500th Anniversary of the Reformation Sample

The Reformers: Martin Bucer

Martin Bucer is a little-known figure in the Protestant Reformation, but his influence as a biblical scholar in the sixteenth century was invaluable! He helped spread Luther’s teachings throughout the Holy Roman Empire, and worked to bring peace among the factions in the reform groups. Bucer was also a prolific writer of commentaries on the Gospels, Ephesians, Romans, Zephaniah and the Psalms, and assisted Thomas Cranmer in revising the Book of Common Prayer. He wrote extensively on the book of Ephesians, especially chapter 4, during times of conflict during the Protestant Reformation. Bucer was exiled in England, where he died in 1551, and was buried at Cambridge. When Queen Mary came to the throne, she exhumed and burned his remains as a heretic. One scholar said of Martin Bucer: “In his effort to speak with those who were errant, he would try and win them over with the Scriptures in his hand!”