9 September 1561 A.D. Convocation of Colloquy of Poissy, France—Huguenots v. Romanists; Romanists Called Them “Wolves,” “Foxes,” & “Malicious Monkeys”
9
September 1561 A.D. Convocation
of Colloquy of Poissy, France—Huguenots v. Romanists; Romanists Called Them “Wolves,” “Foxes,” & “Malicious Monkeys”
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Colloquy at Poissy
The Colloquy
at Poissy was a religious conference which took place in Poissy, France, in 1561. Its object was to
effect a reconciliation between the Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) of France.
The conference was opened on 9 September in the refectory
of the convent of Poissy, the French king (aged 11) himself being present. It
broke up inconclusively a month later, on 9 October, by which point the divide
between the doctrines appeared irreconcilable.
Contents
·
6 Notes
Background
The Calvinist faction in France, though less than half a million in number, was strong
and vocal, under the guidance of several princes of the royal blood and members
of the higher nobility. The spread of Protestantism and the application of its
fundamental principle of private judgment produced far-reaching differences in
belief. To heal these and so bring about unity, a conference was held at Weimar in 1560, between the Lutherans Viktor Striegel (1524-1569) and Flacius, on free will.
The Poissy conference was arranged by Catherine de' Medici,
the Florentine Catholic queen-mother and regent during the minority of her son,
Charles IX of France,
with the support of the Chancellor Michel de l'Hôpital and
the lieutenant-general of the kingdom, Anthony of Navarre.
The heads of the Catholic party had attempted to frustrate any form of
negotiation.
Disaffection towards the Holy See had paralysed French Catholic activity. The Council of Trent, a general council, was in session under the presidency of Pope Pius IV, but voices were heard even among the French bishops, advocating the
convocation of a separate national synod. Instead, Catherine and her advisers chose a religious conference under
the direction of the civil power. The Pope tried to prevent, what under the
circumstances had to be construed by Catholics as, the defiance of his ecclesiastical
authority.
Attendance
The Pope sent as papal legate Ippolito d'Este, known as the
Cardinal of Ferrara, with James Laynez, the second General superior of
the Jesuits, as his adviser, to dissuade the regent and the bishops. But the affair
had gone too far. At the conference, six French Cardinals and thirty-eight archbishops and bishops, with a host of minor prelates and doctors, spent a month in discussions
with the Calvinists. Theodore Beza from Geneva and Peter Martyr Vermigli
from Zürich appeared at the colloquy; the German theologians to whom invitations had
been despatched only arrived in Paris after the discussion was broken off. Beza was assisted by Nicolas des Gallars,
who wrote a report of the conference, for Edmund Grindal, then bishop of London
where de Gallars currently had a church.[1][2]
Proceedings
On 9 September the representatives of the rival
denominations began their pleadings. The proceedings were opened by a speech of
Chancellor L'Hôpital, who emphasized the right and duty of the monarch to
provide for the needs of the Church. Even should a general council be in
session, a colloquy between Frenchmen convened by the king was the better way
of settling religious disputes; for a general council, being mostly composed of
foreigners, was deemed incapable of understanding the wishes and the needs of
France.
The spokesman of the Reformed Church was Beza, who, in the first session, gave a lengthy exposition of its
tenets. Beza's speech explained the principles of the Reformed understanding of
the Eucharist; it was later revised and emended, and published in France. He excited
such repugnance by his pronouncements on the Communion that he was interrupted
by Cardinal François de Tournon.
Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine
replied in the second session (September 16). On the motion, however, of
Ippolito d'Este, the legate, exception was taken to the further conduct of the
negotiations in full conclave; and a committee of twenty-four representatives,
twelve from each party, was appointed ostensibly to facilitate a satisfactory
decision. On the Catholic side there existed little wish for conciliation.
The Jesuit Laynez then claimed that the divinely
appointed judge of the religious controversies was the Pope, not the Court of
France. The acrimony with which he opposed the Protestants at least clarified
the situation.
Catharine appointed a smaller committee of five
Calvinists and five Roman Catholics. Their task was to devise a formula on
which the two churches might unite with regard to the question of the Eucharist.
The Cardinal of Lorraine had asked whether the Calvinists were prepared to sign the Confession of Augsburg, a
matter of dissension between them and the Lutheran Protestants. The committee drafted a vague formula which could be interpreted in a
Catholic or a Calvinistic sense, and was consequently condemned by both
parties. The assemblage of prelates refused assent, and the Calvinists would
not sign up to the Lutheran Confession.[3]
Further conferences
Subsequently there were meetings at Altenburg (20 October 1568 - 9 March 1569) between the Jena theologians and those from Wittenberg, on free will and justification;[4] and at Montbéliard (1586) between Beza and the Tübingen theologians, on predestination.
References
·
This
article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles,
ed. (1913). Catholic
Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. (link to text)
·
This
article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.
(1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).
Cambridge University Press.
Notes
1.
Jump up ^ Olson, J. E. (2007). "Nicolas Des Gallars and
the Colloquy of Poissy: The Neglected Participation of a Pastor of the London
Stranger Church in an Ecumenical Council". Proceedings of the Huguenot
Society of Great Britain and Ireland 28 (5): 664–683. ISSN 0309-8346.
2.
Jump up ^ Gwynn, Robin D. (1985). Huguenot Heritage: The
History and Contribution of the Huguenots in Britain. Boston: Routledge
& Kegan Paul. p. 65. ISBN 0-7102-0420-5.
3.
Jump up ^ Benedetto, Robert (2008). The New Westminster
Dictionary Of Church History: The Early, Medieval, and Reformation Eras.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. p. 525. ISBN 978-0-664-22416-5.
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