Editing Martin Bucer (section)

==Organising the Strasbourg church (1529–1534)==
[[File:Straßburg 22.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The [[Sainte-Madeleine Church, Strasbourg|Church of the Penitent Magdalens]]' steeple behind timber-framed houses extant since the time of Martin Bucer]]
While these events unfolded, the reformers in Strasbourg were slowly making progress. Their pressure on the council to ban all masses finally succeeded. On 20 February 1529, Strasbourg openly joined the Reformation when the practice of the mass was officially suspended.{{Sfn |Eells| 1931|pp= 52–3}}{{Sfn |Greschat| 2004|pp= 64, 83–5}} In its place, two preaching services ({{lang|de|Predigtgottesdienste}}) per Sunday were held in all the parish churches. On 5 January 1530, when Strasbourg joined the alliance of Swiss cities, the {{lang|de|Christliches [[Burgrecht]]}} (Christian Confederation), the council systematically removed images and side altars from the churches.{{Sfn |Greschat|2004|p=116}}  Bucer had at first tolerated images in places of worship as long as they were not venerated.  He later came to believe they should be removed because of their potential for abuse, and he advocated in a treatise for their orderly removal.  First the authority of the magistrates should be obtained, and then the people instructed on abandoning devotion to images.{{Sfn |Eire|1989|pp=93–4}}{{Sfn | Eells |1931|pp = 37–9}}

Bucer's priority in Strasbourg was to instill moral discipline in the church. To this end, special wardens ({{lang|de|Kirchenpfleger}}), chosen from among the laity, were assigned to each congregation to supervise both doctrine and practice.{{Sfn |Greschat| 2004|p= 108}}  His concerns were motivated by the effects of a rapidly rising refugee population, attracted by Strasbourg's tolerant asylum policies.  Influxes of refugees, particularly after 1528, had brought a series of revolutionary preachers into Strasbourg. These men were inspired by a variety of [[Apocalypse|apocalyptic]] and mystical doctrines, and in some cases by hostility towards the social order and the notion of an official church.{{Sfn |Greschat|2004|pp= 117–21}} Significant numbers of refugees were [[Anabaptists]] and spiritualists, such as the followers of [[Melchior Hoffman]], [[Caspar Schwenckfeld]], and [[Clemens Ziegler]].{{Sfn |Greschat|2004|pp=118–9}}  Bucer personally took responsibility for attacking these and other popular preachers to minimize their influence and secure their expulsion and that of their followers.{{Sfn |Eells|1931|p=130}}  On 30 November 1532, the pastors and wardens of the church petitioned the council to enforce ethical standards, officially sanction the reformed faith, and refute the "sectarian" doctrines.<ref>{{Harvnb|Greschat|2004|pp=117, 121}}</ref> The ruling authorities, who had allowed sectarian congregations to thrive among the refugees and lower orders, would only expel the obvious troublemakers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Greschat|2004|p=70}}</ref> Bucer insisted that the council urgently take control of all Christian worship in the city for the common good.<ref>{{Harvnb|Greschat|2004|p=118}}</ref>

In response to the petition, the council set up a commission that proposed a city [[synod]]. For this gathering, Bucer provided a draft document of sixteen articles on church doctrine. The synod convened on 3 June 1533 at the [[Sainte-Madeleine Church, Strasbourg|Church of the Penitent Magdalens]] to debate Bucer's text, eventually accepting it in full.<ref>{{Harvnb|Greschat|2004|pp=121–122}}</ref> Sectarian leaders were brought before the synod and questioned by Bucer. Ziegler was dismissed and allowed to stay in Strasbourg; Hoffmann was imprisoned as a danger to the state; and Schwenckfeld left Strasbourg of his own accord.{{Sfn |Eells|1931|pp= 147–51}}

Following the synod, the city council dragged its heels for several months. The synod commission, which included Bucer and Capito, decided to take the initiative and produced a draft ordinance for the regulation of the church. It proposed that the council assume almost complete control of the church, with responsibility for supervising doctrine, appointing church wardens, and maintaining moral standards.{{Sfn |Greschat|2004|pp=121–2}}  Still the council delayed, driving the pastors to the brink of resignation. Only when Hoffman's followers seized power in Münster, in the [[Münster Rebellion]], did the council act, fearing a similar incident in Strasbourg.{{Sfn | Greschat |2004|p=123}}  On 4 March 1534, the council announced that Bucer's Tetrapolitan Confession and his sixteen articles on church doctrine were now official church statements of faith. All Anabaptists should either subscribe to these documents or leave the city. The decision established a new church in Strasbourg, with Capito declaring, "Bucer is the bishop of our church."{{Sfn |Greschat|2004|pp = 122–3}}{{Sfn |Eells|1931|pp= 146–57}}