The Zwickau Prophets were three men from Zwickau of the Radical Reformation who were possibly involved in a disturbance in nearby Wittenberg and its reformation in early 1522.
The three men, Nicholas Storch, Thomas Dreschel and Markus Stübner, began their movement in Zwickau, Saxony. Though these three names are favored in recent scholarship, others have been suggested. Qualben used the name "Marx" for "Dreschel," Vedder replaced Dreschel with Marcus Thomä and Estep gave Stübner the middle name "Thomas."
The relationship of the Zwickau prophets to the Anabaptist movement has been variously interpreted. They have been viewed as a precursory foundation of Anabaptism before the rise of the Swiss Brethren in 1525, as unrelated to the movement except for the influence on Thomas Müntzer and as being a dual foundation with the Swiss Brethren to form a composite movement of Anabaptism. Regardless of the exact relationship to Anabaptism, the Zwickau Prophets present a radical alternative to Luther and mainstream Protestantism as demonstrated in their involvement in disturbances in Wittenberg.
Read more about Zwickau Prophets: Theology, Wittenberg, Müntzer, A New Paradigm
Famous quotes containing the word prophets:
“So I soon made up my mind about the poets too: I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled them to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.”
—Socrates (469–399 B.C.)