Later Calvinism: International Perspectives ed. by W. Fred Graham (review)

276 BOOK REVIEWS editions of the Douay Old Testament and five editions of the Rheims New Testament to limit ourselves to the first two letters of the alphabet. In all I count about a hundred treatises of high spirituality, almost two hundred and fifty treatises of religious devotion, thirty-three catechisms, and seventy lives of saints or accounts of Catholic history, notably accounts of Catholic martyrs. That is almost half of the total corpus of 932 items. Some of these books were among the first imported by English-speaking Catholics of North America. Here we are at the headstream of American Catholic piety. Some readers will regret that the old "A&R" numbers have been changed, but there is a concordance for easy reference. I was disappointed that the authors/translators/editors were not identified as lay or clerical or religious. It is important to know such details in studying the Franciscan or Benedictine English spiritual tradition. There are some hints in the entries and the index of proper names, but often one has to go to another source to know the background of the author or translator. But these are small imperfections in a jewel of scholarship. Thomas H. Clancy, SJ. JesuitArchives, New Orleans Later Calvinism: International Perspectives. Edited by W. Fred Graham. [Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies, Volume XXII.] (Kirksville, Missouri: Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc. 1994. Pp. xii, 564. 845.00.) The twenty-six essays in this volume, though disparate in the subjects treated, do form a unity; all deal with some aspect of Calvinism during the years following Calvin's death. The essays are grouped according to an international perspective, i.e., six deal with the Swiss Confederacy, three with France, four touch on Scotland, five have reference to the Rhinelands, three with the Netherlands, and the final five with England. Before each of these geographical areas, the editor has a brief introduction, which further helps unify the essays. Since the contributions in the volume are many and the themes discussed so varied, this notice can describe only a limited number and this will be done under three general headings: faith statements, church discipline and polity, and theology. Four deal specifically with faith statements. Edward Dowey reflects on the Second Helvetic Confession ( 1 566) and demonstrates the high place it gives to the preaching of the Word. I. John Hesselink narrates the origin and history of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and while admitting that Zacharias Ursinus (1534-1583) and Caspar Olevianus (1536— 1 587) had some share in its composition, he sees Frederick III, Elector of the BOOK REVIEWS 277 Palatinate, as its real hero. Frederick not only commissioned the catechism, but according to Hesselink, was involved in its composition from beginning to end. LyIe Bierma likewise treats the Heidelberg Catechism but limits his investigation to Olevianus' role as an author. By studying Olevianus' later work Vester Grundt, Bierma concludes that the former's involvement with the catechism may have been greater than recent critics would like to grant him. Finally, Fred Klooster's essay suggests that Calvin did approve the Heidelberg Catechism. Klooster draws this conclusion from the fact that Calvin dedicated his Jeremiah commentary to Frederick III, and in his preface to the commentary Calvin supports positions found in the catechism, especially with regard to the mode of Christ's presence in the Supper. Several contributors' essays touch on church polity and discipline. After studying the National Synods of the French Reformed Church up to the publication (1620) of the Canons of Dort, Brian Armstrong concludes that the French Church remained faithful to its principle of semper reformando, but with the publication of the Canons it became a static ecclesia reformata. The political activism of the Reformed ministers in the Rhaetian republic is described by Randolph Head, and David Mullan treats the Scottish Covenanters' attempt to impose presbyterian polity on the Church of England. WhileJeffrey Watt describes the modifications that marriage legislation underwent in Neuch âtel and Geneva during the years 1550-1800, Michael Graham studies the imposition ofbehavioral codes on the Scottish kirk, and Mary BlackVerschuur investigates the enforcement of discipline in Perth by its minister, Patrick Galloway (1551?-1626?). The third heading is that oftheology...