This book examines the coming of the Protestant Reformation from the viewpoint of eight common people, who were sufficiently disturbed by the events of 1521-5 to write treatises, letters, dialogues, and sermons, which they published. Their works are lively testimony to the interest of laypeople in the affairs of the church, and their willingness to discuss often complex theological training. These works are among the first documents of lay theology and piety, but they are also propaganda: disappointed with the Catholic clergy and with secular authorities, the authors of these pamphlets were called to prophesy, preach, and convert their readers/listeners lest Christ return soon to find his church unprepared. They demanded a new apostolate for laypeople, something the clergy had feared for centuries and something which civic authorities feared as a potential source of radical ideas.

Book Information
ISBN 9780521520294
Author Paul A. Russell
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 450g