Among the most polemical of Martyr's works, the texts presented here are part of the turbulent period in England during the times of Edward VI and Archbishop Cranmer. Along with his account of the Disputation, Martyr published a Treatise that provides systematic treatment of the arguments, biblical and patristic in source, with transubstantiation the target. There is a wealth of information about the state of the realm, the choice of patristic authorities, the nature of Martyr's objections to the traditional doctrine, and his proposed alternative. Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) is considered to be one of the most important Italian reformers of the early modern period. Martyr is the subject of renewed interest for historical and theological scholars. The Peter Martyr Library, a series of critical English translations of the chief works of Peter Martyr Vermigli, allows his own words in context to speak for themselves.

For the Roman Catholic Church, the doctrine of transubstantiation was not merely based in Scripture and rooted in tradition and official church teaching; it was the keystone of the whole sacramental system through which the Church claimed spiritual authority as the mediator of salvation, and for ordinary believers, was the focal point of sincere, though often superstitious, devotion. For many Protestants, however, it was an absurdity contrary to both reason and sound theology, and obscured the central role of faith in receiving Christ and His benefits.One of the most significant Reformation-era texts on the Eucharist, The Oxford Treatise and Disputation on the Eucharist displays Peter Martyr Vermigli at the height of his powers. Recently arrived in England to teach at Oxford during the reforming reign of Edward VI, Vermigli used a university controversy over his eucharistic theology as an opportunity to take the offensive against transubstantiation, the strongest bulwark of Catholic traditionalism in Edwardian England. His Treatise offered a crisp and compelling statement of the Reformed doctrine of the Eucharist and objections to transubstantiation, while the Disputation locks horns with a series of Catholic disputants on the biblical, philosophical, and historical issues at stake. This volume is essential reading for any who wish to understand the contours of this crucial doctrinal controversy.

Among the most polemical of Martyr's works, the texts presented here are part of the turbulent period in England during the times of Edward VI and Archbishop Cranmer. Along with his account of the Disputation, Martyr published a Treatise that provides systematic treatment of the arguments, biblical and patristic in source, with transubstantiation the target. There is a wealth of information about the state of the realm, the choice of patristic authorities, the nature of Martyr's objections to the traditional doctrine, and his proposed alternative. Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) is considered to be one of the most important Italian reformers of the early modern period. Martyr is the subject of renewed interest for historical and theological scholars. The Peter Martyr Library, a series of critical English translations of the chief works of Peter Martyr Vermigli, allows his own words in context to speak for themselves.

In this last work of Vermigli's distinguished career as a theologian, he uses a dialogue to discuss the disagreement among Christians about the Eucharist and Christ's presence in the Lord's Supper.

This volume offers a wide-ranging overview of the 16th-18th century disputation culture in various European regions. Its focus is on printed disputations as a polyvalent media form which brings together many of the elements that contributed to the cultural and scientific changes during the early modern period.