1–4 October 1529

The Marburg Colloquy

Landgrave Philip of Hesse sought to forge a united evangelical front. To this end he gathered at Marburg Castle Luther, Melanchthon and Bucer on the German side and Zwingli and Oecolampadius on the Swiss side.

The parties agreed on fourteen articles of faith and on five of six points of the fifteenth. But they could not agree on the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Luther insisted on a real bodily presence "in, with and under" the bread and wine. Zwingli, by contrast, read the words "this is my body" as merely signifying.

The colloquy's failure sealed a permanent split between the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of the Reformation.