Chapter 19

[273]John Brentz, a celebrated German theologian, much attached to the Lutheran dogma of the Supper. He assisted at the Conferences of Haguenau, of Worms, and of Ratisbon, and seemed, in the latter, to go over to the interpretation of Calvin, against which, at a later period, he maintained a very sharp controversy.

[274]Eck died two years later, the 16th February 1543, in consequence of a second attack of apoplexy, brought on by his intemperance.—Seckendorf, iii. parag. 112.

[275]Louis du Tillet; he had made a long stay at Basle with Calvin, before accompanying him into Italy.

[276]At the request of Farel and the magistrates of Geneva, the pastors of the Church of Zurich had written to Calvin, then deputed to the Diet at Ratisbon, exhorting him to resume the office of the ministry in his earliest charge. Calvin, in his reply, freely unburdens himself of the sentiments of terror and repugnance which he felt at the thought of returning to Geneva.

[277]The peculiar modesty of Calvin is the more remarkable, when we consider the éclat which attended his preaching and teaching at Strasbourg. During the two years which he passed in that city, the French Church continually increased, and the name of Calvin was alone sufficient to attract, from all parts of France, young persons desirous of learning, and even men already distinguished as learned.—See Sturm'sAntipappi, iv. p. 21.

[278]The Waldenses of Provence.

[279]The conferences at Ratisbon were prolonged without any result. Calvin solicited and obtained leave of departure. He took the route of Strasbourg, where he no doubt arrived toward the end of June 1541.

[280]Albert, Margrave of Brandenbourg, a bold and perfidious adventurer, entirely devoted to the cause of the Emperor. He is reported to have said: "If the Devil will but pay me well, I will serve him." He maintained in 1553 a long struggle with Maurice of Saxony, and was vanquished, the year following, at the battle of Sievershausen, where his adversary perished.

[281]Without doubt, George of Anhalt, the scholar of Luther, and who, notwithstanding his high birth, wished to be ordained minister and ecclesiastical inspector of the diocese of Mersebourg. He died in 1553.—Melch. Adam.Vitæ Theologorum Germanorum, p. 245.

[282]The Sultan Soliman had entered into Hungary, and had already taken possession of the town of Buda, under pretext that the young King John Sigismond was incapable of defending it against his enemies.

[283]That letter was an urgent and pressing appeal to the justice and to the clemency of Francis I., by the whole Church of Christ: "We have been very much grieved, because, when it could not be denied that many abuses of long standing clung to the Churches, nevertheless, so greatly has the heat of anger been inflamed everywhere, that not only private individuals, but also whole nations may be brought into jeopardy: which, when they become suppliants to your royal highness, you may consider that it is not we only, but the very Church of Christ that lies mourning at the feet of the greatest kings, and implores and entreats their help, that the light of the dawning Gospel may not be extinguished, and that quiet, modest men and members of Christ may be let alone." This earnest prayer remained unanswered in the corrupt court of Valois. Policy alone brought about the adoption of measures which humanity demanded, and the ruin of the Vaudois, and the retribution upon the persecutors, were adjourned to another time.

[284]Such is the address: To the excellent and very faithful Servants of Christ, William Farel and Peter Viret, my very dear Brethren.

[285]Otho Henri, brother of Frederic, Count Palatine.

[286]See note I, p. 270.

[287]The young preacher who is spoken of here, seems to have been Peter Du Brenil, who succeeded Calvin in the direction of the French Church of Strasbourg, and was a martyr at Tournay in 1545.—See Sleidan, lib. xii. et xvi., and Crespin,Histoire des Martyrs.

[288]Caroli effected his reconciliation with the Sorbonne, but it was in vain that he solicited a benefice in the Church of Rome.

[289]See note 2, p. 275.

[290]He refers to the process pending between Berne and Geneva which had been submitted to the arbitration of Basle.

[291]See Sleidan, lib. xiv. p. 387.

[292]Letter without date, but written most probably in the month of August 1541. It informs us as to the last inward struggles of the Reformer on the eve of quitting Strasbourg to return to Geneva.

[293]After having overcome the last scruples, and taken leave of the members of his Church, "avec tristesse, larmes, grande sollicitude, et détresse," as he himself tells us in the preface to the Psalms, Calvin left Strasbourg towards the end of August 1541. He stopped a little at Basle; and being called to Neuchatel by unforeseen circumstances, he wrote to the Seigneury of Geneva to excuse himself for this delay.

[294]See Calvin's letter to the Seigneury of Neuchatel, p. 286.

[295]After a short visit at Berne, Calvin, being at Morat, wrote to Farel, to inform him as to some of the incidents of his journey.

[296]That deputation had gone to solicit the favour of the King, Francis I., for the Waldenses of Provence.

[297]Calvin had arrived at Geneva the 13th September 1541. We find under that date, in the Extracts from the CouncilRegisters:—"Calvin, having arrived at Geneva, presented himself to the Council, to whom he brought letters from the Magistrates and Ministers of Strasbourg. He excused himself on account of his journey having been delayed. He represented that it would be necessary to set about the work of ecclesiastical ordinances. Resolved, that they would apply themselves to it immediately, and for that purpose appointed, along with Calvin, Claude Pertemps, Amy Perrin, Claude Roset, Jean Lambert, Poralis, and Jean Balard. Resolved also to retain Calvin here always.—October 1541. The stipend of Calvin assigned at five hundred florins, twelve measures of corn, and two tuns of wine." For a dwelling they offered the mansionFregneville, purchased at the price of two hundred and sixty crowns, with an ell of velvet for clothing.

[298]That Church was at this time in a state of great disorder, which Calvin had in vain tried to tranquillize, at Neuchatel. See the following Letter.

[299]On the back, in the handwriting of Viret:—"Letters sent to those of Neuchatel, when they wished to drive away Farel, their minister, brought by Viret, sent on the part of the ministers of Geneva, with the following instructions to inform them of their opinion."Inflexible in the exercise of the duties of his ministry, Farel had publicly censured, in one of his discourses, a lady of rank, whose conduct had been a matter of scandal in the Church of Neuchatel. Irritated by that censure, the relatives of that lady roused a party of the towns-people against that courageous minister, and obtained a sentence of deposition against him, which was not annulled but upon the interference of the Seigneury of Berne and of the principal Swiss Churches.—Ruchat,Hist. de la Réf., tom. v. p. 164, and following pages.

Inflexible in the exercise of the duties of his ministry, Farel had publicly censured, in one of his discourses, a lady of rank, whose conduct had been a matter of scandal in the Church of Neuchatel. Irritated by that censure, the relatives of that lady roused a party of the towns-people against that courageous minister, and obtained a sentence of deposition against him, which was not annulled but upon the interference of the Seigneury of Berne and of the principal Swiss Churches.—Ruchat,Hist. de la Réf., tom. v. p. 164, and following pages.

[300]The mission of Viret, and his endeavours to pacify the Church of Neuchatel, had been without the desired result. A violent party, opposed to the Reformation, and impatient of all order as of all authority in the Church, demanded the expulsion of Farel. In these circumstances, Calvin had recourse to the credit and trust reposed in Bucer, and the intervention of the Church of Strasbourg to appease these unhappy differences.

[301]Calvin had left at Strasbourg his wife, Idelette de Bure, who rejoined him some time afterwards at Geneva. In the CouncilRegisterswe have the following entry, 13th September 1541:—"Resolved, ... to bring hither the wife of Calvin and his household furniture."

[302]See the preceding Letter and Memorial.

[303]The Church of Strasbourg acted in conjunction with the Churches of Constance, of Zurich, and of Basle, to decide the inhabitants of Neuchatel to retain Farel.

[304]The ecclesiastical ordinances, drawn up by Calvin and approved by the magistrates, were solemnly accepted by the citizens of Geneva, met in general assembly in St. Peter's Church, the 20th November 1541.—See Gaberel,Histoire de l'Eglise de Genève, vol. i. p. 269.

[305]He endeavoured to procure from the Seigneury of Berne a prolongation of leave for the minister Viret, which they had already granted for the period of six months to the Church of Geneva. On the representation of Calvin, the magistrates of Strasbourg wrote on two occasions to those of Berne to ask that favour. In the second of these letters they render most honourable testimony to Calvin. "M. Calvin," they say, "has comported himself among us with so much uprightness and constancy, and has become so acceptable by his skill and ability, that not only we would have retained him among us with pleasure, but more especially, for the sake of our Church, we would not easily have yielded him up, if we had not believed that he would be more useful at Geneva.... On that account we perceive with grief that he cannot complete the work which he has commenced, and with which he had burdened himself beyond his strength, &c...."—MS. of the Archives of Berne, cited by Ruchat,Hist. de la Réf., tom. v. p. 162.

[306]The magistrates of Strasbourg, desirous of testifying to Calvin their satisfaction on account of his services, and at the same time their esteem for his character, before his departure for Geneva bestowed on him the honorary distinction of citizenship by making him a burgess. They offered also a year's pension; but the latter present he refused.

[307]The plague continued its ravages at Strasbourg, where it carried away this year the children of the first two Reformers of Switzerland, William, the son of Zuingli, and Euzèbe, the son of Œcolampadius. It soon spread to Basle and to Zurich, where it found many victims. It broke out towards the end of the following year at Geneva.

[308]The Church of Basle had lost Simon Grynéc, and the pious burgomaster, Jacob Meyer, who had so powerfully contributed to the reformation of the town.

[309]Conrad Hubert, secretary of Bucer.

[310]Renée of France, daughter of Louis XII. and of Anne of Brittany, born at the Castle of Blois the 29th of October 1510, and died at the chateau of Montargis the 12th of June 1575. United, from views of political expediency, to one of the smaller princes of Italy, a vassal of the Bishop of Rome, this princess, endowed with a strong mind and an excellent spirit, quitted France, in 1528, to follow her husband, Hercules of Esté, to Ferrara; and she brought along with her to that court a taste for literature, with free and generous sentiments of belief, which she had inhaled from her intimate association with Marguerite of Navarre. She received at Ferrara Clement Marot, who dedicated some of his verses to her, and also Calvin, who initiated her in the faith of the Reformed, for which she was honoured to suffer, and which she professed courageously till her death. This was the origin of the long correspondence which she maintained with the Reformer, whose letters recurred from time to time to encourage and confirm her. The letter which we insert here is, doubtless, one of the earliest in that series. On the last leaf we have the following words written in another hand:—"Against a certain almoner, Master Francis, who made (Madame) go to mass, and set her against those who would not go, as against scandalous persons. It treats very fully about things lawful and not lawful, and how scandals must be avoided."

"Against a certain almoner, Master Francis, who made (Madame) go to mass, and set her against those who would not go, as against scandalous persons. It treats very fully about things lawful and not lawful, and how scandals must be avoided."

[311]Anne de Parthenay, daughter of John de Parthenay, Lord of Soubise, and of Michelle de Sanbonne, governess of Renée of France. She married Antony de Pons, Comte de Marennes, was instructed by Calvin himself in the Reformed doctrine, and remained a long time attached, as dame d'honneur, to the Duchess of Ferrara, to whose court she was an ornament, both by her virtues and her ability. Clement Marot addresses her in several of his poems, and the learned author, Lilio Gregorio Gyraldi, dedicates to her the second book of hisHistory of the Gods.

[312]Heb. ix. 25, 26.

[313]1 Cor. xi. 23-26.

[314]In the margin, handwriting of Calvin,—"After having understood the will of God, give advice."

[315]This is the title of that work, "De Missa Matrimonio et Jure Magistratus in Religione. D. Wolfgango Capitone, auctore." The Dedication to Henry VIII., "Summum in terris Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ Caput," is of 15th March 1537.

[316]This was the letter of Calvin to Louis Duchemin, intituled, "De fugiendis impiorum illicitis sacris, et puritate Christianæ Religionis. Genevæ, 1537. 8vo." That letter, translated into French, has been inserted in theRecueil des Opuscules, edit. 1566, in fol., p. 57.

[317]De la Cène de nostre Seigneur.

[318]The conclusion of this letter is wanting in the original French, and we restore it here from the Latin translation inserted, (Calv. Epistolæ et Responsa, edit. d'Amsterdam, p. 93.) A near approximation to the date of that piece is supplied by the passage relative to Capito:—"Et de cela Capito qui est l'ung de ceux qui taschent fort à modérer les choses, a naguères inscript un livre." The dedication of this book to Henry VIII. is of the 15th March 1537; the death of Capito happened in December 1541; and the letter of Calvin to the Duchess of Ferrara,written from Geneva, between the two events, places the date, without doubt, in October 1541, after the return of the Reformer to that town.

[319]A Synod of the churches of the Pays de Vaud was then assembled at the town of Vevay.

[320]Persecuted with equal animosity by the fanatical bigotry of the courtiers and of the priesthood, the Waldenses had appointed two procurators, Francis Chaix and William Armand, charged with the duty of justifying their innocence at the Court of France; but these agents could not even obtain from their judges a copy of the process which had been instituted against the inhabitants of Cabrières and Merindol, condemned by an iniquitous tribunal without ever having been heard in defence; and it required no less than royal intervention to compel the Parliament of Aix to give a copy of the acts and procedure of the whole process. The two prelates, the Bishop of Cavaillon and the Archbishop of Arles, were among the most violent opponents of the Waldenses.—Bèze,Hist. Eccl.tom. i. p. 39.

[321]Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre.

[322]Mathurin Cordier left Neuchatel a few years afterwards, to become Regent of the College of Lausanne. It was in 1557 that, at the request of Calvin, his old pupil, he took upon him the office of Principal of the College of Geneva. See the interesting notice of Mathurin Cordier, by M. Professor Betant. Geneva, 1848.

[323]Stephen Dolet, the celebrated printer of Lyons. He published learned writings concerning antiquity; drew upon himself much enmity by the boldness of his opinions, and perished at the stake in 1544, equally suspected on both sides. He had published a work on the reading of the Bible in the vernacular dialect, which has given occasion to consider him as one of the martyrs of the Reformed Church.—See Bayle,Dict. Hist., Art. Dolet.

[324]Capito had died of the plague at Strasbourg, in the month of November, as we learn from a letter of Calvin to Farel:—"When this worthy brother had brought word that our excellent father, and of holy memory, Capito, had been taken away from us, and that Bucer, besides, was suffering from the plague, I was so affected both in mind and spirit, that I could do nought but lament and bewail."—Letter of 29th November 1541;Calv. Opera, tom. ix. p. 19. Endowed with the wisest and most conciliatory spirit, Capito left a great void in the Church at Strasbourg; "happy at least," says Beza, "to have been called away from this life before having witnessed the ruin of that Church. He did not share the exile of his beloved colleagues, Bucer and Fagius, but went before to the abode and dwelling-place of the heavenlies."—Theodori Bezæ,Icones. The decease of Capito excited a general mourning; his loss was equally deplored by the Reformers of Germany and of Switzerland.—Melchior Adam,Vitæ Theologorum Germanorum.

[325]The troubles which had arisen in the Church of Neuchatel (see letter, p. 286) not having been quieted by the arbitration of the Seigneury of Berne, the latter referred that grave matter to the decision of the burgesses solemnly assembled. The majority of votes pronounced in favour of Farel. He was thereupon settled in the ministry, and peace was thus established in that Church, so long a prey to intestine disorder.—Ruchat,Hist. de la Réf., tom. v. p. 167. At the news of that happy event, Calvin wrote in his own name, as well as in that of Viret, to congratulate Farel, and to recommend moderation after the victory.

[326]Oswald Myconius of Lucerne, the distinguished philologist and theologian, disciple of Glarean and of Erasmus. He taught literature at Zurich in the lifetime of Zuingli, who honoured him with his friendship; was then called to Basle, where he discharged the office of theological pastor, and was elected first pastor on the decease of Œcolampadius, (1531.) Zealous partisan of the Lutheran dogma of the Sacraments, in his relations with the Swiss churches, he was ever animated by a spirit of moderation and gentleness, which procured him the constant affection of Calvin. He died October 15, 1552, at the age of sixty-three years, and was succeeded by the minister Sulzer in the direction of the Church of Basle.—Melch. Adam,Vitæ Theologorum Germanorum, pp. 223-226.

[327]"I will write concerning Viret to Berne as soon as I am able, but in the name of the brethren, that it may come with greater authority, if the object can be accomplished at all. For we also desire that the Church of Geneva may be as well supplied as possible for the good of other churches."—Oswald Myconius to Calvin, 10th February 1542.

[328]The right of censure and excommunication belonging to the Consistory. It was not without much difficulty that the right of ecclesiastical censure was granted to the Consistorial Court,—a body which included at once the ministers and some members of the magistracy, chosen from the various municipal councils. This right of the Consistory was often contested, and was only definitely recognized after long resistance, of which traces are to be found in the Registers of Council, from 1542 to 1553.

[329]To the very faithful minister of Christ, D. Oswald Myconius, pastor of the Church at Basle, my much respected friend.

[330]Bucer had gone to Cologne, called thither by the Archbishop, Elector Hermann de Wied, the pious and distinguished prelate who had courageously undertaken the reformation of his diocese.

[331]Discord prevailed among the members of the League of Smalkald, one part refusing the subsidy to the Emperor for the war against the Turks, the other shewing a disposition to grant it. "It is spread abroad that there exists dissension between the Princes and the Cities concerning the money and men to be given against the Turk.I rejoice that Christ is Lord, otherwise I had altogether despaired. Himself will preserve his Church."—Oswald Myconius to Calvin, 10th February 1542.

[332]The Margrave Albert of Brandenbourg, a bold adventurer, who lent his sword in turn to all parties during the troubles of Germany.

[333]Sebastian Munster, Professor of Theology at the University of Basle, and author of theCosmographia Universalis.

[334]Allusion to the disputes between Berne and Geneva, submitted to the arbitration of the Seigneury of Basle.

[335]On the back: Letters against the Carmelite. Without date. A Latin letter of Calvin to Farel, of the 10th May 1542, relative to the same subject, furnishes us with the date, and informs us that this white friar, who had gone over to the ranks of the Reformed, belonged to Lyons: "Venit Carmelita Lugdunensis a quo non frustra timuimus." Calvin forewarned the faithful of that town to be upon their guard against that false friar.The Church of Lyons, one of the most glorious of the French Reformation, owed its origin to the preaching of an old Jacobin monk, Alexander Camus, surnamed Laurence de la Croix, who suffered martyrdom at Paris in 1535. The first members of that Church were merchants, "some goldsmiths and others of the town," who met together in secret. The work begun by Alexander Camus was manfully followed up by John Fabri, (or Le Fevre,) who found pious continuators in the ministers, Peter Fournelet and Claude Monnier, before the epoch of the great persecutions.—Hist. Eccl., tom. i. pp. 55, 56.

The Church of Lyons, one of the most glorious of the French Reformation, owed its origin to the preaching of an old Jacobin monk, Alexander Camus, surnamed Laurence de la Croix, who suffered martyrdom at Paris in 1535. The first members of that Church were merchants, "some goldsmiths and others of the town," who met together in secret. The work begun by Alexander Camus was manfully followed up by John Fabri, (or Le Fevre,) who found pious continuators in the ministers, Peter Fournelet and Claude Monnier, before the epoch of the great persecutions.—Hist. Eccl., tom. i. pp. 55, 56.

[336]That is to say, Geneva.

[337]The Church of Lyons.

[338]The Republic of Geneva incurred the loss of an excellent magistrate and friend in Porral, who had been named first Syndic of this year. He had concurred with Calvin in drawing up the Ecclesiastical Ordonnances adopted the preceding year, and he died, as this letter of the Reformer to Farel testifies, with sentiments of the deepest and most lively piety.

[339]Two years before, he had a keen religious dispute with the minister Henri de la Mare, and James Bernard had supported his colleague. De la Mare upheld that the magistrate should not punish sins; that no one can have assurance of his election; that no one could go more gladly to his wedding than Jesus went to death. Amy Porral pronounced these opinions to be false and dangerous.—Arch. de Genève, Savion, c. 45. This dispute degenerating into a quarrel, had embroiled the two ministers with the magistrate.

[340]The disputes which had fallen out between Geneva and Berne had not yet been finally settled.

[341]Letter without date, but written to Viret shortly after his return to Lausanne from Geneva, at which former place he had resumed the functions of pastor, July 12, 1542.

[342]The ministers elected to exercise along with Calvin the office of pastors at Geneva were the following:—Philippe, surnamed De Ecclesia, Peter Blanchet, Louis Geniston, and Treppereau.—See the Consistory'sRegisters, 1542.

[343]Henri de la Mare and Champereau, ministers before the last election.

[344]To B. Textor, my brother and esteemed friend. Benoit Textor, the distinguished physician and friend of Calvin, who dedicated to him, in 1550, his Commentary on the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, in remembrance of the care which he had bestowed during the sickness of Idelette de Bure.

[345]See Letter LXXXVII., p. 335, note 2.

[346]Is he the minister Philippe de Ecclesia, who was afterwards deposed?

[347]The minister James Bernard. See Letter LXII. He became pastor of a country parish.

[348]Is this Calvin'sCatechisme, reprinted at Strasbourg in 1541, or perhaps the treatiseDe la Cêne, of which a second edition was published in the same year at Geneva? The journeys which Calvin had made in Germany, to promote the interests of the Church at Strasbourg, had laid him open to suspicion of Lutheran tendencies by the Swiss theologians; it was to remove this suspicion that he published that little work, which is distinguished by the spirit of moderation which pervades it, and which was approved of by Luther himself. SeeHospinian, ii. p. 312.

[349]This Commentary was not published for some time afterwards, when it appeared under the care of Robert Etienne.—Commentarius in Genesim, in fol., Geneva, 1554.

[350]The person here mentioned is no other than Sebastian Castalio, who was afterwards so unhappily celebrated by his debates with the Reformer. Born at Fresne near Nantua en Bresse, he sought an asylum at Strasbourg, where he was acquainted with Calvin, and became a member of the French Church; esteemed by Calvin on account of his character and talents, he followed him after his recall to Geneva, and was nominated regent in the new college of that town.

[351]The minister Peter Blanchet.

[352]The minister Henri de la Mare. He had discharged the functions of the ministry, during the exile of Calvin, under conditions which were scarcely compatible with the dignity of the ministry.

[353]He had set out for Metz.

[354]After the affair of the Placards this Princess shewed herself less avowedly and openly favourable to the Protestants of France; she, however, took an unceasing interest in their cause. She wrote, in 1541, to Calvin, on occasion of the projected marriage of her daughter, Jeanne d'Albret, with the Duke of Cleves:—"We think that God has given us a son to our own heart and mind, by whom we hope that we shall contribute somewhat to his honour and glory. We entreat you, that in whatsoever you shall perceive that I can do you any good service, you will not spare me; and I assure you that I will do my endeavour very heartily, according to the power which God shall bestow upon me."—Paris MSS., an unpublished letter of the 25th July 1541.

[355]Of a vain and flighty turn, Froment could not remain content with that better part which had been assigned to him as the missionary of the Reform at Geneva. He abandoned the ministry of the Gospel to become a notary, and incurred more than once the censures of the Seigneury.

[356]The Chancellor of France, William Poyet, accused of malversation. He was condemned to pay a heavy fine, and deprived of all his offices.

[357]See Sleidan, lib. xiv. p. 408. TheInstitution Chrétienneof Calvin was particularly forbidden by this edict.

[358]Brought to a stand for six months before Perpignan, by the heroic resistance of the Duke of Alva, the French army could not cross the Pyrenees.—Robertson,Hist. of Charles V., book vii.

[359]More fortunate than the Dauphin, the Duke of Orleans began the campaign with success in Luxembourg, but he compromised all his advantages by a precipitate departure for the Rousillon, and the towns of which he had taken possession in the Netherlands fell back under the power of the Imperialists.—Robertson,Hist. of Charles V., book viii.

[360]In allusion to the struggle which the ministers had to sustain in the Councils of the Republic for the appliance of discipline.

[361]The lesser council, as distinguished from that of the two hundred. They have at Geneva four councils. 1st, The common council, or lesser council, formed of the four syndics going out of office, of the four new, and seventeen members nominated by the two hundred. This is theSenatus minor. 2d, The council of the two hundred. 3d, The council of the sixty. Lastly, The council general, a popular assembly, convoked only upon extraordinary occasions.

[362]It is to this sad loss that Calvin alludes in so remarkable a manner in his answer to the Jurisconsult Baudouin:—"Wishing to clear himself from the charge of a want of natural affection brought against him, Balduin twits me with my want of offspring. God had given me a son. God hath taken my little boy. This he reckons up among my misdeeds, that I have no children. I have myriads of sons throughout the Christian world."—Responsio ad Balduini Convitia.Geneva, 1561.

[363]Notwithstanding the constant endeavour of the Seigneury of Berne to maintain peace and union in their churches, serious differences on the subject of the Supper had made their appearance on several occasions among the members of the Bernese clergy. A new formulary, reproducing the terms adopted in the disputation of Berne in 1528, was then drawn up by order of the Seigneury, and submitted for the acceptance of the ministers. The Deans of the different Classes of the Pays Romand, Payerne, Yverdon, Lausanne, Morges, Gex, and Thonon, were assembled together at Berne, with the view of sanctioning, by their approbation, the uniformity of doctrine in the districts subject to the Government of Berne. Alive to every proceeding which might compromise the independence and dignity of the Church in a neighbouring country, Calvin does not spare giving his advice to Viret, and puts him on his guard.

[364]See the note of the preceding Letter. The different Deans of the Classes of the Pays de Vaud having met at Berne, received communication of the new formulary, and declared their adherence to the acts of the Deputy from Lausanne, regarding the question of the Sacraments.

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