Protestantism in Switzerland - James Aitken Wylie

four Bishops of Lausanne, Basle, Constance, and
Sion, who were asked to be present either in person
or by deputy, under penalty of the loss of all rights
and revenues which they claimed within the canton
of Bern in virtue of their episcopal dignity.
The Bernese sent to all the cantons and free
towns of the Helvetic Confederacy, desiring them
to send their theologians and learned men of both
parties to the conference, to the end that, freely and
without compulsion to any one, their common
Confederacy might make profession of a common
faith. They further ordered that all the pastors and
cures in the canton should repair to Bern on the
first Sunday of January, and assist at the
conference from its opening to its close, under pain
of deprivation of their benefices. Addressing the
learned men of the State, "Come," said the lords of
Bern, "we undertake for your safety, and guarantee
you all liberty in the expression of your opinions."
One man was honored with a special invitation,
Thomas Murner namely, who, as our readers may
recollect, gave so comic a close to the conference
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