Calvin’s Reply to Sadoleto

John Calvin’s 1539 reply to Jacopo Sadoleto is a very important exchange that encapsulates much of the essence of the debates surrounding Rome and Protestantism at the time.  The two letters illustrate the deep divisions between each side and provide a brief testimony to the heart of the Reformation.  In many ways, Rome did not understand what the Reformation really was about nor did they understand how to deal with it. Though Sadoleto sent this letter to the Genevans at what appeared to be an opportune time considering Farel and Calvin were absent, Calvin’s response surely had to have been a wakeup call; that a return to Rome was no longer possible.

Calvin responded to Sadoleto’s request for the Genevans to return to the Catholic church in his typical, tightly organized and logical fashion.  Likewise, Sadoleto’s letter was characteristic of his humanist training and was quite irenic.  Though Calvin also had a humanist education his response invoked much of his own experience. Calvin centered on two main issues: the reform of worship according to the Word and justification by faith.  Though the role of the Spirit is highly visible throughout Calvin’s treatment, he centers his response on these two items.

For Calvin, the main trajectory of the Reformation was the reform of worship away from the idolatrous practices that had come to infect the Catholic church.  Rome had strayed far and as a result Calvin stressed the need to not go beyond the Word in the practice of ceremonies and other superstitious practices.  His reason for advocating such a regulative principle lies in the controlling and authoritative role of the Word.  Calvin’s emphasis is in stark contrast to Sadoleto’s letter.  Sadoleto saw the Church as infallible because the Spirit guides and directs her actions and declarations.  But Calvin saw the Catholic church as corrupt, and for him, the true church was subject only to the Word of God because the Spirit works through the Word.  This connection demonstrates not only a stark contrast between Calvin’s and Sadoleto’s theology of worship, but points out the vast difference in ecclesiology, namely, church authority.

The second principle issue in Calvin’s reply is justification by faith alone.  Calvin dissects Sadoleto’s understanding of justification and shows how he has gone astray.  Sadoleto’s justification includes good works wrought by believers.  Calvin however, stresses the external righteosness of Christ alone as the sole ground of a believer’s justification.  Again, the differences are massive.  Though Calvin points out the vast difference on the issue of justification, the overall concern of his response actually distinguishes his own view of reformation from Luther’s.  Luther’s trajectory of reformation was simply that bound up with justification by faith, and though Calvin is certainly not less than this, Calvin is largely concerned with the Spirit’s reforming work though the Word applied particularly to worship.

These large and irreconcilable differences betray a lack of understanding about the situation on the part of Sadoleto and Rome.  Indeed, Sadoleto’s letter, while addressed to and intended for the Genevans, was written in Latin.  Though Calvin’s response was also written in Latin, he provided additional copies in French which were in turn read by the people.  As you might expect, Sadoleto’s letter was read by almost no one.

Calvin stressed that the Reformation is not about man’s desires, but about God’s work.  As such, he is further resistant to Sadoleto’s persuasion.  If Calvin had his way earlier in life, he could have had a high office in the church by 1539.  He could have had that academic life he so desired when he met Farel.  But as it were, God had other plans.  Therefore, because this was indeed the character of the Reformation, the Genevans would not return to Rome.  Sadoleto’s plea would not be heeded. Sadoleto’s letter and Calvin’s response together demonstrate the deep divide between Rome and the Reformers and frame the key issues of the tension in both a terse and lucid fashion.

Camden Bucey is the president of Reformed Forum. He graduated with an MDiv in 2011 and is currently a PhD student at Westminster Theological Seminary. Camden is a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and a licentiate of the presbytery of Philadelphia. You can follow Camden on Twitter at @camdenbucey. This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Miscellany. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.