CALVIN AT THE SYNOD OF BERNE.
(SEPTEMBER, 1537.)
This was not the only triumph which Calvin achieved, nor the only synod
of Berne in which he took part. Keen debates were at that time going
on in the evangelical Churches of Switzerland. They had gradually
arisen after the disaster of Cappel in 1531. In the canton of Soleure
the Reformation had indeed been crushed by the intervention of the
Catholics, although the majority in the country and a minority in
the town were Protestants. But other cantons had remained faithful
to the Reform. In Bullinger, Zurich had found a worthy successor to
Zwingli; and Oswald Myconius happily filled the place of the amiable
Œcolampadius at Basel. Berne, not satisfied with having adopted the
Reformation herself, eagerly promoted its establishment everywhere.
The great question which was then under discussion was this--Should
the Swiss Churches unite themselves with the Lutheran Churches or not?
Bucer, at Strasburg, warmly advocated the union; and the magistrates,
above all those of Berne, were not at all opposed to it. They had
political skill enough to perceive that the Church of the Reformation,
then so formidably threatened, had need to combine its whole forces.
The pastors of Berne, Haller, Megander, and Kolb, were desirous of
extending a friendly hand to Luther; but those free Swiss, disciples
and friends of Zwingli, disliked the equivocal formulæ of Bucer. The
Zuricher Megander, in particular, a learned professor and an eloquent
preacher, but of rash character, violent and somewhat domineering,
designated by his opponents the _ape of Zwingli_,[528] had set himself
the task of maintaining at Berne the theology of the Zurich reformer.
As Haller and Kolb were then enfeebled by age and ill-health, Megander
exercised a powerful influence over the country pastors; and the
magistrates themselves, aware of his abilities, committed to his hands
the most important affairs. The Zurichers had drawn up a confession on
the Lord’s supper in conformity with Bucer’s wishes. Basel, St. Gall,
and Schaffhausen had approved it; but Megander induced his colleagues
to reject it. The French diplomatists also, who were anxious to obtain
the assistance of the Swiss and German Protestants against Charles
V., said--‘All the Swiss towns agree with Luther except these Bernese
blockheads, who walk backwards like crabs, and stick obstinately to an
opinion which they cannot possibly defend.’[529]
[Sidenote: THE ZWINGLIANS AT BERNE.]
The Bernese magistrates, however, were not willing to break with their
allies. The war against Savoy, which they had undertaken in 1536,
for the defence of Geneva and the occupation of the Pays de Vaud,
had convinced them of the need of their support. Consequently, they
sent delegates to the four colloquies which were held that same year
at Basel, to take into consideration the agreement with the doctors
of Wittenberg. But the council, so far from breaking with Megander,
put him at the head of these theologians. So the confession which was
prepared at the first of these colloquies, in January 1536 (the second
conference of Basel and the first of Switzerland,) when speaking of
eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ, added that this
took place only in a spiritual sense. This displeased Bucer. The
Zwinglians, in turn, called him ‘a doubled-faced man,’ and said that
this pretended peacemaker brought division into the Helvetic Churches.
It was to no purpose that his defence was undertaken by Myconius, who,
since 1532, had presided as overseer of the Church at Basel, and the
learned professor Grynæus. The Zwinglian party would not hear a word
about an agreement with the _Strasburg trimmer_. Various circumstances
occurred to bring about a change in this state of things. The Swiss
and the Bernese themselves were touched by the beautiful letter which
Luther had written to the burgomaster of Basel, in which he spoke
approvingly of the confession drawn up in that city. The aged Kolb,
pastor of Berne, had died at the end of 1535; and on February 25,
1536, Haller also had passed into the unseen world. A great change
then took place in Berne. Kunz, a man of a very different spirit from
Zwingli and Haller, became pastor in the place of Kolb. Having studied
at Wittenberg, he was a passionate admirer of Luther and of his
doctrine. Of ardent temperament, Kunz longed to promote the triumph of
his master’s doctrine, and so much the more as he was his inferior in
respect to the living faith of the Gospel. Sebastian Meyer, a former
Franciscan, who from the beginning of his ministry had been remarkable
for the violence of his discourses, and who was a friend of Bucer, had
taken the place of Haller. The council had probably been influenced in
the election of these men by the Strasburg doctors, with whose projects
the members were more and more pleased. Thus it seemed likely that in
Berne the Lutheran party would succeed the Zwinglian. The new pastors,
however, did not immediately set up their claim; they rather applied
themselves to the preparation of men’s minds, and their conquests
were very numerous, especially among politicians. But Megander, the
inflexible Zwinglian, still kept the upper hand; and it was he who
spoke in the name of Berne in the Swiss assemblies. Bucer, doubtless,
had him in mind when he complained to Luther ‘of those untractable
heads which are found in Switzerland, which for every trifle make so
much ado.’[530]
[Sidenote: A PATCHED-UP PEACE.]
The new pastors of Berne, encouraged by their friends abroad, threw
off the restraint which they had at first imposed on their speech.
Sebastian Meyer, in particular, giving way to his natural disposition,
thoroughly headlong and incautious, taught publicly that in the supper
the body of Christ is truly eaten and his blood truly drunk, but took
care to add, _by faith_. Kunz supported him. The conflict thus began.
Megander and Erasmus Ritter started up to oppose this doctrine; and
Meyer did not hesitate to say in the colloquies that the doctrine of
the supper had never been rightly taught in the canton of Berne. The
Bernese council convoked a synod, at which three hundred ministers
of the German and French cantons of Switzerland were present. Meyer,
together with Kunz, vividly depicted the evils which would be involved
in a rejection of the agreement. Erasmus Ritter, with Megander, replied
that an agreement was certainly very much to be desired, but that the
truth must not be sacrificed to it. The Zwinglian party had the best
of it. They agreed to stand by the second confession of Basel, and to
avoid the use of terms which gave origin to the disputes; such as,
_corporal_, _real_, _natural_, _supernatural_, _invisible_, _carnal_,
_miraculous_, _inexpressible presence_. But this patched-up peace was
of short duration. The secret correspondence between Bucer and Luther
having been published, the Zwinglians were scandalized, people’s minds
were thrown into agitation, and the edifice of concord, which they had
toiled to rear, threatened to crumble away. Bucer then applied to the
council of Berne, and requested it to convoke a synod at which he might
be allowed to vindicate himself. ‘This whole business of the supper,’
said he, ‘is a mere dispute about words, but it is of the utmost
importance to put an end to it; and I appeal to the justice of the
Bernese magistrates, who cannot allow a man, whoever he may be, to be
condemned before he is heard.’ Another synod was consequently convoked
at Berne, for the month of September.[531]
Everybody was aware of the importance of this assembly. Bucer and
Capito arrived in the city, provided with a letter of introduction
from the magistrates of Strasburg, and accompanied by two theologians
from Basel, Myconius and Grynæus, who though sincerely adhering to
the reformed party, earnestly desired the union. Almost at the same
time, three ministers from the French cantons, who had been specially
invited, entered Berne; they were Calvin, Farel, and Viret. Those who
knew that at Geneva they allowed neither unleavened bread nor baptismal
fonts, nor the feasts and rites to which the Lutherans were strongly
attached, could entertain no doubt that these bold champions would
take the side of the Zwinglians. The pastors of the canton of Berne
were represented only by delegates of classes. The government, fearing
lest the spirit of discord should mar the meeting, requested Bucer
and Capito to confine themselves to their own justification, and not
to meddle with other matters. They were not even permitted to preach,
except on condition that they did not introduce disputed topics in
the pulpit. The assembly met at the Town Hall, in the presence of the
two councils of the republic, and under the presidency of the mayor
(_Schultheiss_) de Watteville. After the customary formalities, this
magistrate invited the Strasburgers to begin. ‘Union in matters which
concern the glory of God and the benefit of the Church,’ said Bucer,
‘is already established in a great number of kingdoms, duchies, and
principalities; and the churches of the Swiss confederation form almost
the only exception, it is thus that Satan opposes the kingdom of God.
Yes, it is to Satan that are owing those suspicions which are prevalent
respecting the agreement which we are striving to bring about. We
demand that passion should be silenced, and that God should be regarded
rather than men. You have lent one ear to calumny, lend the other now
to the voice of truth. If you condemn us, you will condemn many other
Churches, and particularly that Church whose representatives met at
Smalcalde, and which includes within its pale many learned and pious
men.’ Bucer next, desirous of clearing himself from the reproaches
which had been addressed to him, pointed out that Zwingli and Luther
had set out from two different points of view; Zwingli striving to keep
as far away as possible from the Roman dogma of transubstantiation,
and Luther endeavoring to maintain that there is nevertheless some kind
of real presence in the bread. In making afterwards his own confession
of faith, he said, ‘No, the bread and the wine are not mere signs;
the presence of Christ by faith is not a mere logical presence, not
imaginary, such as that which I have when I say, for instance, that I
now see my wife at Strasburg.[532] Faith requires something higher than
that. When I say with you, Christ is present in a celestial manner,
and with Luther, Christ is present in an essential manner, I express
fundamentally one and the same faith.’ On the following day, Capito
coming to the support of his colleague, preached a sermon in which he
endeavored to show that Zwingli and Œcolampadius were in agreement with
Luther. They were so on the essential point of seeking and finding in
the supper a true communion with the Saviour.
[Sidenote: BUCER’S VIEWS.]
Megander had been charged with the duty of speaking on behalf of the
synod. Brevity and moderation had been recommended, lest any imprudent
word should give rise to a dispute. For him this task was not an easy
one. In fact, the next day he attacked Bucer and Capito with some
vehemence, upbraiding them for being with Luther rather than with the
Swiss, and with having, in other places, signed _certain acts_ which
the Swiss could not sign. ‘I have,’ said he, in drawing to a close,
‘some letters in which Bucer is spoken of. However, I think better
of him than those letters, and I should be pleased if we could agree
with him.’ Unhappily, they were far enough from such agreement. The
discussion grew warm. ‘You teach children in your catechism,’ said
Bucer, ‘to receive a sign in the supper, without reminding them of the
thing signified.’ ‘How then,’ exclaimed some of the Bernese ministers,
‘can you pretend that we hold the same faith?’ ‘Let Bucer speak,’
said Megander; ‘we will reply to him in the afternoon.’ But, in that
afternoon sitting, Bucer began anew to discourse to the Swiss about the
sacrament. ‘Enough of these homilies,’ said Megander, impatiently. ‘You
shut our mouths,’ said Bucer. ‘Let all those,’ said Megander, ‘who have
anything to say speak freely.’ But not one of the Bernese pastors rose.
A good understanding seemed impossible. The leaders on both sides
were angry and provoked each other. The vessel of concord, built by
the careful toil of the pastors of Strasburg, was violently tossed
and was going to founder in the Helvetic waters. Disagreeing in
doctrine, said one of those who were present on this occasion, there
was nothing between them but debate, a deadly plague in a Church. Where
were they to find the last plank, the desperate resource for escape
from shipwreck? They must founder, or be saved as if by miracle. A
young man, of only eight-and-twenty, but known for his love of the
Holy Scriptures and his slight respect for tradition, was sorrowfully
contemplating these discussions. It was John Calvin, he who called the
discussions ‘a deadly plague’ for the Church. His convictions were free
and spontaneous. They did not proceed, as with others, from a desire
for compromise, but from a perception of what is the essence of the
faith. He would not at any price have sought some expedient for the
union of minds by a sacrifice of truth. But he knew by experience the
power of the Holy Spirit; and he was the man called to stand between
the two armies, to get the sword returned to its sheath, and to found
unity and peace.
[Sidenote: INTERVENTION OF CALVIN.]
We almost hesitate to report his words, because they will be difficult
to comprehend. He spoke, for the faithful, of a complete union with
Christ, even with his flesh and his blood, and nevertheless of a
union which is effected only by the Spirit. Calvin’s speech was of
so much importance that we cannot think of suppressing it. Vulgar
minds insist on comprehending everything as they do the working of a
steam-engine; but the greatest minds have acknowledged the reality
of the incomprehensible. Descartes said that ‘in order to attain a
true idea of the infinite, it is not in any sense to be comprehended,
inasmuch as incomprehensibility itself is contained in the formal
definition of the infinite.’ ‘Infinity is everywhere, and consequently
incomprehensibility likewise,’ said Nicole.[533] The Christian
however comprehends to a certain extent the mystery which we are now
considering, and above all he experiences its reality. ‘If, as the
Scriptures clearly testify,’ said Calvin at the synod of Berne (1537),
‘the flesh of Christ is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed, it
follows that if we seek life in Christ, we must be thereby veritably
fed. The spiritual life which Christ gives us consists not only in his
making us alive by his Spirit, but in his rendering us, by the power of
his Spirit, partakers of his life-giving flesh, and by means of this
participation, nourishing us for eternal life.[534] Therefore, when we
speak of the communion which the faithful have with Christ, we teach
that they receive the communication of his body and his blood, no less
than that of his Spirit, so that they possess Christ wholly.
‘It is true that our Lord has gone up on high, and that his local
presence has thus been withdrawn from us. But this fact does not
invalidate our assertion, and that local presence is by no means
necessary here. So long as we are pilgrims on the earth, we are not
contained in the same place with him. But there is no obstacle to the
efficacy of the Spirit; he can collect and unite elements existing
in far separated places. The Spirit is the means by which we are
partakers of Christ. That Spirit nourishes us with the flesh and the
blood of the Lord, and thus quickens us for immortality. Christ offers
this communion under the symbols of bread and wine to all those who
celebrate the supper aright and in accordance with his institution.’
Such was Calvin’s speech. ‘I embrace as orthodox,’ said Bucer, ‘this
view of our excellent brothers Calvin, Farel, and Viret. I never held
that Christ was locally present in the holy supper.[535] He has a real
finite body, and that body remains in the celestial glory. But in
raising us by faith to heaven, the bread which we eat and the cup which
we drink are for us the communication of his body and his blood.’
Calvin wrote down his view. Bucer appended to it the words last
reported. Capito signed them. Bucer even succeeded, by dint of
moderation and kindliness, in _taming_ Kunz; and the latter showed
in this instance some goodwill. ‘But,’ said Calvin at a later time,
‘that single moment was soon past, and he became worse than himself.’
The synod acknowledged the Strasburgers as justified, as faithful,
as Christians, and their confession of faith as not in any respect
contrary to the Helvetic confessions. Megander was invited to modify
his catechism to a small extent so far as it treated of the doctrine
of the supper, and this he agreed to do. The deputies of the pastors
of the canton went to the hostelry where Bucer and Capito lodged, and
requested their co-operation in putting an end to the difficulties
which existed between the ministers of the city. The council itself
exhorted these pastors to concord and peace. Such was the force of
the speech of a single man, that at the moment when the waves were in
stormiest agitation, there was suddenly a great calm.
God was in the midst of us, said one of the attendants. The divine
power had employed the speech of the reformer to appease the tumult and
establish agreement and unity.[536]