Caspar Schwenckfeld

Who was Caspar Schwenckfeld?

Caspar Schwenkfeld von Ossig was a German theologian, writer, and preacher who became a Protestant Reformer and spiritualist, one of the earliest promoters of the Protestant Reformation in Silesia.

Schwenckfeld came to Reformation principles through Thomas Müntzer and Andreas Karlstadt. However, he developed his own principles and fell out with Martin Luther over the eucharistic controversy. He had his own views on the sacraments - the Heavenly Flesh doctrine - developed in close association with his humanist colleague, Valentin Crautwald. His followers became a new sect, which was outlawed in Germany, but his ideas influenced Anabaptism, Puritanism in England, and Pietism on mainland Europe.