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[German Version] an ancient family from Lucca, which for religious reasons settled in Zürich in 1587 and Geneva in 1592. It included several significant theologians. 1. Bénédict (Nov 9, 1588, Zürich – Mar 4, 1631, Geneva), pastor and professor at the Académie from 1612 (Geneva: II). He was a conspicuous advocate of Calvinistic theology, especially in defending the Geneva Bible against the Jesuit Pierre Coton. 2. François (Oct 17, 1623, Geneva – Sep 28, 1687, Geneva), son of Bénédict. He became a pastor in 1648 and a professor at the Académie in 1653. He taugh…

[German Version] (actually Tomasini, Benedetto; 1487, Siena – end of 1564, Slavkov [Austerlitz]), was born in the Oca quarter of Siena, from which his later ¶ name is derived. In 1503 he entered the Order of Franciscan Observants (Franciscans), which he left, however, in 1534 following disputes, in order to join the more ascetic Capuchins. In 1538 and 1541 he was elected their vicar general. From 1536, under the influence of P. Waldo, he came in contact with Reformation ideas, which became increasingly prominent in his p…

[German Version] (Petrus; Sep 8, 1499, Florence – Dec 12, 1562, Zürich), joined the Canons Regular of St. Augustine in Fiesole in 1514, studied from 1518 to 1526 at the University of Padua, and was elected abbot of Spoleto in 1533. In 1537 he moved to the monastery of San Pietro ad Aram in Napels, where he established close ties with the spirituali gathered around J. de Valdés. ¶ There Vermigli became convinced of the Reformers’ teaching, in a Zwinglian vein. In August of 1542 he fled to Strasbourg via Zürich to escape the Inquisition; in Strasbourg he taught as …

[German Version] (Oct 21, 1672, Vignola near Modena – Jan 23, 1750, Modena), historian and theologian. By his study in Modena of philosophy, theology and law he laid the ground for universal education. In 1695 he became prefect of the Ambrosiana in Milan, and in 1700 city archivist and librarian in Modena, where his life-long occupation with a wide variety of scholarly activities unfolded. In addition, as provost of S. Maria della Pomposa (1716–1734) he excercised his clerical office with equal de…

[German Version] (Jan 9, 1741, Rignana near Florence – Jan 27, 1810, Rignana), bishop of Pistoia and Prato, one of the most important representatives of Italian Jansenism. From 1775 as vicar general in Florence, and especially during his episcopate in Pistoia and Prato (1780–1791), Ricci, who inclined towards Jansenism, tirelessly pursued reforming aims in agreement with the church policy of Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Tuscany, later Emperor LeopoldII. In 1783 Ricci founded a theological academy i…

[German Version] (Mofa; c. 1500, Chieri, Italy – Sep 1564, Farges, France), a jurist from Piemont, taught in various European universities. In 1548, he moved to Padua where he made the decision to convert to Protestantism. For this reason, he left Italy in 1555 and traveled via Zürich to Geneva, where he met Calvin. Calvin suspected him of anti-Trinitarianism. Summoned to Tübingen at the prompting of Bonifacius Amerbach, he secretly left the city and the university in 1557 because of accusations o…

[German Version] (Feb 2, 1516, Alzano, near Bergamo – Nov 19, 1590, Neustadt). In 1531 Zanchius joined the Augustinian Canons in Bergamo. In 1541 he was sent to Lucca, where he converted to Protestantism under the influence of Peter Martyr Vermigli. Fleeing Italy in 1551, he stayed in Geneva for ten months and took refuge in Straßburg (Strasbourg) from 1553 to 1563. He served as professor of Old Testament at the College of St. Thomas until he was forced to leave Straßburg as a result of his confli…

[German Version] (Aug 24, 1552, Venice – Jan 15, 1623, Venice), theologian and historian. He joined the Servites in 1566 and became the superior of the Venetian province in 1579; from 1585 to 1588 he served as procurator general of his order in Rome, then returned to Venice. Between 1605 and 1607 he was drawn into the bitter conflict between the Holy See and Venice, in the course of which the republic was placed under interdict. As theological counselor to the republic and in the spirit of Gallica…

[German Version] (1514, Gazzuolo, Italy – Apr 16, 1566, Naples). Giulia Gonzaga, whose extraordinary beauty was the subject of a poem by Ludovico Ariosto (1474–1533), was married to Vespasiano Colonna, the count of Fondi near Naples. Widowed at the age of 16, she ruled the small territory with discretion and made it a cultural center, frequented by such literati as Francesco Berni (1497–1535) and Francesco Maria Molza (1489–1544) and by reforming spirits like Pietro Carnesecchi (1508–1566) and P.P…

[German Version] (Jan 1517, Naples – May 7, 1586, Geneva), count of Vico and nephew of Carafa (Paul IV), came into contact with reformation ideas in the circle around J. de Valdés and especially through his encounter with Peter Martyr Vermigli. In 1551, Caracciolo fled to Geneva, where he was instrumental in the establishment of the Italian refugee community. After 1559, he participated in the politics of the republic as a member of parliament, earning universal regard. Calvin, whose friendship Caracciolo enjoyed, dedicated his commentary on 1 Corinthians to him. Emidio Campi Bibliogra…

[German Version] (1510, Ferrara – Oct 9, 1580, Sedan), who was born to a Jewish family, studied at Padua, where he converted to Christianity in 1540 in the house of R. Pole. In Lucca he experienced a conversion to Protestantism in the circle of Peter Martyr Vermigli’s followers. In 1542 he fled the Inquisition and taught Hebrew at Strasbourg. From 1548 to 1553 he served as professor of Old Testament at Cambridge. His stay in England ended when the Catholic Mary Stuart of Scotland came to the thron…

[German Version] (Jun 6, 1576, Geneva – Oct 3, 1649, Geneva). From an old family of the city of Lucca who had settled in Geneva in 1567 for religious reasons, Diodati was the youngest professor in the Academy of ¶ Geneva, first of Hebrew (1597–1606) and later of theology (1599–1645). He participated in a failed attempt to introduce the Reformation in Venice and maintained contact in person and in correspondence with P. Sarpi. He represented…

[German Version] (1503, Cirie, Piemont – 1569) accepted Reformation ideas in the course of his study of literature and jurisprudence at the University of Turin. His critique of traditional religion brought him into increasing conflict with the church authorities. In 1536, he was called as professor to the University of Pavia, but was already dismissed three years later under ¶ pressure from the Inquisition. He moved to Venice, Ferrara and Lucca, and enjoyed a friendship with Peter Martyr Vermigli and H. Zanchius until he had to flee …

[German Version] (c. 1506, Noyon, Picardy –1538, Italy), French Reformed theologian; his family was related to Calvin. After studying in Orléans and Strasbourg under M. Bucer and W. Capito, Olivétan worked in 1531/1532 as preceptor in Geneva and Neuchâtel, then went as a teacher to the Waldenses in the high valleys of Piedmont. At the suggestion of G. Farel, and commissioned by the Waldenses, he made the first Reformed translation of the Bible into French (Bible translations: II, 2.a.α). Its first edition appeared in June 1535 in Neuchâtel, and with numerous revisions the…

[German Version] (Zürich Theological School). In the older literature called the Prophezei, the theological school at the former Zürich Großmünsterstift (Zürich) underwent various transformations during the 16th century. It was rooted in the biblical-exegetical working group that went back to Zwingli and which – in accordance with his understanding of 1 Cor 14:29 – was called Prophecey in the church order of 1535 [CR 91, 701]. From it grew the lectorium lecture system, which was built on the existing Latin school; this “upper school” (Schola Tigurina) was the prec…

[German Version] (Sep 20, 1495, Palermo – Dec 30, 1543, Verona). Before he became bishop of Verona in 1524, as secretary and adviser to Clement VII, he supported the pope's anti-Habsburg policy and pushed him to forge an alliance with Franz I. After the Sacco di Roma (1527) and the collapse of the policy he proposed, he withdrew to his diocese. Associated with personalities such as Cajetan of Tiene, G. Contarini, R. Pole and J. Sadoleto, he enacted reforms that made him the most important reform bishop before C. Borromeo. He strengthened ep…

[German Version] (Feb 16, 1692, Lucca – Sep 27, 1769, Lucca), regular cleric of the Congregatio Matris Dei. He first taught moral theology in Naples, and was then theological adviser to Archbishop Colloredo in Lucca, where he founded an academy for church history and liturgy. In 1765 he became archbishop of Lucca. His learning and keen collector's zeal, but also his lack of critical sense and independent judgment, are attested by the range and breadth of his activity as editor and translator (including ed. with comm. of C. Baronius's Annales ecclesiastici, 38 vols., 1738–1759; Lat. t…

[German Version] (1498, Capodistria, Istria – Oct 4, 1565, Tübingen). After studying law at Padua, Vergerio entered the service of the papacy. In 1553 he was appointed nuncio in Vienna; in Germany in 1535, as a legate of Paul III he urged the convocation of a general council. In May of 1536 he was appointed bishop of Modruš and soon afterwards bishop of Capodistria. His advocacy of a general council at the Colloquy of Worms (1540; Disputations, Religious: I, 4.b) and innovations in his diocese ope…

[German Version] (Huldrych, Huldreich; Jan 1, 1484, Willdhaus Oct 11, 1531, near Kappel am Albis) I. Life and Works 1. Youth and education. Despite much work, we have only fragmentary knowledge of Zwingli’s biography prior to 1518, when he was appointed a stipendiary ¶ priest at the Great Minster in Zürich (Switzerland). As the third child of Ulrich Zwingli, a prosperous mountain farmer, and his wife Margaretha ( née Bruggmann), in 1489 he came under the care of his uncle Bartholomäus Zwingli, a cleric in Weesen, on the Wallensee, where he attended the local sch…

[German Version] (Jul 18, 1504, Bremgarten– Sep 17, 1575, Zürich), a follower of Zwingli in Zürich and a Reformer of European significance. He studied from 1519 to 1522 at the University of Cologne, where he earned the degree of Magister Artium. Through the influence of humanistic teachers, the study of the church fathers, and the reading of the works of Erasm…