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1 to 4 October 1529Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Luther and Zwingli Fail to Agree at Marburg

The two leading reformers meet face to face and still cannot settle what the Eucharist means

On the timeline · around 1 to 4 October 1529 · Reformations MultiplyLuther's RevoltReformations MultiplyLuther and Zwingli Fail to Agree at Marburg152715281529153015311532

Quick facts

Location
Marburg Castle, Hesse
Convener
Philip of Hesse
Core dispute
Nature of Christ's presence in the Eucharist

What happened

Philip of Hesse, worried that a disunited Reformation could not survive the Catholic-aligned empire's pressure after the 1529 Diet of Speyer, invited Luther and Zwingli to Marburg Castle to seek common theological ground. For four days beginning 1 October 1529, the two argued chiefly over the Eucharist. Luther wrote This is my body on the table in chalk, insisting Christ was literally present in the bread and wine. Zwingli held the bread and wine were symbolic signs of Christ's sacrifice, not the thing itself. Neither man moved. The resulting 15 Marburg Articles recorded agreement on doctrines, such as original sin and the Incarnation, that had never actually been in dispute, papering over the one disagreement that mattered.

Why it matters

Marburg's failure formalized a permanent division between Lutheran and Reformed (Zwinglian and later Calvinist) branches of Protestantism over the sacraments, a split that outlasted both men and shaped which German and Swiss territories aligned with which confession for the rest of the era. It also meant the two wings of the Reformation went into the following decades of Catholic pressure without a unified negotiating position.

How we know

Contemporary participants recorded the exchanges, including Zwingli's own written report of the colloquy dated 20 October 1529; the Christian History Institute's account of the meeting quotes Luther's chalk inscription and documents the theological deadlock directly.

Sources

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