Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies, Vol. 66
Theology encounters history and culture in sixteenth-century France in this examination of French Protestantism. The analysis reveals how Calvinism’s growing influence led to the unification of French Protestant churches despite the opposition of the royalty. The interaction between newly adopted Calvinist theology and French society led to the development of the presbyterian polity of the church government, a concept that quickly spread through western Europe.
Practically every Calvinist church created in the sixteenth century adopted a Confession to define its faith and a Discipline to organize its institutions. Glenn Sunshine’s fresh and solid book is a superb analysis of the Disciplines created in France to give a synodical and presbyterial structure to their Reformed churches. This French model was to have tremendous influence throughout the Reformed world. As Sunshine points out, however, many churches within France itself, especially those created and patronized by noblemen, did not fit within the system. This book is one of the earliest major products of a team directed by Bernard Roussel that plans to provide us with critical editions of these Disciplines. It is a major contribution to knowledge that anyone interested in Reformed ecclesiology will want to examine.
—Robert M. Kingdon