SACRAMENTARIANS, a term used in several senses. (1) Ordinarily in England it means one who holds a "high" or extreme doctrine of the efficacy of the especially of the Eucharist. (2) Technically, however, the word is used in Church history in an almost dia metrically opposite sense for persons holding a "low" doctrine on the subject of the sacraments—for the party among the Reformers who separated from Luther on the doctrine of the Eucharist. Luther taught the doctrine of the real presence of the body and blood of Christ along with the bread and wine. Carlstadt, Capito, and Bucer were the leaders of those who called this doctrine in question. This sacramentarian party became so considerable that in the diet of Augs burg they claimed to present a special confession known in history by the name of the Tetrapolitan Confession—so called from the four cities, Strasburg, Con stance, Lindau, and Memmingen. The Tetrapolitan Confession rejects the doc trine of a corporeal presence, and though it admits a spiritual presence of Christ which the devout soul can feel and en joy, it excludes all idea of a physical presence of Christ's body. Simultaneously
with this German movement, yet inde pendent of it, was that of the Swiss re former Zwingli, whose doctrine on the Eucharist was identical with that of Carlstadt, and who himself presented a private confession of faith to the Augs burg diet in which this doctrine is em bodied. The four cities named above continued for many years to adhere to this confession presented to the diet of Augsburg in their name; but eventually they accepted the so-called Confession of Augsburg, and were merged in the gen eral body of Lutherans. On the contrary, the article of Zwingli upon the Eucharist was in substance embodied in the confes sion of the Helvetic Church.