A WHOLE year has elapsed since the publication of the sixth volume of the History of the Reformation. In order to penetrate so deeply as he has done into the moral life of the reformers, M.
CONTENTS BOOK 11
Theocracy and Democracy—State Omnipotence—Government of the Church assumed by the State—Calvin not responsible—The danger unseen by him. Invitation to Eck and Cochlaeus—Their refusal to go to Denmark—The King’s discourse to the Bishops—Complete religious liberty—Vain efforts of the Bishops—Royal ordinance—.
PROCLAIMED KING—TRIUMPH OF THE REFORMATION IN DENMARK, NORWAY, AND ICELAND
His excommunication by Bishop Brask—His defense undertaken by the King—Revenues of the Clergy diminished by the King—Ostentation of Archbishop Magnus—Feast of St. Erick—The Clergy humbled by the King—Fears of the Bishops—Public disputation proposed by.
RECALL OF CALVIN TO GENEVA
Not only is your church torn by these dissensions, but more,—and this a matter of the gravest importance,—the ministry. The former had acknowledged his agreement with him on the doctrine of the Lord’s supper.
CALVIN AT RATISBON
Learned and pious Catholics have uttered against Rome many of the same reproaches as the Reformer did. In the ages of the apostles and of the martyrs a sincere unity was maintained among the Christians,.
CALVIN’S RETURN TO GENEVA
The letter of the syndics and the Council of Geneva to the Councils of Zurich and Basel was no less emphatic. The council likewise adopted certain resolutions respecting the person and the family of the reformer.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL ORDINANCES
It did make, however, some concessions, for example, as to the frequency of the Lord’s Supper. He showed that not only the doctrine but also the administration of the church ought to be in conformity with holy Scriptures. What, then, were the spirit, the aim, and the constitution of the church demanded by Calvin.
Thus Calvin wished to establish the church of Geneva after the model of the primitive church. Calvin, however, made it too large, for it annulled that of the members of the church. Two were to belong to the Little Council, four to the Council of Sixty, and six to the Council of the Two Hundred.
In the month of December 1542, the Council ordered that the monogram of the name of Jesus should be engraved on the gates of the town (Jesus graves en pierre). Opinions differs as to the nature of the government of the church of Geneva in the sixteenth century. Finally, the following additional article, proposed by the commission, was inserted in the official text, at the end of the Ordinances.
CALVIN’S PREACHING
It is generally asserted that what was printed in the sixteenth century is unreadable in the nineteenth. And if in this passage it is the young man that is spoken of, we are not to suppose that it does not also concern the old. This opinion is at once so widely diffused and so untrue that it is the.
Calvin declares that it is the will of God that all men should be saved. When once God’s truth has fallen upon our ears, if we are rebels to it, it is for our greater condemnation. We say what everyone sees: It is God’s will that we should all be saved, when he commands that his Gospel.
It is not in Judea alone and in a corner of the country that the grace of God is shed abroad,’ he says ‘but up and down through all the earth. Let us contemplate the cause of the condemnation of man in his depraved nature, in which it is manifest, rather than search for it in the. Thus, in his sermon on the duty of a preacher, it is said to the minister—.
CALVIN’S ACTIVITY
A profound conviction existed, both in the most influential men and in the minds of the people in general, that Calvin was the man they wanted. The presidency of the consistory was not vested in Calvin, but in one of the syndics. A breath of eternal life inspired him; he was full of love for souls; a practical man in the best sense of the word.
It prevailed in the ministers and their friends by reason of their attachment to the Holy Scriptures, which condemned the system of the papacy. It prevailed in the other citizens by reason of the conviction which possessed them that Protestantism alone could maintain their independence. She made a well-tangled skein, and endeavored thereby to entangle the members of the consistory.
We shall have brought before us at the same time a scene characteristic of the period. The institution of the consistory and the beginning of its activity mark the epoch at which the reformation of Geneva may be considered to be. Here are two distinct operations: in the first place, the creation of the elements; next, their organization.
THE AWAKING OF DENMARK
On one of these inlets, to the north-east of the Great Belt, stands the village of Kiertminde. The prior Eskill, was not only a powerful prelate, but also perpetual counselor of the crown. He heard Luther, he heard Melanchthon; he was at Wittenberg at the time of the appearance of the ‘Appeal to the German Nobility;’ he.
The young Scandinavian, finding in the Gospel the truth and the peace which he had been so earnestly seeking, embraced with all his heart the cause of the Reformation. The most important of the persons whom he persuaded to favor the Gospel was the King of Denmark himself. The next day, November 8, in the morning, the gates of the town and the doors of all the houses were closed.
There seemed to be little chance of such a king ever being a favorer of the Reformation. Another ordinance displayed the wisdom, and we might almost say the humanity of the king. The concessions which Christian made to the enemies of the evangelical doctrines did not bring him any advantage.
A REFORMATION ESTABLISHED UNDER THE REIGN OF LIBERTY
Some portions of the kingdom, and particularly Copenhagen, remained in the power of the former king. One work there was, however, essential to the progress of the Gospel, which the Danish clergy would not have allowed to be done. Luther’s, especially, had been followed by Michelsen in the translation of the apostolical epistles, with which he was entrusted.
Instead therefore of attacking the friends of the Holy Scriptures, he was obliged to defend himself. The severity of the elector and the blind hatred which the prince and his courtiers bore to the Reformation galled the young duke. He hoped that Tausen would be brought back by himself and his monks to the doctrine of the Church; but he was mistaken.
They assembled on the 28th June, the eve of the festival of the Apostles Peter and Paul. In front of the town was a piece of pasture ground which belonged to the magistrate. Everywhere the pillars of the papacy were giving way, and the temple was threatening to fall to the ground.
TRIUMPH OF THE REFORMATION UNDER THE REIGN OF FREDERICK I., THE PEACEFUL
Tausen thus with all his might urged his people along in the path of the truth. But Frederick, although overcome for a moment by the bishops, listened to the representations of the pastors and withdrew his prohibition. But the Reformation was strong enough in itself to dispense with the aid of the prince.
The most wealthy monasteries, however, were compelled to contribute to the necessities of the state. Some of the bishops pledged the church vessels for the purpose of paying the troops. Christian imagined himself already seated on the triple throne of the north, and indulged himself in the frivolous.
But the real intent was to prevent any attack being made with a view to the rescue of the prince. It was not within the power of the king to do what he liked with regard to Christian. It is of the eldest and the youngest sons of this house that we have now to take notice.
INTERREGNUM — CIVIL AND FOREIGN WAR
The clergy demanded that the election of the king should be deferred to another time. The evangelical members of the Diet listened with amazement to this speech; and the gravity of the crisis caused them the greatest perplexity. The bishops, who fully understood the importance of the moment, remained deaf to all appeals.
But the majority gave their decision in favor of the delay, and a council of regency was appointed. The two energetic champions of the Reformation still refused to affix their seals to the. The judges could hear the cries of the people in arms demanding again and again their faithful pastor.
The court in alarm implored the lay members of the Diet to go and pacify the crowd. Violent, hot-headed men followed him, demanding his life as an expiation for the crime of the priests. Decide for yourselves; make use in this case of the same understanding which you apply to the things of this world.’ f341.
AND ICELAND
In the midst of these struggles and conflicts the Reformation was making its way without the cooperation of the king. Others, impatient for the end of the long agony, exposed themselves to the shots of the besiegers. The king made his entry into the capital on the 8th of August, accompanied by the queen, the members of the Diet, and the principal officers of his army.
Then followed the reading of a report on the condition of the kingdom, which occupied three hours. This compact was signed by four hundred nobles and by the deputies of the towns and the country districts. From this time the bishops ceased to be members of the Diet of which they had formed a part for six centuries; and the evangelical religion was publicly professed.
Wormorsen was made bishop of the former primatial see of Lund, but its metropolitan privileges were abolished. The very day on which the bishops were consecrated the constitution of the Church was promulgated. But there was no region of the north in which Roman Catholicism had more resolute adherents.
