Restoring Christ's Church (St Andrews Studies in Reformation History)

197 Pages·2007·0.98 MB·English

by  Michael S. Springer

Restoring Christ’s Church
Dedicated to my mother
and in memory of my father
Restoring Christ’s Church
John a Lasco and the Forma ac ratio
MICHAEL S. SPRINGER
© Michael S. Springer 2007
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, me-
chanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of
the publisher.
Michael S. Springer has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company
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Croft Road 101 Cherry Street
Aldershot Burlington, VT 05401–4405
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Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Springer, Michael Stephen
Restoring Christ’s church : John a Lasco and the Forma ac ratio.
– (St Andrews studies in Reformation history)
1. Laski, Jan, 1499–1560. Forma ac ratio 2. Protestant churches –
Liturgy – Texts - History and criticism
I.Title
264’.042’0092

ISBN 978–07546–5601–2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Springer, Michael Stephen.
Restoring Christ’s church : John a Lasco and the forma ac ratio / Michael
S. Springer.
p. cm. – (St. Andrews studies in Reformation history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–7546–5601–2 (hard : alk. paper)
1. Laski, Jan, 1499–1560. 2. Reformation – England – Biography.
3. Church history – 16th century. I. Title.
BR350.L3S67 2007
284.2’092–dc22 2006018500
This book is printed on acid free paper
Printed in Great Britain by MPG Books, Bodmin, Cornwall
Contents
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
Acknowledgements viii
List of Abbreviations x
Conventions xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Christ’s True Church: The Protestant Search for Unity 13
3 John a Lasco and the London Strangers’ Church: The
Origins and Development of the Forma ac ratio 41
4 Ecclesiastical Administration and the London Strangers’
Church 59
5 John a Lasco’s Public Ministry 77
6 Ecclesiastical Discipline in the Forma ac ratio 95
7 The Forma ac ratio in Europe 111
8 Conclusion: Lasco’s Legacy 149
Bibliography 155
Index 173
List of Figures
2.1 Signatories of the 1529 Marburg Articles 19
3.1 Title page of the Forma ac ratio (1555) 53
3.2 Comparison of Emden and Frankfurt presses 55
List of Tables
5.1 Lasco’s order for worship services from the Forma
ac ratio (1555) 79
7.1 Textual comparison of the Forma ac ratio (1555) and
Toute la forme (1556) 119
7.2 Lord’s Supper in the Liturgia sacra (1554) and Forma
ac ratio (1555) 122
7.3 Contents of the Liturgia sacra (1554) and ‘Order of
common prayer’ (1555) 127
7.4 Comparison of the Liturgia sacra (1554), Forma ac
ratio (1555) and Form of prayers (1556) 130
Acknowledgements
This book is a revised version of my PhD dissertation submitted to the
University of St Andrews, Scotland, in July 2004. I have received help
from numerous institutions both as a graduate student and during the
preparation for publication, whom I would like to thank here. The David
and Dorothy Daniell William Tyndale Fund Scholarship and the St Andrews
Department of Modern History research awards supported much of my
studies and research while working on my dissertation; Karin Maag and
the H. Henry Meeter Center at Calvin College generously gave me a stipend
and access to their collection in the summer of 2002; Christine Gascoine
and the University of St Andrews Library assisted me in tracking down
research material; Henning Jürgens and the Johannes a Lasco Bibliothek in
Emden, Germany, offered help on all things regarding the Polish reformer;
Alexandra Kess at the Institut für Schweizerische Reformationsgeschichte
assisted me with Lasco’s letters; the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch
Dienst (DAAD) awarded funding to support me while finishing the book;
and finally I would like to thank professors Rolf Decot and Irene Dingel,
and the staff at the Institut für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz, where I
was able to complete this work.
I have received help from a number of individuals over the years and,
unfortunately, can only thank a few of them here. Susan C. Karant-Nunn,
Ann Weikel and Caroline Litzenberger offered much guidance and support
during my early studies at Portland State University and opened my eyes
to the exciting world of the sixteenth century. I owe a tremendous debt to
my PhD supervisor Andrew Pettegree, who introduced me to John a Lasco
and the Forma ac ratio. I have benefited greatly from his enthusiasm for
my project and his wise counsel. He has provided an exemplary model
of scholarship and teaching, and has inspired me to reach for a higher
standard in my own work. I hope that I can put into practice some of
the many lessons he has taught me during my time in St Andrews. Bruce
Gordon and Graeme Murdock examined my dissertation and offered much
useful advice regarding its publication. I have incorporated many of their
suggestions into this final text. Debt is also owed to the staff and students
at the St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute, who listened to many
papers on Lasco and were generous with their advice. A special thanks is
owed to Lauren Kim, for her help with John Calvin and her advice while
writing the book, and to Elaine Fulton, for her careful proofreading of the
text and her comments during the final stages of work on the manuscript.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
Finally, I owe my greatest debt to my parents, Steven and Barbara Springer,
to whom I have dedicated this book.
Michael S. Springer
Mainz, December 2005