A Reformation Debate: John Calvin & Jacopo Sadoleto

Introduction

I zyxwvu In March, J 539, Cardinal Jacopo Sadoleto, bishop of Carpentras in southern France, addressed a letter to the magistrates and citizens of Geneva asking them to return to the Catholic faith. The following August, John Calvin replied to Sadoleto, defendingtheadoption of theProtestant reforms. Both letters are lucid and eloquent statements of their respectivepositions . The dialogue they embody is polemical, but withal their tone is elevated, and theirarguments are substantial . Sadoleto’s letter and Calvin’s reply constitute one of the most interesting exchangesof Catholic-Protestant views during the Reformation era. Together they afford an excellent introduction to the great religious controversy of the sixteenth century. But these documents are not statements zyxw i nzyxw vacuo of a Catholic and a Protestant position. They were drafted in the midst o E the religious conflict that zyxwv was then dividing Europe. They had their more specificoccasion, which in turn had its particular historical background. And they reflect too the temperaments and personal histories of the menwho wrote them. Sadoleto’s letter hasan irenic approach, an emphasis on the unityand peace o€ the Church highly characteristic of the Christian humanism he represented. Calvin’s reply is in part a personal defense, an zyxwvu apologia zyxwvu pro vita sua, that records his own religious experience.’ zyxwv And its taut,comprehensive 1 Calvin’s two speeches before the judgment seat o€ God have been understood zyxwvuts by his biographers as referring to his own experienceand conversion . See John T. McNeill, The History and Character of CaZvilzism (New York, 1954)’ pp. I 16-r8; Williston Walker, John CaZvin (New York, rgob), pp. 73-75; and FranCois Wendel, Calvin, t r . Philip Mairet (New Yark, 1 9 6 3 ) , pp. 38-39. A REFORMATION DEBATE argument zyxwvu is zyxwvutsrqponm characteristic of the disciplined and logical mind of the author ofzyxwvuts The Institutes zyxwvu of the zyxwvu Christian Religion. This introduction will attempt to provide setting and orientation for reading the two letters. Their intrinsic themes are clearly developed, but the external facts concerning their appearance require a few supplementary words. It may also be useful to point out the relevance of their arguments to the Reformation controversy as a whole. Our presentation then willserve as an introduction to the religious issuesraised by the Reformation as well as an account of an important episode in its history. Since the doctrinal issues themselves are historical in point of origin and impact, it is proper that we approach them historically and seek to understand their articulation in the actual context of events. I1 When Jacopo Sadoleto wrote his letter to the Genevans in I 539, he was at the height of his long career and was one of the most eminent and respected members of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Bornin Modena in 1477, he had attended the University of Ferrara, where his fatherwas a professor of law.' He came to Rome around 1499,continued his classical studies under the patronage of Cardinal Oliviero Caraffa, and rose to prominence in the Roman humanist circle. When Cardinal Giovannide'Medici became Pope Leo X in I 513, he appointedhim a papal secretary, and withthis ofice Sadoleto began his service intheChurch. He was madebishop of Carpentrasin I 5 17, buthe remained in the Roman Curia throughout the pontificate of Leo X and first visited his diocese in zyxwvut 1523 duringthe short reign of Adrian VI who did not continue his employ. He returned to Rome early in 1524 to zyx 2 Richard M.Douglas, Jacopo Sadoleto, 1477-1547 (Cambridge, Mass., 1959) is a full-scale biography and zyxwvut study of Sadoleto. The present author is deeply indebtedto this excellent work. 2 XNTRODUCTION zyxwvu serve the second Medici pope, Clement VII, as secretary, but he withdrew again to residein Carpentras just prior to the terrible sack of Rome by mutinous imperial troops in May, zyx I527* Carpentras, located in the papal Corntat Venaissin near Avignon, becamefor Sadoleto a haven from the burdens of an active life and the cares and anxieties of a troubled world. In this tranquil corner of the Provence, he devoted himself to the needsbf his people and to the scholarly endeavors of a Christianhumanist.LikeErasmus, whoseFriend he was, he hoped to serve the hard-pressed cause of piety and peace through the learned contributions his retirementwould permit him to makes3Conscious indeed of the ills and perils of his time, he “saw his role at Carpentras as...