Schwenkfeld
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
CASPAR VON, a German reformer; born of noble family, in Ossig, Lower Silesia, in 1490; studied two years at Cologne and elsewhere, and, before retiring into private life in 1521 to a constant study of the Scriptures, served at various courts with Duke Charles of Münsterberg, and as aulic counsellor with Duke Frederick II. of Liegnitz. About 1525 he openly declared for Luther, and went to Wittenberg to converse with him, but found his views widely divergent on baptism and the eucharist. Still further, he found himself unable to accept any confessions of faith except such as followed closely the letter of Scripture. Schwenkfeld did not himself partake of the Lord's Supper, though he did not forbid it to others. He did not approve of infant baptism, yet without admitting the Baptist view of the importance of the baptism of adults. Schwenkfeld's view brought him the hatred of the Lutherans and Catholics alike. The influence of the Emperor Ferdinand forced the Duke of Liegnitz to banish him in 1529, and he thereafter traveled to Ulm, Augsburg, Nuremberg, and Strasburg, everywhere gaining disciples. Luther fiercely denounced him, and many untrue charges were brought against him by others. He died in Ulm, Dec. 10, 1561. Schwenkfeld wrote 90 distinct works, most of which were burned by Protestants and Catholics. By means of personal teaching and his books a group of earnest disciples more than 4,000 strong was formed all over Germany, but mostly in Swabia and Silesia, under the name of Confessors, or Followers of the Glory of Christ. They were persecuted in Silesia in his lifetime, and many emigrated to Holland, some to England. The Jesuit mission established in Silesia in 1719 persecuted the remnant still further, and some joined the Protestant churches, some fled to Saxony, where they were protected by Count Zinzendorf. In 1734 40 families emigrated to England, and finally thence to Penncations were removed in 1862. Pop. sylvania, where, as Schwenkfeldians, they have maintained a distinct existence to this day.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's noted in 1921 that most of Schwenkfeld's 90 works had been burned by Protestants and Catholics alike; the great rescue came afterwards, in the Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum, a critical edition of his writings begun in 1907 and completed in 19 volumes in 1961, the 400th anniversary of his death. The Schwenkfeldians who reached Pennsylvania in the 1730s do indeed "maintain a distinct existence to this day": the Schwenkfelder Church remains a small denomination of a handful of congregations in Montgomery and Bucks counties, with a library and heritage centre at Pennsburg. What has shifted most is scholarly framing — twentieth-century historians place Schwenkfeld not as a failed Lutheran but as a leading figure of the "spiritualist" wing of the Radical Reformation, alongside men such as Sebastian Franck. The biographical outline in the entry still stands.
Written for this edition, 2026.