bring upon them. l7c
From all this we should learn that everything which has not been unitect18
with our God in Christ is nothing than abomination whic.h we shculd sun. lSa By
this are meant all papistic and anti-papistic works and worship, gatherings,
church attendance1 19 winehouses, guarantees and commitments of unbelief, 20
and other things of the kind, which the world regards highly, and yet which are car-nel
or flatly counter to the command of God, after the pattern of all the iniquity which
is in the world. From all this we shall be separated and have no part with sue h,
for they are nothing but abominations, which cause us to be hated before our Christ
Jesus, who has freed us from the servitude of the flesh and fitted us for the
service of God and the spirit whom he has given us.
u 22 Thereby shall also fall away from us the diabolical weapons of violence,
- such as sword, armor and the like, and all of their use to protect friends or
against enemi.es - by virtue of the word of Christ: "you shall not resist evil. "22a
16
V. We have been united as follows concerning shepherds in the church of
God. The shephe:::d in the church of God shall be a person according to the rule
22b
of Paul, fully and completely, who has a good report of those who are outside
~ the faith. The office of such a person shall be to read and exhort and teach,
warn, ad;:nonjsh or ban in the congregation, and properly to preside among the
sjsters and brethren in prayer. and in the J::reakiilg of bread, 23 and in all thi.ngs
to take care of the body of Ct1rist, that it may be built up and developed, so that
the name of God might be praised and honored through us, and the mouth of the
mocker be stopped.
He shall be supported, wherein he has need, b~ the congregatiop. which has
chosen him, so that he who serves the gospel can also live therefrom, as the
Lord has ordered. 23b But should a shepherd do something worthy of reprimand,
nothing shall be done with him without the voice of two or thr€e witnesses. If
they sin they shall be publicly reprimanded, so that others might fear. 24
~
But if the shepherd should be driven away or led home to the Lord by the
~ ~ . cross, at the same hour another shall be ordained to his place, SQ ~~t the
little folk and the little flock of God may not be destroyed, but be preserved by
warning and be consoled.
VI: We have been united as follows concerning the sword. The sword is an
ordering of God outside the perfection of Christ. It punishes and kills the
wicked. and guards and protects the good. In the Law27 the sword is established28
over the wicked for punishment and for death, and the secular rulers are estab-lished
to wield the same.
But within the perfection of Christ only the ban is used for the admonition
and exclusion of the one who has sinned, without the death of the flesh~9 simply
the warnmg and the command to .Jiu no more.
17
Now many, who do not understand Christ's will .for us, will ask: whether a
Christian may or should use the sword against the wicked for the protection and
defense of the good, or for the sake of love.
The answer is unanimously revealed: Christ teaches and commands us to
learn from him, for he is meek and lowly of heart and thus we shall find rest
fer our souls. 30 Now Christ says to the woman who was taken in adultery, 30a
not that she sr.ould be stoned according to the law of his father (and yet he says,
"what the father commanded me~ that I do")30b, but wL:h mercy and forgiveness
and the warnir1g to sin no more, says~ "Go, sin no more. " Exactly thus should
we also proceed, according to the rule of the ban.
Secondly is asl<ed concerning the eword: whether a Christian shall pass
sentence in disputes and strife about worldly matters, such as the unbelievers
have with one another. The answer: Christ did not wish to decide or pass judg-ment
between brother and brother concerning inheritance, but refused to do so. 30c
So should we also do.
Thirdly is asked concerning the sword: whether the Christian should be a
magistrate if he is chosen thereto? This is answered thus: Christ was to be
made king. but he fled end did not discern the ordinance of his father. 31 Thus we
should also do as He did and follow after Him, and we shall not walk in darkness.
For he himself says: Whoever would come after me, let him deny himseU and
take up his cross and follow me. 3 Ia He Himself further forbids the violence of
the sword when he says; "The princes of this world lord it over them etc. , but
among you it shall not be so • .,alb Further Paul says, "Whom God has foreknown,
the same he has also predestined to might be conformed to the image of his son,
etc. 3lc Peter also says: "Christ has suffered (not ruled) and has left us an
example, that you should follow after in His steps. ,,Sld
18
Lastly one can see in the following points that it does not befit a Christian
to be a magistrate: The rule of the government is according to the flesh, that
of the Christians according to the spirit. Their houses and dwelling remain in
this world, that of the Christians is in heaven. Their citizenship is in this world,
that of the Christians is in heaven. 3 Ie The weapons of their battle and warfare
a!."e carnal and only against the flesh, but the we3.pons of Christians are spirltual,
against the fortification of the devil. The worldly are armed with steel and iron,
but Christians are armed wh;h the armor of God, with truth, righteousness,
peace, faith. salvation, and with the word of God. In sum: As Christ our head
is minded, so also must be minded the members of the body of Christ through
him, so that there be no aivision in the body, through which it would be des-troyed
• J lf s.m ce t h en ''-"'' h n.s t i. s as 1. s wri.t ten o f h.i m, so m ust h.i s mem b ers a 1s o
be the same, so that his body may remain whole and unified for its own advance-ment
and upbuilding.
VII. We have been united as follows concerning the oath. The oath is a con-firmation
among those who are quarreling or making pro1nises. In the law it
is commanded that it should be done only in the name of God, truthfully and not
falsely. Christ, who teaches the periection of the law, forbida his c followersi
all swearing, whether true nor false; .. neither by heaven nor by earth, neither
by Jerusalem nor by our head; and that for the reason which he goes on to give:
"For you cannot make one hair white or black." You see, thereby all swearing
is forbidden. We cannot perform what is promised :!.n swearing, for we are not
able to change the smallest part of ourselves. 33
Now there are some who do not believe the simple commandment of God and
who say, ''But God swore by himself to Abraham, because he was God (as he
promised him that he would do geed to him and would be his God if he kept his
19
commandments). Why then should l not swear if I pr·omise something to
someone?" The answer~ Hear what scripture says: "God, since He wished to
prove overabundantly to the heirs of his promise that his will did not change,
inserted an oath so that by two immutable things we might have a stronger
consolation (for it is impossible that God should lie)". 33h Notice the meaning of
the passage: God has the p...>wer to do what he forbids you, for everything is pos-sible
to him. God swore an oath to Abraham, scripture says, in order to prove
that his counsel is immutab!e. That means: no one can withstand and thwart
his will; thus he can keep his oath. But we cannot, as Christ said above, hold
or perform our oath, therefore we should not swear.
Now some ·others say that it cannot be forbijden in the New Testament and
commanded in the Old to swear by God, but is forbidden only to swear by heaven,
earth, Jerusalem, and our head. Answer: Hear the scripture. He who swears
by heaven, swears 33bb by God's throne and by him who sits thereon. Observe:
swearing by heaven is forbidden, which is only God's thronE; how much more
is it forbidden to swear by God himself. You blind fools, what is greater, the
throne er he who sits upon it?
Others say, if it is then wrong to use God for truth, 33cthen the apostles
Peter and Paul also swore. Answer: Peter and Paul only testify to that which God
promised Abraham with the oath. They themselves promise nothing, as the ex-amples
clearly indicate. Testifying and swearing are two different things. When
one swears, one promises future things, as Christ was promised to Abraham,
whom we long after have received. But when one testifies, one testifies concerning
that which is present, whether it be good or evil. Thus Simeon spoke of Christ to
Mary and testified to her: "This one is ordained for the falling and rising of
many in Israel and to be a sign which will be spoken against. .. 33d
20
Christ taught us similarly when he says34: Your speech shall be yea, yea;
and nay, nay: for what is more than that comes of evil. He says, your speech
or your word shall be yes and no, so that no one might understand that he had
permitted it. Christ is simply yea and nay, and all those who seek him simply
will understand his word. Amen. 35
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord; These are the articles which some
brethren previously had understood wrongly and in a way not conformed to the
true meaning. Thereby many weak consciences were confused, whereby the name
of God has been grossly slandered, for which reason it was needful that we should
be brought to agreement36 in th.;! Lord, which has come to pass. To God be praise
and glory!
Now that you have abundantly understood the will of God as revealed through
us at this time, you must fulfi!l this will, now known, persistently and unswerv-ingly.
For you know well what is the reward o"!: the servant who .knowingly sins.
Everything which you have done unknowingly and now confess to have done
wrongly, is forgiven you, through that believing prayer, which is offered among
us in our meeting for all our shortcomings and guilt, through the gracious for-giveness
of God and through the blood of Jesus Christ, Amen.
21
Watch out for all who do not walk in simplicity of divine truth, which has
been stated by us in this letter in our meeting, so that everyone might be governed
among us by the rule of the ban, and that henceforth the entry of false brothers
and sisters among us might be prevented.
fut away from you that which is evil, and the Lord will be your God, and
you will i>e his sons and daughte::rs. 37
Dear brethren, keep in mind what Paul admonishes Titus. 38 He says:
"The saving Grace of God has appeared to all, and disciplines us, that we should
deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live circumpstect, righteous and godly
lives in this world; awaiting the same hope and the appearing of the glory of the
great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, to redeem
us from all unrighteousness and to purify unto himself a people of his own, that
would be zealous of good works:" Think on this. and exercise yourselves therein,
and the Lord of peace will be with you.
May the name of God be forever blessed and greatly praised, Amen. May
the Lord give you his peace, Amen.
Done at Schleitheim, St. Matthew's Day, Anno MDXXVII
Schleitheim Brotherly Union
Footnotes as of September 1966
22
1. A most significant concept in the thought of Michael Sattler is that of
Vereinigung, which according to the context must be translated L'l many
different ways. In the title we render it "Union"; here in the salutation it
obviously must be translated "atonement"; later in the text, in the passive
participial form, it will mean "to be brought to unity". Thus the same word
can be used for the reconciling work of Jesus Christ, for the procedure whereby
brethren come to a common mind, for the state of agreement in which they
find themselves, and for the doc~ment which states the agreement to which
they have come.
2. Or, literally "ordered"; the rendering of J. C. Wenger, "scattered everywhere
as it has been ordained of God our father", is a good paraphrase if "ordained"
may be understood without any sacramental or predestinarian connotations.
3. "Direct" and "teach" have as their object "the same", i.e. the "work of
God partially begun is us". Wenger's paraphrase, "direct the same and
teach c lJS 1 " is smoother but weakens the striking image of a "work of God"
within man which can be "partially begun", "cast down", "directed", and
"taught".
4. "Der Rancle" is a hill overlooking Schleitheim and not, as a modern reader
might think, a reference to the fal:.t that Schleitheim is near the (contemporary,
political) border.
5. The verb here is again "vereinigt"· Wenger's translation, "we are of one
mind to abide in the Lord" is the best paraphrase but sacrifices the passive
verbal construction which is important to the writer.
Schleitheim Brotherly Union
Footnotes as of September 1966
22
l. A most significant concept in the thought of Michael Sattler is that of
Vereinigung, which according to the context must be translated L'l many
different ways. In the title we render it "Union"; here in the salutation it
obviously must be translated "atonement"; later in the text, in the passive
participial form, it will mean "to be brought to unity". Thus the same word
can be used for the reconciling work of Jesus Christ, for the procedure whereby
brethren come to a common mind. for the state of agreement in which they
find themselves, and for the document which states the agreement to which
they have come.
2. Or, literal!y "ordered"; the rendering of J. C. Wenger, "scattered everywhere
as it has been ordained of God our father", is a good paraphrase if "ordained"
may be understood without any sacramental or predestinarian connotations.
3. "Direct" and ''teach" have as their object "the same", i.e. the "work of
God partially begun is us". Wenger's paraphrase, "direct the same and
teach c us1 " is smoother but weakens the striking image of a "work of God"
within man which can be "partially begun", "cast down", "directed", and
"taught".
4. "Der Rande" is a hill overlooking Schleitheim and not, as a modern reader
might think, a reference to the fat..t that Schleitheim is near the (contemporary,
political) border.
5. The verb here is again "vereinigt"· Wenger's translation, "we are of one
mind to abide in the Lord" is the best paraphrase but sacrifices the passive
verbal construction which is import.'lnt to the writer.
23
6. Beginning with the parer.thesis "(the praise and glory be to God alone)",
the closing phrases of this paragraph refer not simply to a common determi-nation
to be faithful to the Lord, but much more specifically to the actual
Schleitheirn experience and the sense of unity (Vereinigung) to which the
members had come in the course of the meeting. "Without contradiction
of c..11 the brethren" is the formal description and "completely at peace" is
the subjectivz definition of this sense of Holy Spirit guidance.
6a. I Cor. 13:33.
7. "Glieder" (members) has in German only the meaning related to the image
of the body; the overtone of "membership" in a group, which makes the phrase
"members of God" unusual in modern English, is not present in the original.
7b. Gal. 5: 24.
8. The use of the first person singular here is the demonstration that the
introductory letter was written, probably after the meeting, by an individual.
9. This is the conclusion of the introductoq letter and of the epistolary style.
9a. With one exception, every article begins with the same use of the word
vereinlgt as a passive participle which we have rendered thus literally as a
reminder of the meaning of Vereinigung for Sattler. Huldrych Zwingli (page 56)
considered the very fact that the Schleitheim group laid claim to having come
together, as already a sign of secta:dan intentions.
9b. Here the printed version of 1527 identifies the following scripture texts
(giving chapter numhers only): Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:6, Acts 2:38, Acts 8:36,
Acts 16:31-33, 19:4.
( (~~· Z. p. 56 - This note to be expanded later)
24
10. Nachwandeln is the nearest approximation in the Schleitheim text to the
concept of discipleship (nachfolge) which was later to become especially
current among Anabaptists.
11. Two interpretations of this phrase are possible. "To be inadvertently
overtaken" might be a description of falling into sin, parallel to the earlier
phrase "somehow ~lip :rnd fall". This would mean that sin is for the Chris-tiar.
disciple partly a matter of ignorance or inattention. Or the reference
can be to the way in wh.i.ch the guilty person has been discovered.
12. The printed version of 1527 inserts "or banned".
12a. This reference to Matt. 18 is the only scripture reference in the earliest
handwritten text. Other scrip~ure illusions identified in the footnotes are
not labeled in the text. This abundant citation of scriptu1·al language without
being concerned to indicate the source of quotation is an indication of the
fluency with which Anabaptists thought in biblical vocabulary; it is probably
also an indication that they thought of those texts as expressing a meaningful
truth rather than as "proof texts".
13. At this point Walter Koehler, the editor of the printed version, suggests the
text Matt. 5: 23. If "the ordering of the spirit" relates specifically to "before
the breaking of bread" and means to pcint to a scripture text, this could be a
likely one; or I Cor. 11 could possibly be alluded to; but "ordering of the
spirit" is not the usual way in which the Anabaptists refer to a Bible quotation.
The phrase can also mean a call for a personal and flexible attitude in the
application of the concern for reconciliation.
14. This is the one point at which the word ~inigt is not used at the beginning
of an article, presumably because it occurs later in the same sentence.
25
15. vereinigt. Here the word has none of the meanings detailed above, but
points to the work of God in constituting the unity of the Christian Church.
!Sa. I. Car. 10: 21.
17. Note the shift from "world" to "they". "The world" is not discussed inde-pendently
of the people constituting the unregenerate order.
17b. II Cor. 6:17 (possible Old Testament allusion in the Anabaptist phrase
'command of the Lord"?),
17c. Rev. 18:4ff,
18. vereinigt.
18a. The 1527 printed versi.on adds "and flee".
19. Kilchgang, literally meaning church attendance, has no congregational di-mension
to it but refers to the conformity to establish patterns of those who,
while perhaps sympathizing with the Anabaptists, still avoided any public
reproach by regularly being seen at the state church functions.
20. If the original burgschaft is correct, then this entire phrase "guarantees
and commitments" probably refers to the economic realm; to such matters
as the si.gning notes and mortgages in less than perfect good faith. The
printed version replaces purgschaft with bu:r~~erscha~- (citizenship).
21. The 1527 printed version adds "doubtless".
22. The printed version reads "unchristian and".
22a. Matt. 5: 3 9.
22b. I Tim. 3: 7.
23. The printed version adds, "to lead the brothers and sisters in prayer, to
begin to break bread •
23b. I Cor. 9:14.
. . " .
26
24. The change in number here from'a shepherd" to "if they sin" is explained
by the fact that this sentence is a quotation from I Tom. 5: 20.
25. "Cross" is already by this time a very clear "technical term" designating
martyrdom.
26. Perhaps "installed" would be less open to the sacramental misunderstanding.
"Verordnet" has no sac ... amental meaning.
27. "Law" here is a specific reference to the Old Testament.
28. Significantly the term here is not ~ordnet but merely geordnet; conveying
even less of a sense of permanence or of specific divine institution.
29. "Without the death of the flesh" is the clear reaciing of the earliest manuscript.
Ulrich Zwingli however understood it "toward the putting to death of the flesh",
a possible illusion to I Cor. 5; the differe:..1ce in the original is only between
a and o.
30. Gospe 1 source.
30a. John 8: 11.
30b. John 8: 22.
30c. Luke 12: 13.
31. Two interpretations are possible for "did not discern the ordering of his
Father". This may mean that Jesus did not respect, as being an obligation
for him, the service in the state in the office of king, even though the ex-istence
of the state is a divine ordinance. More likely would be the interpre-tation
that Jesus did not evaluate the action of the people wanting to make him
king as having been brought about (ordered) by His Father.
3la. Matt.16: 24.
3lb. Matt. 20: 25.
3lc. Rom. 8:30.
3ld. I Peter 2: 21.
3le. Phil. 3: 20.
27
3lf. Here the printed version adds Matt. 12: 25: "For every kingdom divided
against itself will be destroyed".
33. Matt. 5:34-37.
33b. Heb. 6: 7ff.
33bb. Matt. 5:35.
33c. "Use God for truth" would probably most correctly be rendered "use the
name 'God' as a confirmation".
33d. Luke 2: 34.
34. The difference in tense between "taught" and "says" is in the original; it
results from the fact that scripture references are always given in the
present: "Christ says", "Paul says", "Peter says".
35. This concludes the Seven Articles.
36. vereinigt.
37. A second reference to II Cor. 6:17.
38. Titus 2: 11-14.