Calvin’s Ecclesiastical Advice

Calvin's Eccleslastical Advice by Benjamin w. Fariey In the time allotted, I hope to present three brief documents, heretofore untranslated, which disclose facets of Calvin's ecclesi- astical advice. The documents in question may be found in the Corpus Reformatorum, Volume 38, Part I. In this volume the cR edttors have ccmpiled 46 of Calvin's writings, most of them letters, under the Latin titie Constlia. 32 are in Latin; 14 are in French. oniy ll bear dates, or indicate the day, month, or year of their composition. Most 1lst no Frequently, a hand other than Calvin's has pro- designated receiver.

vided their titles. Most, If not all, have been dictated; occasionaily the secretary's nane is mentioned. None of this simplifies the his- torlants task, but, at the same time, neither does it obscure the issues or values involved.

The cR editors have grouped these 46 pieces under seven general headings: 1.

Dogmatics and Polemics 2.

On the Changes and Need for Changes in Religion Concerning the worship of Images Ecciesiasticai Discipline 5.

Marriage Questions 6.

Judtctal Quest ions 7.

Miscellanies The largest number of documents are assigned to tecclesiastical. Disci- pi ine't: the second largest number appear under tDogmatics and Polemics,tt we have come to expect and know, occasionaliy surprising us with the thus far translated display him as a counselor fully conscious of the sensibilities he will both evoke and provoke, as a discerning historian and exegete, often as a reluctant. but stalwart polemicist, as a theolo- and as an ever knowledgeable. realist with regard to the political, social, moral, and economic conditions of his time. The documents I have examtned are of interest not only because they preserve what Calvin has to say but because-they contain his justifica- tions for what he believes to be the Christian and biblical way of being and doing. Thus, in the process of suggesting what course of action one might pursue, Calvin frequentiy cites his sources or alludes to the pre- suppositions which itltmtne and inform his thought. Any comprehensive assessment of Calvin's tEccleslastical Advicett cannot be based on a reading of the few documents in this col lection. That assessment must aiso be based on Calvin's consii ia throughout his Institutes, semons, commentaries, treat ises, and letters. Furthermore, the' reievance for our time of either Calvin's presuppositions or method- ology poses inescapable questions' which we cannot ignore, as have been raised by the preceding papers' at this conference.

with this as a preface, let me present, first, a letter containing Caivin's advice on images, which brings into focus some of the nuances to which I have alluded.

Proposed in Favor of the worship of Images. The CR editors tel1 us proach them. It is dated ttFebruary 6, 1562 (?).tt Calvin opens with a summary of the views he intends to reject, then he addresses, in turn, the following subjects: 1.

The appropriate O.T. commandments which prohibit the use of images in the Church 2.

The Sabbath 3.

Angels (and Impl ied angel worship) 4.

Veneration of the saints 5.

Prostrat1ons Adorat ion of Images 6.

The sign of the Cross and its true use 8* Martyrs 9.

The Counci1 of Nicaea (A.D. 787) a Refutat lon of Arguments Proposed in Favor of the worship of Imagestt [CR 38, co1s. 193-197] Madame, since you are willing for me to respond to your report, I shal1 proceed by summarizing the arguments which are advanced by those who disagree with us.

the exposition of the second commandment, which is correct, for it is the sole and unique grounds of our dispute. Hence we must determine ought accept images].

They also admonish us not to take the commandmentst prohibitions so For in the Apostlets passage "the lettertt refers to the entire Law, and the manner in which the Jews practiced this comandment shows that it was meant to be taken literally, as written. [Moreover] God had a reason for making the collection of his com- mandments so brlef, for he wanted his people to learn them. Nor 1s:it bel ievable that God wanted to obscure their truth which is so otherwise clear.

Furthermore, they have cited this commandment against us: Thou shait not ki1itt '[in order to show that the commandments must be under———

65 stood with exceptions in mind, seeing that It. is lawful for magistrates to kil1, such as, for example, phinehas did. I reply that whenever any except ions have to be made in the commandments, they are made in defer- ence to legisiators, not to men in general. They have even cited [against usl the Manichean abuse In which the Manichees claimed that it was unlawful to eat animals.

In order to prove their argument, nowever, they would have to pro- adoration. Bestdes, there are numerous passages which approve of the executions which princes carried out in the name of justice in order to keep the publ ic peace.

As for the sabbath, I know that some want to see it as a ceremonial commandment. But I accept it Las a safeguardl for pure morals. As for thelr referencej to cherubim, I would reply with Tertullian in his treatise On Idolatry, in which he addresses certain Chrlstian workers who saw nothing wrong with making images for pagans, saying: why then did Moses ln the desert make the 1tkeness of a serpent from purpose, not to set the law aside, but to be types, are in a separate category.'t That is to say, we must set aside those things which have been ordained for secret purposes.. And if that seems to argue against our point, then let us hear what Tertullan writes next: itotherwise, if we understand them to be against the law, are we not ascribing incon- stancy to God?!t It has been sald that one.can interpret a comandment by consider- 3ieus noul:pies s! a! le jo as 'a! smoliot pue sepeoead seym bu! worship them.'t worship and honor images which they do when they attribute to them what ought to be offered to God alone.

Now sacrifices, consecrattons of temples and the ike, and incense are due God. when, therefore, you offer these to the images of the saints you are offering them to foreign gods," when I reflect on it, I find nothing which the Gentiles offered their idois which is not being offered to images. It has been argued that the ancients thought that their Images were animated. I would re- spond that a few of the uncultivated among them held such a view, but the majority did not.

For example, there is Salnt Augustine's passage on Psalm 1l3 which contains the same excuses which people propose today and which shows thereby that no images existed tn the church and that peopie contented themselves with vessels Lonlyl. Lactantius in his book On False Reli- u!. s! oum wty oa peaasul seaasunok ssedppe aou no op kum:skes uoib heaven?tt Arnobius says the same.

'"sacrifice we owe [only] to God,

66 says Augustine in Contra Faustum, Book 20 [chap. 22]. [As for] incense, [itl is only one part lof sacrifice] and was something unheard of during the time of Tertullian, 'who says: iwe do not offer frankincense.'t The same is said of crowningstt which are conferred today according to the book De Corona Mi litis.

As for prostrations, I have held that there is a ltreligioustt rever- Saint Augustine ln his discusslon of dulia says that there are two forms of worship: one whtch is owed to God and another which is civil and owed to princes. Now why would a ttciviitt bow require the same toward images? It ts without order or reason.

I [furtherJ maintain that there are things chanted in the Church which are repugnant to God, such as [this one addressedl to the image of the Virgin: "Aithough not in everything, thou art everything. There is: Are another verse which.claims: ttRule according to your Motheris law."t these not, I ask, genuine forms of impiety and idolatry? uted to Saint Anthony of Padua, to Our Lady of Good News, and to others. It has been said that. the Iaw of nature does not prohibit Images. glory of the incorruptible Godt for itcorruptible things." As for what occurred at Bethel, no image was erected, rather only a testimony that Jacob had seen the vision of God.

are offering only an ttinterior adoration, not an "exteriorit one. But I argue, to the contrary, with origen in his Eighth Hcmily on Exodus 2o: terpret ito adoret in its proper sense and prohibit all honoring of images, whether tinterior" or 'texterior,!!

It has been said that anyone ignorant enough to worship images can- not help but say, t'Image, I worship you!!t Our opponents reply that they And that is why the poople, belng distracted by certain images, attach the Saint to the image.

crated, as is the Church's custom to do with wooden objects, when it is: called tthe cross of our hope.tt However, I acknowledge that. the sign of the cross is very old in the Church, and that the wooden cross fails somewhere between the sign and images. For this reason, the earliest. usage of the cross was sound, but as time has eiapsed' it has become. worse.

Nothing but the sign of the cross was practiced until the time of Constantine, who 1ived between the third and fourth centuries, and at

67 [supposedly in Jerusaleml and sent it to Constantine, he set it up in the forum. As for the nails, they say, she threw one into the sea; from a second she made a bridle for Constantine's horse; and the third was set in Constantine's diadem——— for which she was praised. we can only respond to thls, however, ln accordance with what the word of God shows concerning that raised serpent which was shattered by As for Theodoret's De Sacrificiis, I wouid hoid that the sacrifices sought to substitute these lawful sacrifices of God with signs and imi- tations of his works.

The tenth chapter of Acts and the twentieth of the Apocaiypse prove that neither saint Peter nor the angel ever found worship good. Some argue that Cornelius was a Gentile. But, on the contrary, he is called "retigious,'t and Saint Peter went to him to lead him to'the true Mes- siah. Cornellus was not accepted by saint, Peter because he prostrated himseif before him, for Peter had to rebuke him for that, but because what Cornel lus said surpassed what was required. Moreover, God's servants in Scripture never recelved the praise that was accorded princes.

Saint Augustine in Contra Faustum, Book 20, Chapter 2l says the same. similariy, the angei [in Reveiation] says: tti am your fellow servant. 1 worship God." Hence, I conclude that if the Images and other types.

As for the martyrs who have been interred under altars, Saint Augustine says in the passage cited above: we honor the martyrs by imitating them and having a share in their company.tt In Chapter 16 of his book On True Religion, where he is addressing Christlans instead of tion," not "worship." And of the angels he says: we honor them by loving, them, not by worshiping them."

In his On the Morals of the Catholic Church Augustine says that in his t ime there were worshipers of images and pictures——— both of whom he soundiy condemns. As for Salnt Basil, who teaches various things about the monastic 1ife, I cannot think of anything which he says that would contradict this.

Our opponents cite Saint Paul and Saint James on faith and works. But I wiil respond to this iater ln another context. There exists today the same kind of ignorant idolatry as existed irn ancient times. The Conci1 of Nicaea (A.D. 787l cannot be accepted Churches of Gaul and Germany belng present. At the Council of Frankfort the Popets ambassadors were present.

we ourselves remove images.

For Charlemagne, who prohibited their adoration, did not remove them, which resuited in our succumbing to idolatry.

68 As for our Confession, which they maintain was derived by our min- isters alone, everyone [presentl contributed his advice and concurred to adopt the testimony of the Holy Scriptures. Other Churches which have doctrine.

tiques the power Eto vote their consciencesj or one in which we are not guaranteed security, not withstanding the ordinance of the' Council of Constance, aithough it was made an appendice of the Council of Trent. Nor can I accept a councii unless it proceeds in accordance with the authority of scripture and operates free of prescrlptions. we do not despise the Church, nor have we separated ourselves from it. And if they should ask: itwhere has the church been since the in- troduction of images?tt I can reply: twhere was it during the time of Eii?tt I think that our Church has been in the hands of poor husbandmen, Indeed!

I I vice on the subject of prayer. The cr editors tell us oniy that. it was addressed to a Jean Paul Aiciatl. a member of the Italian [Reformed Church of Geneva, who was eventuaiiy implicated for hts invoivement in Valentine Gentilis's antitrinitarian movement.

Genti1is's movement was condemned jin september of 1558. Genti1ts, himself, was executed in Bern in 1566. Alclati repentedt of his errors.

Efor further informat ion Brothers, 1852),Vol. 11, pp. 263-274.)1 IRegarding the Name of God and Its Use ini Prayerl! [CR 38, co1s. 153-156] when we speak of God alone, without adding anything to his name, we ought to think of him in his pure essence as one sole God. when we speak of Jesus christ alone without ment loning the Father, we ought to percelve him as God manifest in the flesh. This Is because God has taken [onl our nature in order to iive in it as in his own when we speak of God and of Jesus Christ together, then we ought to Christ as Lord and Head, who has been ordained by the Father to rule over us and to have complete preeminence In his name. In any event, whenever we think of God or want to speak of him, we ought never occupy ourselves merely with his infinite essence. For this form of thinking Is dangerous, since human understanding becomes con- fused by it. Rather, we ought constantly return to Jesus christ, in wham the Father has revealed htmself to us.

69 when we speak of the Scriptures, we ought distinguish between the ceed from Jesus Christ, insofar as he has aiways been the supreme Angel and the principal ambassador through whom God communicates to men. passage] was said by Moses or that [one] by David, but simply that God said these things. This was due to the fact that Christ had not yet appeared at that time.

For this reason we ought readily bei ieve, in accordance with Saint Peterts teaching, that all the holy Prophets spoke by the spirit of Jesus Chrlst and, ln accordance with Saint paui's teachings, that he was Israel 's guide and that even the Law was given by his hand. Neverthe- less, following the accepted style of the Scriptures, when referring to things in the old Testament, we do not say that Jesus Christ said them through the mouth of Isaiah or Moses, but we say that God thus spoke or even-his Spirit [thus spokel.

with regard to the New Testament, there is another reason Ewhy we into the world the Father ordalned him to be our teacher and master for the purpose of declartng all truth to us. Hence, we shouid both regard and call him Author of all tnat the Apostles teach, as saint Paul him- self does.

As for prayers, whether we are invoking God alone without expressly mentioning Jesus christ, or are adding for God the Father to hear us by virtue of his Son (whom we present as our mediator), or are. even ad- dressing our prayer to him——— if we do not actually utter by mouth the name' of Jesus Christ, we ought to be thinking about it in our minds. Not because we are required at all times to entertatn the idea that we can only approach the Father by means of this advocate, but because we ought to possess at all times the fundamental and principal realization that our oniy access to God tn prayer consists in being brought before modate himself to our 1ittleness.

name of his Son, in doing so we ought. to keep in mind that our Lord Jesus, through the sacrifice of his death, has won the entrance for pre- senting us boldly to God, and that also now, by virtue of this sacri- fice, he intercedes for us, making it possible for our prayers to be acceptable to God and for us to obtaln our requests. Nor ought we imagine that Christ does this by making supplications on his knees in But let us be content to accept him as an advocate, the manner of men. E as one who carries the word In our name, and as one who receives our prayers in order to present them to God and to obtain a favorable audi- ence for us.

call upon him and iistens to us.

I say 'tfavorable, insofar as he grants us, by his grace, what we ask him. Consequently, the following ought to be the attitude of every Christlan who prays to God in the name of his Son: ttif I should be required to go before God without any guide

70 it is too high. But. because I have the promise of my savior, who holds my hand, my access to God becomes an easy matter.tt. But one might be tempted to ask: "fow is it that our Lord Jesus, who is God, Is able to intercede with God?tt For it would seem that he Is praying to himself, which Is contrary to reason. To avoid this conclusion, two considerations must be held in con- junction. The first is that, although there is only one sole God, there is nevertheless in this single Divinity the distinction between the contradictory about our praying to the Father in particular, or our ad- dressing ourselves explicitiy to him.

flesh in order to accomplish our redemption, intercedes for us as medl- ator and advocate in accordance with that nature which he shares in common with us. Hence, when we address our prayers to Jesus Christ, or ask him to go with us to the Father as our mediator, and thereby to pre- help us by virtue of his uniqueness as the one to whom ail power ts given, in whom all the fuliness of divinity dwells, and as the one able and godly.

I II The final document I want to read has to do with the emigrations which took place due to religious convictions. The cR editors inform us that the original copy is without title and was written down by Charles de Jonvilliers. No date is provided, but it portrays a deeply sensitive Calvin, who can empathize with ali those who were having to leave behind their spouse and children for the sake of faith. It is a brief and powerful piece and speaks for itself.

ton Emigrating for the Cause of Religion!!

[CR 38, co1s. 187-188] If a man, whose marriage has occurred under the tyranny of the that he is prevented from servtng God as fatthfully and purely as he ought, I would first of all advise him to win over his wife that she might be in accord with him. For since he is her head, it is right for him to lead her lnto the way of salvation lnsofar as he possibly can. For tnis reason it is improper for a christian man, under the shadow of following the gospel, to abandon his wife. Rather. 1et him strive by every means to draw her to our Lord esus ln order that both of them might obey him with a common accord. Indeed let him do so not. simply once, but let him continue [to draw herJ, even though he might find her hard and rebetiious. Further, let him do so unsparingiy; and, In making it his duty to teach and exhort her, let him ask God to touch her with his spirit, for such ls necessary, or all his labor will be in vain.

71 If one asks how.long a husband ought persevere tn this manner, I cannot assign a ·perlod. I can only advise him to proceed as worthily 1 ittle more and as much as God validates such effort. he abstains from all idolatry.

For in attempting to draw his wife to God he must not keep himseif aloof or separate.

Furthermore, once he has done all he can, if he cannot 1live truly in peace without having to participate in papal poliutions, but is con- strained to leave because of persecutton, threats. or other factors, he wife.

Nevertheless, aithough his departure wi11 not. include her leaving with him, let him attempt, while being absent, to bring her out of the God.. In doing so, no one wtl1 be able to reproach him if he: later seeks would, Justify him from turning aside from the service of God. Hence a sibly can.

when a man with children Is required to leave his country,.whether wlilingly or by force or in order to flee idolatry, I would'advise him to bring his children with him as (they representJ the better treasure which God has given him. For tf he leaves them, they wili be Immediate- iy.seized and heid tightly tn such captivity that he wii1 regret for. the rest.of his l ife that he left them behind.

Moreover,' his leaving will not protect them or their goods, unless not do. For if he does, he will make them captives until they are twenty five.

Further,' even tf their appointed tutor should be of the highest integrity, what could he dare attempt? And what authority wouid he have for seliing or exchangtng anythlng? And, provided the man is account- able, he may even have difficuity transferring annual revenues to the father.

In brief, whoever thusly commits his goods under the name of his will be unabie to extricate themselves from such an abyss, even if they should want to.

72 "tAnswer to the question concerning various ecclesiastical ritualstt There is none of our people who is unaware of how useful jt is to join some important promise to a public confession, which encourages would cause offence because of its novelty, I have been rather hesitant to go aiong with it. Accordingly, we have not done it. Now indeed, it instead prefer that your people become accustomed to both aspects (of the truth) during your public recitation.

In the administration of the Lord's Supper, I am accustomed to us- ing certain words of Paul, but because some do not want repetition, 1est it create a longer delay, I have chosen to stop using them (for if while more people go over the same recitation, scarcely one-tenth understand what I desire, no one has perceived the meaning of the exerclse). More- over, it would please us greatly for the Lord's supper to be celebrated every month, or at any rate to have a more frequent usage to avoid neg- 1igence (of the sacrament). For when the greater part abstain from Communion, the church is somehow dissipated. we prefer, nevertheless, for the church to be lnvited to Communion every month, rather than only when I first came here, four times a year——— as is the custom among us.

it was not distributed but three times a year, and indeed seven whole Every month was 'what. I wanted, but since I was not sufficientiy per- suasive, "t seemed better to pardon the infirmity of the people than to wage war with them. I was careful, however, to have our defective prac- tice recorded tn the pubiic acts so that ft might be corrected more easily and freely in later times.

How many and serious reasons persuade one to judge that Communion shouid:not be negiected for the 'sick. But instead I see a tendency in many to have fallen into abuse, who quletly and prudently should have been taking Communion. Indeed, uniess there be communication, one is wrongiy led astray from the sacred institution of christ. Therefore, it iltar, and neighbouring members in order to distribute Cammunion in ac——— cordance with the command of Christ. Then let an explanat ion be joined together with the action of the sacramental mystery that there be no diversity from the order of church Communion. But it is very dangerous care lest it stir up others to seek superstitton, ambition, and vain choice, in order that it not be done differently from the way it is done in normal life. Just as it was perverse to carry the sacred bread out of the church, so it is in no way tolerable to be carried around pomp- ously. Farewell, most excellent men and honoured brethren. May the Lord watch over, guide and bless you forever. From Geneva 12 Aug. 156l. (Translated by Douglas Ke1ly)