Irenicism
Encyclopedia
Irenicism in Christian theology
refers to attempts to unify Christian apologetical systems by using reason
as an essential attribute. The word derives from the Greek
eirene meaning peace
. It is a concept related to natural theology
, and opposed to polemicism or war-like argumentation, and rooted in the ideals of pacifism
. Those who affiliate themselves with irenicism identify the importance of unity in the Christian church, and declare the common bond between all Christians under Christ
.
was a Christian humanist and reformer, in the sense of checking clerical abuses, honoring inner piety
, considering reason as meaningful in theology as in other ways. He also promoted the notion that Christianity must remain under one church, both theologically and literally; under the body of the Roman Catholic Church
. Since his time, irenicism has postulated removing conflicts between different Christian creeds by way of mediation and gradual amalgamation of theological differences. Erasmus wrote extensively on topics related generally to peace, and an irenic approach is part of the texture of his thought, both on theology and in relation to politics:
Certain important irenic contributions from Erasmus helped to further the humanist consideration of themes of peace religious conciliation; these included the Inquisitio de fide (1524), arguing against the papal opinion that Martin Luther
was a heretic, and De sarcienda ecclesiae concordia (1533). Erasmus had close associates sharing his views (Julius von Pflug
, Christoph von Stadion
, and Jakob Ziegler), and was followed on the Catholic side by George Cassander
and Georg Witzel
.
The influence of Erasmus was, however, limited, by the virtual exclusion of his works from countries such as France, from 1525, at least in the open; though they did appear in numerous forms and translations. James Hutton speaks of "the surreptitious manner in which Erasmus' peace propaganda reached the French public".
Franciscus Junius
published in 1593 Le paisible Chrestien arguing for religious tolerance. He addressed Philip II of Spain
, using arguments taken from the French politique
statesman Michel de l'Hôpital
and reformer Sebastian Castellio
.
's efforts to reunite Catholics and Protestants, is in some ways a forerunner to the more modern ecumenical movements.
The 1589 Examen pacifique de la doctrine des Huguenots by Henry Constable
proved influential, for example on Christopher Potter
and William Forbes
. Richard Montagu
admired Cassander and Andreas Fricius. The 1628 Syllabus aliquot synodorum was a bibliography of the literature of religious concord, compiled by Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul
decades earlier, and seen into print by Hugo Grotius
using the pseudonym Theodosius Irenaeus, with a preface by Matthias Bernegger
.
It was typical enough, however, for moderate and even irenical writers on the Catholic side to find in this period that their arguments were turned back against Catholicism. This style of arguing developed in England from Thomas Bell
and particularly Thomas Morton
. It led to Thomas James
mining Marcantonio de Dominis and Paolo Sarpi
, and making efforts to claim Witzel for the Protestant tradition; to the arguments of Gallicanism
being welcomed but also treated as particularly insidious; and an irenist such as Francis a Sancta Clara being attacked strongly by firm Calvinists. The handful of Protestant writers who were convinced in their irenic approach to Catholics included William Covell
and Thomas Dove.
thought that the Bible translation he commissioned might effect some reconciliation between the English Protestant religious factions, and prove an irenicon. The Greek ἐιρηνικόν (eirenikon) or peace proposal is also seen as irenicum in its Latin version.
An irenic literature developed, relating to divisions within Protestantism, particularly in the twenty years after the Peace of Westphalia
. Examples marked out by title are:
John Forbes
, Irenicum Amatoribus Veritatis et Pacis in Ecclesia Scotiana (Aberdeen, 1629)
Jeremiah Burroughs
, Irenicum (1653)
John Dury
, Irenicum: in quo casus conscientiæ inter ecclesias evangelicas pacis, breviter proponuntur & decidunter (1654)
Daniel Zwicker
, Irenicum irenicorum (1658)
Edward Stillingfleet
, Irenicum: A Weapon Salve for the Church's Wounds (1659 and 1661)
Matthew Newcomen
. Irenicum; or, An essay towards a brotherly peace & union, between those of the congregational and presbyterian way (1659)
Moses Amyraut
, Irenicum sive de ratione pacis in religionis negotio inter Evangelicos (1662)
Samuel Mather, Irenicum: or an Essay for Union (1680)
Isaac Newton
wrote an Irenicum (unpublished manuscript); it supported a latitudinarian
position in theology, derived from a review of church history.
It is in that light that he comments on the irenists' succession: Erasmus, Cassander, Jacob Acontius
, Grotius, then John Dury, who spent much time on a proposed reconciliation of Lutherans and Calvinists.
.
False irenicism or false eirenism is expression used in certain 20th-century documents of the Catholic Church to criticize attempts at ecumenism that would allow Catholic doctrine to be distorted or clouded. Documents using the term include the encyclical Humani Generis
, promulgated by Pope Pius XII
in 1950, and the Second Vatican Council
's 1964 Decree on Ecumenism
, Unitatis Redintegratio
.
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
refers to attempts to unify Christian apologetical systems by using reason
Reason
Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, language, ...
as an essential attribute. The word derives from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
eirene meaning peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
. It is a concept related to natural theology
Natural theology
Natural theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience. Thus it is distinguished from revealed theology which is based on scripture and religious experiences of various kinds; and also from transcendental theology, theology from a priori reasoning.Marcus Terentius Varro ...
, and opposed to polemicism or war-like argumentation, and rooted in the ideals of pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
. Those who affiliate themselves with irenicism identify the importance of unity in the Christian church, and declare the common bond between all Christians under Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
.
Erasmus and his influence
Desiderius ErasmusDesiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
was a Christian humanist and reformer, in the sense of checking clerical abuses, honoring inner piety
Piety
In spiritual terminology, piety is a virtue that can mean religious devotion, spirituality, or a combination of both. A common element in most conceptions of piety is humility.- Etymology :...
, considering reason as meaningful in theology as in other ways. He also promoted the notion that Christianity must remain under one church, both theologically and literally; under the body of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Since his time, irenicism has postulated removing conflicts between different Christian creeds by way of mediation and gradual amalgamation of theological differences. Erasmus wrote extensively on topics related generally to peace, and an irenic approach is part of the texture of his thought, both on theology and in relation to politics:
Despite the frequency and severity of polemics directed against him, Erasmus continued ... to practice a kind of discourse that is critical and ironic, yet modest and irenic.
Certain important irenic contributions from Erasmus helped to further the humanist consideration of themes of peace religious conciliation; these included the Inquisitio de fide (1524), arguing against the papal opinion that Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
was a heretic, and De sarcienda ecclesiae concordia (1533). Erasmus had close associates sharing his views (Julius von Pflug
Julius von Pflug
Julius von Pflug was the last Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Naumburg from 1542 until his death. He was one of the most significant reformers involved with the Protestant Reformation....
, Christoph von Stadion
Christoph von Stadion
Christoph von Stadion was Prince-Bishop of Augsburg from 1517 to 1543.-Biography:Christoph von Stadion was born in Schelklingen in March 1478, the son of Nikolaus von Stadion and his wife Agatha von Gültlingen . In 1490, he began his studies at the University of Tübingen, receiving a bachelor's...
, and Jakob Ziegler), and was followed on the Catholic side by George Cassander
George Cassander
George Cassander was a Flemish theologian.-Life:Born at Pittem near Bruges, he went at an early age to Leuven. He was teaching theology and literature in 1541 at Bruges and shortly afterwards at Ghent...
and Georg Witzel
Georg Witzel
Georg Witzel was a German theologian.-Life:He received his primary and academic education in the schools of Schmalkalden, Eisenach, and Halle; spent two years in the University of Erfurt, and seven months in the University of Wittenberg...
.
The influence of Erasmus was, however, limited, by the virtual exclusion of his works from countries such as France, from 1525, at least in the open; though they did appear in numerous forms and translations. James Hutton speaks of "the surreptitious manner in which Erasmus' peace propaganda reached the French public".
Franciscus Junius
Franciscus Junius (the elder)
Franciscus Junius , also known as Francis Junius, Franz Junius, and François du Jon, was a Huguenot scholar and theologian, and the father of Franciscus Junius the younger.-Life:...
published in 1593 Le paisible Chrestien arguing for religious tolerance. He addressed Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, using arguments taken from the French politique
Politique
Politique is a term that was used during the sixteenth and seventeenth century Wars of Religion, to describe moderates of both religious faiths who held that only the restoration of a strong monarchy could save France from total collapse. It frequently included a pejorative connotation of moral...
statesman Michel de l'Hôpital
Michel de l'Hôpital
Michel de l'Hôpital was a French statesman.-Biography:De l'Hôpital was born near Aigueperse in Auvergne ....
and reformer Sebastian Castellio
Sebastian Castellio
Sebastian Castellio was a French preacher and theologian; and one of the first Reformed Christian proponents of religious toleration, freedom of conscience and thought....
.
17th century: Catholics and Protestants
Irenic movements were influential in the 17th century, and irenicism, for example in the form of Gottfried LeibnizGottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
's efforts to reunite Catholics and Protestants, is in some ways a forerunner to the more modern ecumenical movements.
The 1589 Examen pacifique de la doctrine des Huguenots by Henry Constable
Henry Constable
Henry Constable was an English poet, son of Sir Robert Constable. He went to St John's College, Cambridge, where he took his degree in 1580. Becoming a Roman Catholic, he went to Paris, and acted as anagent for the Catholic powers. He died at Liège...
proved influential, for example on Christopher Potter
Christopher Potter
Christopher Potter was an English academic and clergyman, Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford, controversialist and prominent supporter of William Laud.-Life:...
and William Forbes
William Forbes (bishop)
-Life:He was the son of Thomas Forbes, a burgess of Aberdeen, descended from the Corsindac branch of that house, by his wife, Janet, the sister of Dr. James Cargill. Born at Aberdeen in 1585, he was educated at the Marischal College, graduating A.M. in 1601. Very soon after he held the chair of...
. Richard Montagu
Richard Montagu
Richard Montagu was an English cleric and prelate.-Early life:He was born during Christmastide 1577 at Dorney, Buckinghamshire, where his father Laurence Mountague was vicar, and was educated at Eton. He was elected from Eton to a scholarship at King's College, Cambridge, and admitted on 24...
admired Cassander and Andreas Fricius. The 1628 Syllabus aliquot synodorum was a bibliography of the literature of religious concord, compiled by Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul
Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul
Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul was a French diplomat. Although he came from a Calvinist family, who had been exiled during the Wars of Religion, Jean, through cultivating connections with Henry IV eventually was restored to a portion of his patrimony.-Early life:Hotman was the eldest son...
decades earlier, and seen into print by Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius , also known as Huig de Groot, Hugo Grocio or Hugo de Groot, was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law...
using the pseudonym Theodosius Irenaeus, with a preface by Matthias Bernegger
Matthias Bernegger
Matthias Bernegger was a German philologist, astronomer, university professor and writer of Latin works.- Life :...
.
It was typical enough, however, for moderate and even irenical writers on the Catholic side to find in this period that their arguments were turned back against Catholicism. This style of arguing developed in England from Thomas Bell
Thomas Bell (priest)
Thomas Bell was an English Roman Catholic priest, and later an anti-Catholic writer.-Life:He was born at Raskelf, near Thirsk, Yorkshire, in 1551, and is said to have been beneficed as a clergyman in Lancashire. Subsequently he became a Roman Catholic, and was imprisoned at York, around 1573...
and particularly Thomas Morton
Thomas Morton (bishop)
Thomas Morton was an English churchman, bishop of several dioceses.-Early life:Morton was born in York on 20 March 1564. He was brought up and grammar school educated in the city and nearby Halifax. In 1582 he became a pensioner at St John's College, Cambridge from which he graduated with a BA in...
. It led to Thomas James
Thomas James
Thomas James was an English librarian, first librarian of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.James became a fellow of New College, Oxford in 1593...
mining Marcantonio de Dominis and Paolo Sarpi
Paolo Sarpi
Fra Paolo Sarpi was a Venetian patriot, scholar, scientist and church reformer. His most important roles were as a canon lawyer and historian active on behalf of the Venetian Republic.- Early years :...
, and making efforts to claim Witzel for the Protestant tradition; to the arguments of Gallicanism
Gallicanism
Gallicanism is the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarchs' authority or the State's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope's...
being welcomed but also treated as particularly insidious; and an irenist such as Francis a Sancta Clara being attacked strongly by firm Calvinists. The handful of Protestant writers who were convinced in their irenic approach to Catholics included William Covell
William Covell
-Life:He was born in Chadderton, Lancashire, England, and proceeded M.A. at Queens' College, Cambridge in 1588.In the 1590s Covell took part in the controversy about how far the newly-reformed Church of England should abandon the liturgy and hierarchy of the past, to which debate he contributed...
and Thomas Dove.
17th century: Protestant divisions
James I of EnglandJames I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
thought that the Bible translation he commissioned might effect some reconciliation between the English Protestant religious factions, and prove an irenicon. The Greek ἐιρηνικόν (eirenikon) or peace proposal is also seen as irenicum in its Latin version.
An irenic literature developed, relating to divisions within Protestantism, particularly in the twenty years after the Peace of Westphalia
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
. Examples marked out by title are:
- David PareusDavid PareusDavid Pareus was a German Reformed Protestant theologian and reformer.-Life:He was born at Frankenstein December 30, 1548. He was apprenticed to an apothecary and again to a shoemaker...
,
John Forbes (theologian)
John Forbes of Corse was a Scottish minister and theologian, one of the Aberdeen doctors, noted for his eirenic approach in church polity and opposition to the National Covenant.-Life:...
,
Jeremiah Burroughs
Jeremiah Burroughs was an English Congregationalist and a well-known Puritan preacher.-Biography:...
,
John Dury
John Dury was a Scottish Calvinist minister and a significant intellectual of the English Civil War period. He made efforts to re-unite the Calvinist and Lutheran wings of Protestantism, hoping to succeed when he moved to Kassel in 1661, but he did not accomplish this...
,
Daniel Zwicker
Daniel Zwicker was a German physician from Danzig, and a Socinian theologian and controversialist of the Polish Brethren.-Life:He was the son of Friedrich Zwicker, Lutheran minister of the Church of St. Bartholomew at Danzig...
,
Edward Stillingfleet
Edward Stillingfleet was a British theologian and scholar. Considered an outstanding preacher as well as a strong polemical writer defending Anglicanism, Stillingfleet was known as "the beauty of holiness" for his good looks in the pulpit, and was called by John Hough "the ablest man of his...
,
Matthew Newcomen
Matthew Newcomen was an English nonconformist churchman.His exact date of birth is unknown. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge . In 1636 he became lecturer at Dedham in Essex, and led the church reform party in that county. He assisted Edmund Calamy the Elder in writing Smectymnuus ,...
.
Moses Amyraut
Moses Amyraut , also known as Amyraldus, was a French Protestant theologian and metaphysician. He is perhaps most noted for his modifications to Calvinist theology regarding the nature of Christ's atonement, which is referred to as Amyraldism or Amyraldianism.-Life:Born at Bourgueil, in the valley...
,
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
wrote an Irenicum (unpublished manuscript); it supported a latitudinarian
Latitudinarian
Latitudinarian was initially a pejorative term applied to a group of 17th-century English theologians who believed in conforming to official Church of England practices but who felt that matters of doctrine, liturgical practice, and ecclesiastical organization were of relatively little importance...
position in theology, derived from a review of church history.
Evaluation of early modern irenicism
Anthony Milton writes:[Ecumenical historians] have tended to assume the existence of an irenical 'essentialism' in which the association of Christian unity with peace, toleration and ecumenism is presupposed. [...] In fact, most thinkers of this period accepted that religious unity was a good idea, in the same way that they believed that sin was a bad idea. The problem was that, of course, different people wanted irenicism on different terms. [...] Different interpretations of irenicism could have direct political implications, making the rhetoric of Christian unity an important tool in the political conflicts of the period.
It is in that light that he comments on the irenists' succession: Erasmus, Cassander, Jacob Acontius
Jacob Acontius
Jacob Acontius Aconcio; 7 September 1492 – around 1566) was an Italian jurist, theologian, philosopher and engineer. He is now known for his contribution to the history of religious toleration.-Life:...
, Grotius, then John Dury, who spent much time on a proposed reconciliation of Lutherans and Calvinists.
Modern usage
Irenical has become a commonly-used adjective to design an idealist and pacific conception, such as the democratic peace theoryDemocratic peace theory
Democratic peace theory is the theory that democracies don't go to war with each other. How well the theory matches reality depends a great deal on one's definition of "democracy" and "war"...
.
False irenicism or false eirenism is expression used in certain 20th-century documents of the Catholic Church to criticize attempts at ecumenism that would allow Catholic doctrine to be distorted or clouded. Documents using the term include the encyclical Humani Generis
Humani Generis
Humani generis is a papal encyclical that Pope Pius XII promulgated on 12 August 1950 "concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic Doctrine"...
, promulgated by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
in 1950, and the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
's 1964 Decree on Ecumenism
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
, Unitatis Redintegratio
Unitatis Redintegratio
Unitatis Redintegratio is the Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism. It was passed by a vote of 2,137 to 11 of the bishops assembled and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964...
.
Further reading
- Howard Louthan (1997), The Quest for Compromise: Peacemakers in Counter-Reformation Vienna
- Joris van Eijnatten (1998), Mutua Christianorum Tolerantia: Irenicism and Toleration in the Netherlands: The Stinstra Affair, 1740-1745
- Samuel J. T. Miller, Molanus, Lutheran Irenicist (1633–1722) Church History, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Sep., 1953), pp. 197–218
- Bodo Nischan, John Bergius: Irenicism and the Beginnings of Official Religious Toleration in Brandenburg-Prussia, Church History, vol. 51 (1982), pp. 389–404
- Michael B. Lukens, Witzel and Erasmian Irenicism in the 1530s, The Journal of Theological Studies 1988 39(1):134-136
- Graeme Murdock,The Boundaries of Reformed Irenicism: Hungary and Transylvania in Howard Louthan, Randall Zachman (eds), From Conciliarism to Confessional Church, 1400-1618 (South Bend: Notre Dame Press, 2004).
- Daphne M. Wedgbury, Protestant Irenicism and the Millennium: Mede and the Hartlib Circle, in Jeffrey K. Jue (editor), Heaven Upon Earth: Joseph Mede (1586–1638) and the Legacy of Millenarianism (2006)