This Basilius Monner, together with his Weimarian friends, endeavored to persuade the Theologians to condemn Adiaphorism, Maiorism, Osiandrism, and Zwinglianism, before the opening of the Religious Conference. "For," as Eber wrote, "these, in their judgment, are the only heresies in Europe which ought to be destroyed root and branch." Flacius, by his letters, also incited his Weimarian friends to insist upon this. Besides this, their instructions required the same. On the 5th of September, the Theologians of the Augsburg Confession met, for the first time, in the town-hall. Here Monner rose up, and declared that their instructions enjoined it upon him and his colleagues to insist, first of all, upon a condemnation of errors, so that they could then oppose the Papists even as one man. Schnepf also arose, and declared that if this should not be done, they would not have anything further to do with the Conference. But let us hear what Melanchthon says of this, in a letter to Prince Joachim, of Anhalt, of September 6th: "The first act was an accusation against myself, taken almost word for word from the libels of Flacius, and brought forward by Schnepf. I briefly replied to them, that we all agreed in doctrine, because we all adopted the Augsburg Confession, together with its Apology, and Luther's Confession, which he wrote prior to the Council of Mantua. I also spoke a little of my views, that I believed it would be better to retain the order of festivals, and other usages, which were not sinful in themselves, than to leave the churches; I appealed to the opinions of the other persons who were present, and added, that it would give me very great pleasure if I would be entirely excluded from the deliberations of this Conference. The envoys of the princes fully agreed with me, and admonished the accusers to lay their private disputes to one side, and to unite in a general deliberation how the enemy should be refuted. This was done yesterday. I do not know, as yet, what my accusers propose to do further. I bear these calumnies with equanimity. I wrote the Confession and the Apology, which they constantly quote; and now they are debating how they shall get rid of their author. However, I trust that, with God's help, I have been able to be of some use to students. I would much rather always engage in this work, than quarrel in such conferences, in which I have witnessed and experienced many deplorable conflicts."