20 Developments within Catholicism, 1490 – 1545 ◈

In Italy, many Catholics found themselves drawn to more biblical understandings of the Christian life, and did not see such an eclectic approach to theology or spirituality as compromising their ecclesial identities. Groups gathered around charismatic individuals such as Gasparo Contarini in Venice, Vittorio Colonna and Reginald Pole in Viterbo, and the Spanish exile Juan de Valdés in Naples. 3 Scholars have struggled to make sense of this phenomenon, being unable to find a defensible term for such Pauline or evangelical currents of thought, establish how porous their boundaries were, or convincingly identify their origins. 4 What seems clear, however, is that this new interest in engaging the New Testament did not initially give rise to understandings of justification which aligned with those of Luther or the evangelical group at Wittenberg. Such an alignment unquestionably took place over time, by a process of assimilation resulting from increased familiarity with Luther’ s works. It was, however, generally absent in the period 1490‒ 1520, when independent movements working for renewal and reform within the Catholic church emerged in many parts of Europe.

The rise of the alumbrados (‘ the enlightened’ ) in Spain during the 1490s is of particular interest. Initially, the term appears to have been used to refer to individuals with a heightened sense of religious duty or experience, often linked with the forms of Christian humanism which lay behind the Cisernian reforms of this period. 5 Although it is difficult to identify the core beliefs or theological motivations of what is clearly a diverse and disconnected group, 6 some of their ideas appear to reflect more evangelical approaches to justification – though without any of the forensic themes that emerged at Wittenberg during the 1530s. Although there are clear divergences between alumbramiento and early Lutheran ideas, the polemical context was such that the perception of affinities between certain alumbrados and Luther was sufficient to lead to the suppression of the movement in the 1520s.

One of the most important figures of the Spanish religious renaissance for our purposes is Juan de Valdés, whose Diálogo de doctrina cristiana (1529) developed a more Augustinian doctrine of justification which appears to have served as a model for evangelical movements in Italy during the 1530s. 7 In his ‘ Divine Considerations’ (Las ciento diez divinas consideraciones ), Valdés identifies what he considers to be the chief difficulty concerning the justification of humanity as follows: 8 ‘ It is useful to humanity that God is omnipotent, generous, wise, strong, merciful and pious; but it does not seem useful that God is righteous , in that if God is righteous and humanity is unrighteous, we have no hope of salvation through the judgement of God.’ Valdés answers this question by arguing that God, having punished Christ, and hence humanity, for the sins of humankind, may be relied upon not to punish them twice for the same offence. 9 Believers should therefore appreciate that they are righteous in Christ (although they are sinners in themselves), in that the penalty for sin has been laid upon Christ, not upon them. 10 While this marks a significant departure from an Erasmian anthropology, Valdés’ s statement of the principle simul iustus et peccator cannot easily be aligned with Luther’ s understanding of the notion. Valdes’ s arrival in Italy in 1531 led to his subsequently exercising considerable influence over Italian reforming circles. 11

Early sixteenth-century Italy also saw the emergence of movements that were sympathetic to the reform and renewal of the Catholic church, often arising from a new interest in the Pauline letters, from the humanist encouragement to return ad fontes to the fountainheads of authentic Christian thought and life. 12 Some – such as Vittoria Colonna , who became one of the most popular female poets of sixteenth-century Italy – arrived at what is essentially an evangelical theology of justification by faith, without seeing this as in any way requiring them to break their connections with either the Catholic church or traditional forms of Catholic spirituality. 13 Some of those who became leading figures in the Italian church around this time had links and associations with the Spirituali – links that were perhaps seen as innocent in the 1520s and early 1530s, but which became more problematic in the 1540s. 14

Benedetto de Mantova ’ s Trattato utilissimo del beneficio di Giesu Cristo crocifisso (‘ A Most Useful Tract on the Benefits of Jesus Christ Crucified’ ) appears to have been widely read in Italy during the 1540s. Its doctrine of justification affirms God’ s graciousness, and willingness to accept sinners on account of the death of Christ. Yet its understanding of justification is clearly Augustinian: ‘ Justifying faith is a work of God within us, by which our former selves are crucified, and we are all transformed in Christ, becoming a new creature and beloved children of God.’ 15 Through faith, the believer is united with Christ, so that the believer receives Christ’ s honour and glory, whereas Christ takes on the believer’ s misery and imperfection. 16 Justification is clearly understood in transformative terms, often framed in relation to the believer’ s union with Christ through faith. Significantly, there is no suggestion that the church is necessarily implicated in the mediation of Christ’ s benefits; this process is presented in terms suggesting that it is best seen as a private matter between the individual and God.

Early sixteenth-century France also witnessed the emergence of reforming movements within the church. A significant evangelical network centred on Marguerite d’ Angoulême , who became Queen of Navarre after her marriage to Henri d’ Albret in 1527. 17 Yet French evangelical reform is generally regarded as radiating outwards from the ‘ Circle of Meaux’ , a group which gathered around the evangelical bishop Guillaume Briçonnet in the late 1510s. Briçonnet’ s writings make clear his criticisms of some trends within the spirituality of his time, particularly achievement-based approaches to holiness or justification. Yet while Briçonnet affirms the core theme of justification by faith, not by works, he does not use the language of imputation or reputation in doing so. ‘ We are justified by grace, and saved by faith and the grace of God, and not by our works.’ 18 Similarly, Aimé Maigret , accused of heresy in 1524, insisted that justification by faith was the foundation of authentic Christian faith, and on that basis criticised the cult of the saints and clerical celibacy. Yet his known statements on justification make no reference to the imputation or reputation of Christ’ s righteousness: ‘ We are justified by faith. The good works which are acceptable to God are the fruit of justification.’ 19

Some of Briçonnet’ s circle remained within the Catholic church; others self-identified as Protestants and sought both refuge and potential ministries in other parts of Europe. 20 One of the most important of this latter ground was Guillaume Farel , who fled from France and sought refuge in the city of Geneva, where he initiated reforming measures which, though wide in scope, focussed particularly on Christian practice, including prayer and the singing of Psalms. 21 Farel played a significant role in the introduction of the Reformation to Neuchâtel in 1530, in Geneva from 1532 onwards, as well as persuading Lausanne to adopt the Reformation in 1536. 22 Farel sets out a traditional account of the basis of human salvation in the death of Christ, who ‘ shed his precious blood for the forgiveness of sins, and to purge us of our transgressions … when we believe this our hearts are purified and our souls made alive’ . 23 Farel’ s specific views on justification are set out the seventh chapter of his Summaire. For Farel, justification is about the restoration of ‘ God’ s true image which shines through the regeneration effected by God’ s Word and is received by faith’ . 24 Justification is clearly understood as something that is transformative, preparing and enabling the believer to do good works. 25 In due course, Farel’ s theology would be displaced as Calvin ’ s star rose, bringing with it a wider acceptance of more forensic approaches to justification.

Farel’ s ecclesiology is of interest, as it offers insights into the appeal of this approach to justification at this time. For Farel, justification is about being united with Christ, and sharing in his benefits. This easily transposes into membership of the ‘ body of Christ’ – the community of faith, which is seen as the gathering of those who have come to faith, rather than as an institution. 26

In his understanding of both the nature and ecclesial significance of justification by faith, Farel reflects a wider trend in reforming and renewal movements in many parts of western Europe during the 1520s and early 1530s – namely, to emphasise the gratuitous nature of justification, while understanding this as the transformation of the believer. There is no reason to suggest that Farel deliberately chose to overlook the more forensic or declaratory approaches to justification gaining ground at Wittenberg; he does not seem to have been aware of them, and thus framed the doctrine of justification by faith in terms of its subversion of any form of works righteousness, or reliance upon other grounds of acceptance before God – such as the cult of the saints or the purchase of indulgences. While these are, of course, elements of the Wittenberg approach to justification, they are arguably not what makes this approach distinctive. Farel and others occasionally use the language of ‘ reputation’ in speaking of the righteousness of the believer – but such statements are generally little more than a paraphrase of one of the Pauline passages to use this term. 27

This brief analysis of some representative figures and trends within reforming and renewing movements in Spain, Italy and France suggests that the doctrines of justification associated with the Wittenberg Reformation were only partly understood, even by those who were sympathetic to their general ethos. This impression is confirmed by an examination of early polemical responses to the Wittenberg Reformation, which suggest that attention tended to focus on the perceived outcomes of Luther’ s doctrine of justification, rather than the doctrine itself. We shall explore this further in the next chapter .