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1. Historischer Überblick 1.1. Begriff und neuzeitliche DeutungR. (von lat. reformatio, ›Wiederherstellung‹, ›Umgestaltung‹) ist seit der Mitte des 19. Jh.s spezieller Terminus für die eine Seite jener Vorgänge, durch die im 16. Jh. die westl. Christenheit in mehrere einander antagonistische Konfessionskirchen auseinandertrat; sein Antonym, welches die andere Seite bezeichnet, ist Gegen-R.Zuvor hatte der Begriff die allgemeine Bedeutung von Reform. So begegnet reformatio bzw. die zugrundeliegende verbale Form reformare in den kirchl. und polit. Reformbewegungen…

1. Historical survey 1.1. Terminology and early modern interpretationSince the mid-19th century,  Reformation (from Latin  reformatio, “restoration,” “transformation”) has been a specialized term for one side of the 16th-century events that tore Western Christendom apart into mutually antagonistic confessional churches; its antonym, denoting the other side, is  Counter-Reformation.Previously the term had carried the general meaning of “reform.” In the ecclesiastical and political reform movements of the late Middle Ages, we find both  reformatio and the verb  reformare from which it is derived in this sense; in the 16th century, the word was used…

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[German Version] (Aug 28, 1639, Usseaux, Dauphiné – Apr 8, 1703, Utrecht), was appointed pastor in Venterol (Drôme) and Embrun in 1661 but was forced to flee to Holland from French Switzerland on account of his Reformed faith. There he was appointed pastor of the …

[German Version] 1. Matthias (Oct 27, 1618, Süchteln on the Lower Rhine – Oct 9, 1686, Herborn). After attending secondary school in Wesel from 1632, Nethenus studied philosophy and theology in Harderwijk, Deventer, and Utrecht. In 1646 he became pastor and headmaster in Kleve. Through the good offices of G. Voetius he was called in 1654 to be professor of theology in Utrecht, but in 1662 he was removed from office because of a polemical writing against S. Maresius in the controversy over the proper…

[German Version] (Oct 7, 1625, Brieg – May 19, 1687, Leiden), Reformed theologian. Initially he studied law and later theology in Bremen, Groningen, and Leiden, where he was introduced to the philosophy of R. Descartes. In 1650 he was appointed professor of philosophy at Herborn and in 1652 pastor in Duisburg; in 1655…

[German Version] (probably 1596, Bordeaux – Jan 30, 1676, near Paris). Having studied jurisprudence and absorbed the ideas of Calvinism and late French Humanism, La Peyrère was suspected of atheism within the Reformed Church as early as 1626. In 1656, he attempted to evade the acute threat from the Spanish-Flemish Inquisition by converting to Catholicism and joining the order of the Oratorians. His messianic theory divides the history of salvation into…

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Legal Aspects – III. Economics – IV. Non-Christian Antiquity – V. Bible – VI. Christianity – VII. Judaism – VIII. Islam I. Concept Interest is payment in exchange for a right of use or exploitation, typically on a temporary basis and always agreed for a fixed period of time. Money later gained increasing importance as an object of lending and now occupies a dominant position, although other items or rights remain possible as objects of lending, as for example rent. In economics (see III below), this mutual commitment between the conferral…

[German Version] (Jul 19, 1569, Cologne – Sep 29, 1622, Tönning), Arminian theologian. Vorst studied with J. Piscator in Herborn in 1593 and in 1593 and 1594 in Heidelberg, Basel, and Geneva. In 1596 he was appointed professor of theology at the Gymnasium Illustre in Steinfurt. He accepted a call to Leiden in 1611. Suspected early on of Socinianism (Socinians), in 1619 he was condemned by the Synod of Dort and expelled from the Netherlands. Along with other Remonstrants (Remonstration), he finally found refuge i…

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[German Version] (1626, Romorantin, Département Loir-et-Cher – Sep 27, 1685, Carré, near Orléans). After studying theology at Saumur, Pajon was appointed pastor in Marchenoir in 1650; in 1666 he became professor of theolo…

[German Version] (Jan 1, 1902, Vienna – Apr 9/17, 1945, Sachsenhausen). The jurist Hans v. Dohnanyi's almost uninterrupted career at the Reich Ministry of Justice began in 1929. From 1934 to 1938, he served as head of its Bureau of Ministry. In this position of trust, he was able to furnish the Confessing Church with important information about the church policies of the National Socialists …

[German Version] (c. 1525, Zierikzee/Zeeland [?] – c. 1562, Emden) studied law in Leuven, was ordained priest in 1552, and assumed leadership of the Reformed congregation in Antwerp in dangerous circumstances in 1556. Having sojourned in Aachen and Emden, Haemstede pastored the expatriate Dutch congregation in London from 1559. Here, he was excommunicated by archbishop Grindal in 1560 because of his tolerant attitude toward the Anaba…

[German Version] (Claude de Saumaise; Apr 15, 1588, Semur-en-Auxois, Burgundy – Sep 3, 1653, Spa), philologist and jurisprudent. Salmasius studied with I. Casaubonus in Paris and Dionysius Gothofredus (1549–1622) in Heidelberg. He quickly began publishing annotated editions and works on the history of the Early Church, rejected the papal claim of primacy, and disputed critically with the Jesuits. Since his Calvinist beliefs appeared to rule out his planned career as a civil servant in Dijon, he de…

[German Version] (Jun 9, 1590, Gut Bardt, near Elberfeld – Jan 1, 1658, Deventer), Reformed theologian. After studying in Herborn, Siegen, and Leiden, in 1609 he was appointed pastor in Randerath (Jülich) and in 1617 in Deventer. As a participant in the Synod of Dort in 1618/1619, Sibel advocated moderate orthodoxy (II, 2.b). He also assisted in the Dutch translation of the New Testament. Christoph Strohm Bibliography J. Reitsma, Geschiedenis van de hervorming en de hervormde kerk der Nederlanden, 1899, 51949 (Dutch).

[German Version] (1619, La-Sauvetat-du-Dropt – Jan 13, 1687, The Hague). After studying at Montauban, Claude became a pastor in St. Affrique and, from 1654, in Nîmes. In 1661, he was forbidden to preach after plans to reunify the Protestants with the Catholic Church were rejected by a provincial synod over which he presided; in 1662, he became pastor and pro…

[German Version] (Sep 15, 1678, Vevey, Vaud – Sep 28, 1750, Lausanne). After studies in Bern, Berlin, and Leiden, Ruchat was appointed pastor in Aubonne in 1709, then in Rolle in 1716. In 1721 he was appointed professor of literature and in 1733 professor of theology in Lausanne. In 1727/1728 he published a Histoire de la réformation de la Suisse (6 vols., covering 1516–1536). His life work, an Histoire générale de la Suisse (to 1516), was never published. His works, based on meticulous archival research but still written with an apologetic aim, made him the father …

[German Version] Franeker, principal town in the district of Franekeradeel in the Dutch province of Friesland. In 1585, the governor of Friesland, Count William Louis of Nassau, founded the second university in the northern N…

[German Version] (Jul 14, 1634, Paris – Dec 2, 1719, Amsterdam). After studying theology, Quesnel joined the Oratorians in 1657. Ordained to the priesthood in 1659, he became director of the order’s school in Paris. His early Réflexions morales sur le Nouveau Testament (1668; ET: The New Testament, with Moral Reflections upon Every Verse, 1719–1725), a major work that appeared in various editions and was also widely read in Germany, already showed his Jansenist leanings (Jansenism) and aroused much hostility. His defense of Gallican liberties (Gal…

[German Version] (Mar/Apr 1577, Heidelberg – Mar 17, 1649, Amsterdam), philologist and Reformed theologian. After studying philosophy and theology at Leiden, he was appointed rector of the Latin …

[German Version] (Makowski; 1588, Lobzenic, Poland – Jun 24, 1644, Franeker, the Netherlands) attended secondary school in Danzig and studied in various places including Heidelberg. In 1614 in Franeker he became a doctor of theology, and already in 1615 was appointed there to the post of professor of theology and physics. By his Aristotelian teaching he made a significant contribution to the dev…

[German Version] (Schröder; c. 1560, Schönfließ, Brandenburg – 1626, Großen-Englis, Hesse), Reformed theologian. Pastor in Rietberg since 1585, he was expelled by Paderborn Jesuits in 1607 and later became pastor in Ropperhausen (Hesse). His 1606 Brennende Fackel attacking the Jesuits has not survived. His …

[German Version] (Oct 20, 1543, Senlis, Picardy – Feb 3, 1628, Geneva). After studying law and converting to Protestantism, Goulart moved to Geneva in 1566 and became pastor in the nearby municipalities of Chancy and Cartigny. In 1571, he assumed the pastorate in Genève-St. Gervais. Apart from brief pastoral activities in French congregations, he officiated there until the end of his life. After the death of T. Beza in 1605, he chaired the Vénérable Compagnie des…

[German Version] I. History The Reformed League (Reformierter Bund) was founded in August 1884 at a conference in Marburg commemorating the 400th anniversary of Zwingli’s birth; as a registered association, its purpose was defined as “preservation and cultivation of the goods and bounties of the Reformed Church.” It was conceived as a loose association of churches, congregations, and individual members, seeking to strengthen Reformed identity in light of the Lutheran preponderance in Germany, which…

[German Version] (Braunius; 1628, Kaiserslautern – 1708, Groningen) studied under J. Cocceius in Leiden. After preaching in Zeeland, Delft, and, from 1661, in Nijmegen, Braun became professor there in 1665 and professor of theology and Hebrew in Groningen in 1680. The further development of Cocceiu…

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[German Version] (Feb 11, 1556, Utrecht – Sep 4, 1644, The Hague), leader of the Dutch Remonstrants (Remonstration). Together with J. Arminius, he studied with T. Beza in Geneva from 1580 to 1584. In 1584 he was appointed pastor in Utrecht and in 1591 in The Hague, where he served as theological adviser to J. van Oldenbarnevelt and (after 1601) as court and military chaplain of Maurice of Orange. Against the orthodox Calvinists he defended the teachings of Arminius; after the latter’s death, he joined with others to compose the five articles of the …

[German Version] (1529/1530, Doornik [Tournai] – Jul 15, 1602, Amsterdam), Reformed theologian. After studying with Calvin and T. Beza in Geneva from 1558 to 1560, he served churches in Aachen, Metz, Antwerp, Heidelberg, and (at the end of his life) in Amsterdam. In 1571 he played a leading role at the Dutch synod in Emden; from 1574 to 1583 he served…

[German Version] (1653, Dolberg/Mark – Jul 12, 1718, Amsterdam), Reformed theologian. Following study in Utrecht under F. Burman (1), in Groningen under J. Alting, and in Zürich under J.H. Heidegger, Roëll became court preacher in Herford in 1679, and pastor in Leeuwarden in 1680, and in Deventer in 1682. From 1686 he taught philosophy and theology at Franeker University, and from 1704 theology in Utrecht. He was a moderate Cocceian Cartesian (J. Cocceius, R. Descartes), whose theology was based on the concept of conscientia as an innate idea that makes possible God-given knowledge of revelation. The term “Roëllism” became a synonym of Rationalism, even though Roëll himself did not exert great influence. …

[German Version] (Aug 4/5, 1540 Agen, Département Lot-et-Garonne – Jan 21, 1609, Leiden). After initial instruction at home by his father, Scaliger studied in Paris, where he joined the Huguenots in 1562. From 1572 to 1574 he taught at the academy in Geneva (II), afterwards working as an independent scholar. In 1593 he was appointed to the chair of ancient languages at Leiden, succeeding J. Lipsius. Editor of many ancient works, he proved to be an outstanding textual critic. As the father of the m…

[German Version] (Aug 9, 1599, Oisemont, Picardy – May 18, 1673, Groningen). After studying in Paris, Saumur, and Geneva, Maresius became a pastor in Laon in 1620 and in Falaise in 1624. Appointed professor at Sedan in 1625, he went to Maastricht as a Walloon pastor in 1631; in 1636 to went on to 's-Hertogenbosch and finally was appointed professor in Groningen in 1643, where he also became a pastor in 1652. His works are mostly in the area of controversial theology. Until 1636 his primary target …

[German Version] (Feb 4, 1563, Goldberg, Silesia [Złotoryja, Poland] – Aug 1, 1633, Paris), Reformed theologian. After studying in Germany, Tilenus was appointed professor of theology at the Academy of Sedan. In his dispute with P. Du Moulin over the interpretation of the unio hypostatica, he accused Du Moulin of advocating ubiquity. During preparations for the Synod of Dort, Tilenus defended the position of the Remonstrants against J. Cameron, a stance that lost him his chair in 1618. Against the Presbyterians, he emphasized the value of…

[German Version] (Gentilis; c. 1520 Cosenza, Calabria – Sep 10, 1566, Bern), a humanist, joined the Italian refugee community in Geneva after his flight from Italy in 1557. Under the influence of M. Gribaldi, he ¶ criticized the church's doctrine of the Trinity and, thus, came into conflict with the Genevan authorities. His rejection of the scholastic concept of substance and his intensive involvement with the church fathers led him to a subordinationist understanding of the Trinity. The Father alone is the source of deity and the…

[German Version] I. History and Theology 1. Terminology. For programmatic theological reasons, the Reformed churches rejected the exonym Calvinist churches. They referred to themselves as Reformed churches because they did not think of themselves as new churchdoms alongside the one holy church but as a part of that church, albeit as part of it renewed according to God’s Word in Holy Scripture. In speaking of themselves, therefore, they eschewed references to a theological founder or a particular place of origin. The 17th-century formula …

[German Version] (1541 – Oct 15, 1608, Geneva), son of a Paris conseiller du Parlement, Perrot probably studied law at Bourges; in 1564 he studied theology at Geneva. He served as pastor in Moens (Ain) and Genthod until 1567, when he moved to Geneva. From 1570 to 1572 and from 1588 to 1592, he was rector of the Geneva Academy and frequently substituted for T. Beza as teacher of theology; in 1598 he was appointed professor of theology. Irenically inclined, his demand for toleration and especially for abolishing the mandatory signing of the Formula confessionis fidei by the students drew criticism, which led him to resign his chair in 1599. Christoph Strohm Bibliography On Perrot: J.-E. Céllerier, Charles Perrot. Pasteur genevois au seizième siècle, Mémoir…

[German Version] (c. 1520, Seville [?] – Mar 15, 1594, Frankfurt am Main). On account of his Protestant views, in 1557 he fled from Spain to the Netherlands, England, and finally Frankfurt am Main. From 1559 to 1563 he served as pastor to the Spanish Protestant community in London and from 1578 to 1585 as pastor to the Lutheran community in Antwerp. Later he spent most of his time in Frankfurt. His most important work, a Spanish translation of the Bible, was published in Basel in 1569.…

[German Version] (1565, in the Dauphiné – Oct 17, 1621, Montauban) studied theology in Geneva (1583–1589) and, after serving as pastor in various congregations, he became his father's successor in Montélimar (c. 1595). In the negotiations about the promulgation of the Edict of Nantes (France, Huguenots), Chamier took a hard line and soon played a prominent role …

[German Version] In the southern French principality of Orange, which by inheritance had come to belong to the house of Nassau-Orange, the Reformation had taken an early hold. Orange, however, lost its sovereignty in the War of the Spanish Succession, and in 1703 Louis XIV issued a decree banning the Reformed church there. Those exiled for their faith, called Orangeois, mostly settled in Brandenburg-Prussia …

[German Version] The Rijksuniversiteit Groningen was established by the provinces on Nov 26, 1612 as the third university in the northern Netherlands following Leiden (1575) and Franeker (1585) and was opened on Aug 23, 1614 in a former monastery. It included chairs for theology, law, medicine, philosophy, history and mathematics. The first rector was the Calvinist East-Frisian historian, Ubo Emmius (1547– 1625). Through many foreign students and outstanding scholars, the university gained a lofty…

[German Version] Wishing that the formation of pastors and jurists should not be left to the Catholic University of Leuven, William of Orange founded the first university of the northern Netherlands in Leiden in 1575. In addition to the theological and juridical fields of study, departments of philosophy and literature as well as medicine were also planned. From the very beginning, the university was characterized by a strong orientation to Humanism (III) and Calvinism. The Humanist philologists J…

[German Version] (1541, Paris – Nov 16, 1603, Paris). After studying law, Charron became an advocate in Paris in 1571; soon, however, he entered the clergy and became a successful preacher in southern France, in part as court preacher to Queen Marguerite of Angoulême, and was a canon at Bordeaux. His Des trois vérités (1594), which led the bishop of Cahors to appoint him vicar-general, is an apology for the existence of God against atheists, f…

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[German Version] 1. Friedrich, the Elder…

[German Version] In the Middle Ages, this city in …

[German Version] (Jan 29, 1718, Bédarieux, Département Hérault – Sep 25, 1794, Nîmes). At an early age, he joined with Jean Bétrine (1718–1756) and for four years shared with him the dangerous life of an itinerant preacher of the “church in the desert.” In 1738 he was formally admitted as a preacher in Nîmes; in 1740/1741 he studied with A. Court for six months at the theological seminary in Lausanne. During the following 40 years of his ministry as a pastor of the persecuted Reformed Church in Fr…

[German Version] (du Jon; May 1, 1545, Bourges – Oct 13, 1602, Leiden). After studying law in Bourges and theology in Geneva with T. Beza, Junius became the French preacher in Antwerp in 1565 and in the Electoral Palatinate in 1567. There, from 1573 onward, he collaborated with I. Tremellius on a Latin translation of the Old Testament. In 1576, he became professor of theology in Neustadt an der Haardt, in ¶ 1584 in Heidelberg and in 1592 in Leiden. With his Eirenicum de pace ecclesiae catholicae (first in Fr., 1593), written for Henry IV of France, which proposed a Gallican mode…

[German Version] (1688, Paris – Feb 2, 1753, Ampleben, near Wolfenbüttel). Influenced by the writings of the quietist mystic A. Bourignon, Marsay, of a noble Huguenot family, left military service in 1711 to retire from the world and lead a contemplative life with the colony of exiles on the property of the countess of Wittgenstein at Schwarzenau, near Berleburg. After 1712 Marsay, in a spiritual marriage with Clara Elisabeth v. C…

[German Version] (c. 1555 Langwarden, Butjadingen, Lower Saxony – Jan 10, 1625, Franeker, The Netherlands). After studying at Wittenberg, Geneva, Marburg, and Neustadt an der Haardt and a brief ministry in Emden from 1582 to 1584, Lubbert…

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[German Version] 1. Lucas the Elder (1542, Erin, near Douai – Aug 28, 1602, Leiden), Reformed theologian. After studying at Paris and stays in London, Lille, Brussels, and Antwerp, in 1585 he was appointed pastor of the French congregation in Leiden; in 1587 he was also appointed professor of theology at the University of Leiden. Christoph Strohm Bibliography Works: see 2 below. On Trelcatius: A. Eekhof, De theologische faculteit te Leiden in de 17de eeuw, 1921 (Dutch) H.L. Clotz, Hochschule für Holland. Die Universität Leiden im Spannungsfeld zwischen Provinz, Stadt und K…