ABSTRACT
The Radical Reformers were disappointed with the reform of Luther and of Zwingli, and with all the established Protestant Churches. They were united in their opposition to a church that was officially related to the state. They wanted a reformation of the roots and branches. The Radical or Left Wing of Reformation contained such a variety of theologies that generalizations are impossible. One study of church-type in the "Left Wing of the Reformation" distinguishes four types: Anabaptists; Anti-Trinitarians; Spiritualizers; revolutionary prophets. The Schleitheim Confession originated in a meeting of the Swiss Brethren on February 24, 1527. It was widely circulated among the Anabaptists and was the subject of refutation by both Zwingli and Calvin. The Confession is not a comprehensive statement of Christian faith, but it does emphasize the beliefs and practices that distinguished the Anabaptists from the Protestantism that became dominant in Zurich and Geneva.
