Table Of ContentGeneral Editors
John Baillie (1886-1960) served as President of the World
Council of Churches, a member of the British Council of
Churches, Moderator of the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland, and Dean of the Faculty of Divinity at
the University of Edinburgh.
John T. McNeill (1885-1975) was Professor of the History of
European Christianity at the University of Chicago and then
Auburn Professor of Church History at Union Theological
Seminary in New York.
Henry P. Van Dusen (1897-1975) was an early and influen-
tial member of the World Council of Churches and served
at Union Theological Seminary in New York as Roosevelt
Professor of Systematic Theology and later as President.
THE LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN CLASSICS
Melanchthon and Bucer
Edited by
WiLHELM PAUCK
ThD
© 1969 The Westminster Press
Paperback reissued 2006 by Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville,
Kentucky.
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ISBN-13: 978-0-664-24164-3
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Xll CONTENTS
The Difference Between the Old and New Testaments and
the Abrogation of the Law 120
The Old Man and the New 131
Mortal and Daily Sin 132
Signs 133
Baptism 136
Repentance 140
Private Confessions 143
Participation in the Lord's Table 145
Love 147
Magistrates 148
Offense 150
MARTIN BUCER: DE REGNO CHRISTI
Editor's Introduction 155
De Regno Christi, translated by Wilhelm Pauck in collabora-
tion with Paul Larkin
BOOK ONE
Preface 174
Chapter I. Names of the Kingdom of Christ. . . 176
Chapter II. What the Kingdom of Christ and the
Kingdoms of the World Have in
Common and What They Do Not 179
Chapter III. Some More Eminent Passages of Holy
Scripture Concerning the King-
dom of Christ, in the Light of
Which What We Have Proposed
Can Be Better Understood . . . 192
Chapter IV. The Various Periods of the Church . . 207
Chapter V. What the Kingdom of Christ Is, and
What Is Necessary for Its Restora-
tion 225
Chapter VI. The Dispensation of the Doctrine of
Christ 232
Chapter VII. The Administration of the Sacraments 236
Chapter VIII. The Ministry of the Discipline of Life
and Manners 240
Chapter IX. The Ministry of the Discipline of Pen-
ance 242
Chapter X. Reforming the Churches' Ceremonies:
CONTENTS Xlll
First, the Hallowing of Church
Buildings 248
Chapter XI. Setting Aside Certain Times for the
Worship of God 250
Chapter XII. Lent and Other Fasts, and the Taking
of Food 253
Chapter XIII. The Regulation of Ceremonies . . . 255
Chapter XIV. Care for the Needy 256
Chapter XV. How Salutary It Is for All Men to Have
the Kingdom of Christ Firmly Re-
stored Among Them and How
Necessary It Is for Salvation that
Every Christian, According to His
Place in the Body of Christ and the
Gifts He Has Received from Him,
Aim and Work Toward This with
Deepest Concern 259
BOOK TWO
Chapter I. By What Ways and Means the King-
dom of Christ Can and Should Be
Reformed by Devout Kings . . 266
Chapter II. Who Are to Be Used as Advisers for the
Reestablishment of Christ's King-
dom 267
Chapter III. The Kingdom of Christ Must Be Re-
newed Not Only by Edicts but
Also by Devout Persuasion . . . 268
Chapter IV. Approved Evangelists Must Be Sent
Out to All Parts of the Realm . . 269
Chapter V. The Kingdom of Christ Must Be Re-
formed by Devout Persuasion and
an Accurate Preaching of the Gos-
pel, Rather than by Decrees . . . 271
Chapter VI. Where Suitable Evangelists Are to Be
Sought, and the Matter of the
Reformation of the Schools of
Higher Learning 273
Chapter VII. The Source and Support of the Evan-
gelists and Pastors of the Churches 277
Chapter VIII. How the Full Restitution of Religion
Must Be Advocated and Enacted 279
Chapter IX. The First Law: Children Must Be Cat-
echized and Educated for God . . 280
CONTENTS
Chapter X. The Second Law: The Sanctification
of Holy Days 280
Chapter XL The Third Law: The Sanctification of
Churches 283
Chapter XII. The Fourth Law: The Restoration of
the Ministries of the Church . . 283
Chapter XIII. The Fifth Law: Claiming Ecclesiastical
Goods for Christ the Lord, and
Their Pious Use 295
Chapter XIV. The Sixth Law: Poor Relief . . .. 306
Chapter XV. The Seventh Law: The Sanctification
and Regulation of Marriage . . 315
Chapter XVI. What Must Be Established Concerning
the Contracting and Entering of
Holy Marriage 317
Chapter XVII. Which Persons It Is Proper to Join in
Matrimony 317
Chapter XVIII. Marriages Should Not Be Held Valid
Which Are Contracted Without
the Consent of Those Who Have
Power Over the Ones Who Make
the Contract, or Without Suitable
Advisers 320
Chapter XIX. Whether It May Be Permitted that the
Promise of Marriage May Be Re-
scinded Before It Is Fulfilled . . 324
Chapter XX. The Celebration of Nuptials . . .. 326
Chapter XXL The Preservation of Holy Marriage . . 327
(Chapters XXII through XLVI not translated)
Chapter XLVII. Conclusion of the Entire Tract on
Marriage 332
Chapter XLVIII. The Eighth Law: The Civil Education
of Youth and the Suppression of
Idleness 333
Chapter XLIX. The Restoration of Various Crafts and
Honest Pursuits of Profit . . . 337
Chapter L. The Reform of Marketing . . .. 342
Chapter LI. The Care of Public Inns 345
Chapter LII. Those Who Have No Aptitude for
Honorable Skills Should Be Re-
duced to Manual Labor and Hum-
ble Tasks 345
CONTENTS XV
Chapter LIII. Prefects Must Be Appointed for Skills
and Labor 346
Chapter LIV. Honest Games 346
Chapter LV. The Ninth Law: Controlling Luxury
and Harmful Expenses . . .. 354
Chapter LVI. The Tenth Law: On the Revision and
Elaboration of Civil Laws . . . 357
Chapter LVII. The Eleventh Law: The Appointment
of Magistrates 361
Chapter LVIII. The Twelfth Law: The Establishment
and Correction of Tribunals and
Judges 374
Chapter LIX. The Thirteenth Law: The Custody of
Accused Persons 377
Chapter LX. The Fourteenth Law: The Modifica-
tion of Penalties 379
Final Chapter. Conclusion of the Work 384
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 395
INDEXES 401
ABBREVIATIONS
CR Corpus Reformatorum: Philippi Melanchthonis Opera
quae supersunt omnia, ed. by C. G. Bretschneider and
H. E. Bindseil (Halle, 1834 ff.).
GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei
Jahrhunderte (Berlin, 1897 ff.).
LW Luther's Works, American edition, ed. by Jaroslav Peli-
kan and Helmut T. Lehmann, 55 vols. (St. Louis and
Philadelphia: Concordia Publishing House and Muhlen-
berg Press, 1955 ff.).
LCC The Library of Christian Classics, ed. by John Baillie,
John T. McNeill, and Henry P. Van Dusen, 26 vols.
(Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1950 ff.).
MPG J. P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series
Graeca.
MPL J. P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series
Latina.
WA Luthers Werke (Weimar Ausgabe, 1883 ff.).
WA Tr Table Talk
WA Br Letters
MARTIN BUCER
De Regno Christi
De Regno Christi
EDITORS INTRODUCTION
I. MARTIN BUCER, AUTHOR OF On the Kingdom of Christ
Martin Bucer,1 for many years the most prominent leader of the
Reformation in Strassburg and, indeed, throughout southern
Germany, deserves to be better known. Next to Luther, Melanch-
thon, Zwingli, and Calvin, he was the most influential of the
Protestant Reformers. He helped to introduce the Reformation in
Strassburg and then became the chief builder and spokesman of
the Reformed Church in that city. He represented and defended
it at many important political and ecclesiastical meetings during
the Reformation period. Because of his accomplishments in Strass-
burg, he became an organizer of Protestant churches in many
places, e.g., in Hesse and in such important cities as Ulm, Augs-
burg, and Constance. He spent much time and energy in order to
obtain unity in the ranks of the Reformers through the reconcilia-
tion of Luther and Zwingli. Indeed, he hoped to unite the Ger-
man and the Swiss movements of the Reformation. At the same
time, he was ready to negotiate with Roman Catholic churchmen
in order to bring about a reunion between Protestantism and the
Roman Catholic Church. He spared no effort in order to over-
come differences. He held innumerable "conversations'* and was
involved in arguments with defenders of all kinds of religious and
ecclesiastical causes—Anabaptists and Spiritualists, trained and
untrained theologians, clergymen and laymen, political leaders
as well as the common people.
Many were suspicious of him because he was so indefatigable
in his readiness to settle disputes. They did not trust him, for he
1 Cf. Heinrich Bornkamm, Martin Bucers Bedeulung fiir die europdische
Reformationsgeschichte (Giitersloh, 1952).
