Helvetic Consensus
Encyclopedia
The Helvetic Consensus is a Swiss Reformed symbol drawn up in 1675 to guard against doctrines taught at the French
Academy of Saumur
, especially Amyraldism
.
and reprobation
by the Synod of Dort
(1618-1619) occasioned a reaction in France
, where the Protestants lived surrounded by Roman Catholics. Moise Amyraut, professor at Saumur, taught that the atonement of Jesus
was hypothetically universal
rather than particular and definite
. His colleague, Louis Cappel
, denied the verbal inspiration
of the Hebrew
text of the Old Testament
, and Josué de la Place
rejected the immediate imputation of Adam's sin as arbitrary and unjust.
The famous and flourishing school of Saumur came to be looked upon with increasing mistrust as the seat of heterodoxy
, especially by the Swiss, who were in the habit of sending students there. The first impulse to attack the new doctrine came from Geneva, seat of historical Calvinism
. In 1635 Friedrich Spanheim
wrote against Amyraut, whom the clergy of Paris
tried to defend. In course of time the heresy of Amyraut gained ground in Geneva. In 1649, Alexander Morus
, the successor of Spanheim, but suspected of belonging to the liberal party, was compelled by the magistrates of Geneva to subscribe to a series of articles in the form of theses and antitheses, the first germ of the Formula consensus. His place was taken by Philippe Mestrezat
, and later by Louis Tronchin, both inclined toward the liberal tendency of France, while Francis Turretin
defended the orthodox system. Mestrezat induced the Council of Geneva to take a moderate stand point in the article on election, but the other cantons of Switzerland
objected to this new tendency and threatened to stop sending their pupils to Geneva.
The Council of Geneva submitted and peremptorily demanded from all candidates subscription to the older articles. But the conservative elements were not satisfied, and the idea occurred to them to stop the further spread of such novelties by establishing a formula obligatory upon all teachers and preachers. After considerable discussion between Lucas Gernler of Basel, Hummel of Bern, Ott of Schaffhausen
, Johann Heinrich Heidegger
of Zurich
, and others, the last mentioned was charged with drawing up the formula. In the beginning of 1675, Heidegger's Latin draft was communicated to the ministers of Zurich; and in the course of the year it received very general adoption, and almost everywhere was added as an appendix and exposition to the Helvetic Confession.
after the revocation of the edict of Nantes
, it was ordered that all who intended to preach must sign the Consensus without reservation. An address of the great elector of Brandenburg
to the Reformed cantons, in which, in consideration of the dangerous position of Protestantism and the need of a union of all Evangelicals, he asked for a nullification of the separating formula, brought it about that the signature was not demanded in Basel after 1686, and it was also dropped in Schaffhausen
and later (1706) in Geneva, while Zurich and Bern retained it.
Meanwhile the whole tendency of the time had changed. Secular science
stepped into the foreground. The practical, ethical side of Christianity began to gain a dominating influence. Rationalism
and Pietism
undermined the foundations of the old orthodoxy
. An agreement between the liberal and conservative parties was temporarily attained insofar that it was decided that the Consensus was not to be regarded as a rule of faith, but only as a norm of teaching. In 1722 Prussia
and England
applied to the respective magistracies of the Swiss cantons for the abolition of the formula for the sake of the unity and peace of the Protestant Churches. The reply was somewhat evasive, but, though the formula was never formally abolished, it gradually fell entirely into disuse.
Attribution
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Academy of Saumur
Academy of Saumur
The Academy of Saumur was a Huguenot university at Saumur in western France. It existed from 1593, when it was founded by Philippe de Mornay, until shortly after 1683, when Louis XIV decided on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, ending the limited toleration of Protestantism in...
, especially Amyraldism
Amyraldism
Amyraldism primarily refers to a modified form of Calvinist theology...
.
Origin
The strict and uncompromising definition of the doctrines of electionPredestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
and reprobation
Reprobation
Reprobation, in Christian theology, is a corollary to the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional election which derives that some of mankind are predestined by God for salvation. Therefore, the remainder are left bound to their fallen nature and certain damnation. This same state of unbelief is...
by the Synod of Dort
Synod of Dort
The Synod of Dort was a National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618-1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on November 13, 1618, and the final meeting, the 154th, was on May 9, 1619...
(1618-1619) occasioned a reaction in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where the Protestants lived surrounded by Roman Catholics. Moise Amyraut, professor at Saumur, taught that the atonement of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was hypothetically universal
Universal atonement
Universal atonement may refer to two subtly but significantly different concepts:*unlimited atonement, the Christian doctrine that Jesus died for the sake of all people, making salvation available for all; the doctrine is generally associated with Jacobus Arminius.*universal reconciliation, the...
rather than particular and definite
Limited atonement
Limited atonement is a doctrine in Christian theology which is particularly associated with the Reformed tradition and is one of the five points of Calvinism...
. His colleague, Louis Cappel
Louis Cappel
Louis Cappel was a French Protestant churchman and scholar.-Life:Cappel, a Huguenot, was born at St Elier, near Sedan. He studied theology at the Academy of Sedan and the Academy of Saumur, and Arabic at the University of Oxford, where he spent two years...
, denied the verbal inspiration
Biblical inspiration
Biblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology that the authors and editors of the Bible were led or influenced by God with the result that their writings many be designated in some sense the word of God.- Etymology :...
of the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
text of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, and Josué de la Place
Josué de la Place
Josué de la Place was a French theologian who was born at Saumur. He became pastor at Nantes in 1625 and was professor of theology at the Academy of Saumur from 1633 till his death....
rejected the immediate imputation of Adam's sin as arbitrary and unjust.
The famous and flourishing school of Saumur came to be looked upon with increasing mistrust as the seat of heterodoxy
Heterodoxy
Heterodoxy is generally defined as "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". As an adjective, heterodox is commonly used to describe a subject as "characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards"...
, especially by the Swiss, who were in the habit of sending students there. The first impulse to attack the new doctrine came from Geneva, seat of historical Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. In 1635 Friedrich Spanheim
Friedrich Spanheim
Friedrich Spanheim the elder was a Calvinistic theology professor at the University of Leiden.-Life:He entered in 1614 the University of Heidelberg where he studied philology and philosophy, and in 1619 removed to Geneva to study theology...
wrote against Amyraut, whom the clergy of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
tried to defend. In course of time the heresy of Amyraut gained ground in Geneva. In 1649, Alexander Morus
Alexander Morus
Alexander Morus was a Franco-Scottish Calvinist preacher.-Biography:...
, the successor of Spanheim, but suspected of belonging to the liberal party, was compelled by the magistrates of Geneva to subscribe to a series of articles in the form of theses and antitheses, the first germ of the Formula consensus. His place was taken by Philippe Mestrezat
Philippe Mestrezat
-Life:He studied theology at the Geneva Academy, and became a pastor in 1644. He was nephew of Jean Mestrezat, pastor at Charenton.He was chosen as successor at Geneva to Alexander Morus; but in doctrinal terms shared the sympathy of Morus for the doctrines of the Saumur Academy. His views were...
, and later by Louis Tronchin, both inclined toward the liberal tendency of France, while Francis Turretin
Francis Turretin
Francis Turretin was a Swiss-Italian Protestant theologian.Turretin is especially known as a zealous opponent of the theology of the Academy of Saumur , as an earnest defender of the Calvinistic orthodoxy represented by the Synod of Dort, and as one of the authors of the Helvetic...
defended the orthodox system. Mestrezat induced the Council of Geneva to take a moderate stand point in the article on election, but the other cantons of Switzerland
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
objected to this new tendency and threatened to stop sending their pupils to Geneva.
The Council of Geneva submitted and peremptorily demanded from all candidates subscription to the older articles. But the conservative elements were not satisfied, and the idea occurred to them to stop the further spread of such novelties by establishing a formula obligatory upon all teachers and preachers. After considerable discussion between Lucas Gernler of Basel, Hummel of Bern, Ott of Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....
, Johann Heinrich Heidegger
Johann Heinrich Heidegger
Johann Heinrich Heidegger , Swiss theologian, was born at Bäretswil, in the Canton of Zürich.He studied at Marburg and at Heidelberg, where he became the friend of Johann Friedrich Fabriciuss, and was appointed professor extraordinarius of Hebrew and later of philosophy...
of Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, and others, the last mentioned was charged with drawing up the formula. In the beginning of 1675, Heidegger's Latin draft was communicated to the ministers of Zurich; and in the course of the year it received very general adoption, and almost everywhere was added as an appendix and exposition to the Helvetic Confession.
Content
The Consensus consists of a preface and twenty-six canons, and states clearly the difference between strict Calvinism and the school of Saumur.- Canons i-iii treat of divine inspirationBiblical inspirationBiblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology that the authors and editors of the Bible were led or influenced by God with the result that their writings many be designated in some sense the word of God.- Etymology :...
, and the preservation of the ScripturesBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. - Canons iv-vi relate to electionUnconditional electionUnconditional election is the Calvinist teaching that before God created the world, he chose to save some people according to his own purposes and apart from any conditions related to those persons...
and predestinationPredestinationPredestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
. - Canons vii-ix attempt to show that man was originally created holy, and that obedience to law would have led him to eternal life.
- Canons x-xii reject La Place's doctrine of a mediate imputation of the sin of Adam.
- Canons xiii-xvi treat of the particular destination of Christ&mdsash;as he from eternity was elected head, master, and heir of those that are saved through him, so in time he became mediator for those who are granted to him as his own by eternal election.
- Canons xvii-xx state that the call to election has referred at different times to smaller and larger circles
- Canons xxi-xxiii define the total incapacityTotal depravityTotal depravity is a theological doctrine that derives from the Augustinian concept of original sin...
of man to believe in the Gospel by his own powers as natural, not only moral, so that he could believe if he only tried. - Canons xxiii-xxv state that there are only two ways of justificationJustification (theology)Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
before GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and consequently a twofold covenantCovenant (religion)In Abrahamic religions, a covenant is a formal alliance or agreement made by God with that religious community or with humanity in general. This sort of covenant is an important concept in Judaism and Christianity, derived in the first instance from the biblical covenant tradition.An example of a...
of God, namely the covenant of the works for man in the state of innocence, and the covenant through the obedience of Christ for fallen man. The final canon admonishes to cling firmly to the pure and simple doctrine and avoid vain talk.
Later history
Although the Helvetic Consensus was introduced everywhere in the Reformed Church of Switzerland, it could not long hold its position, as it was a product of the reigning scholasticism. At first, circumspection and tolerance were shown at the enforcement of its signature, but as soon as many French preachers sought positions in VaudVaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
after the revocation of the edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
, it was ordered that all who intended to preach must sign the Consensus without reservation. An address of the great elector of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
to the Reformed cantons, in which, in consideration of the dangerous position of Protestantism and the need of a union of all Evangelicals, he asked for a nullification of the separating formula, brought it about that the signature was not demanded in Basel after 1686, and it was also dropped in Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....
and later (1706) in Geneva, while Zurich and Bern retained it.
Meanwhile the whole tendency of the time had changed. Secular science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
stepped into the foreground. The practical, ethical side of Christianity began to gain a dominating influence. Rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
and Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
undermined the foundations of the old orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
. An agreement between the liberal and conservative parties was temporarily attained insofar that it was decided that the Consensus was not to be regarded as a rule of faith, but only as a norm of teaching. In 1722 Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
applied to the respective magistracies of the Swiss cantons for the abolition of the formula for the sake of the unity and peace of the Protestant Churches. The reply was somewhat evasive, but, though the formula was never formally abolished, it gradually fell entirely into disuse.
External links
Attribution