Bringing the House Down: Contarini and Regensburg (Part 2 of 2)
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June 29, 2023
Part 2 of 2
Last week’s blog post told of the evangelical experience of Roman Catholic Cardinal Gasparo Contarini (1483-1542), who became a champion of evangelical renewal in Italy during the Reformation. Contarini played a key role in a theological conference at Regensburg, Germany, in which Catholic and Reformed scholars attempted to find unity.
The first eight articles for discussion passed jointly without acrimony, such that a young reformed observer on the scene named John Calvin remarked to a colleague that “our adversaries have conceded so much. For they have committed themselves to the essentials of what is our true teaching. Nothing is to be found in it which does not stand out in our writings.”
But trouble was ahead.
Like previous statements, Article Nine was expressed in the most conciliatory terms. References to the teaching office of the Papacy were deliberately excluded. Nevertheless, it asserted that God’s Word was not only bound to Scripture but also to the dogmatic tradition of the Church. In response, Melanchthon asserted the doctrine of sola scriptura (Scripture alone), since elevating tradition to the place of Scripture would have meant betrayal of the evangelical cause. Since the issue was of fundamental importance to Roman Catholic teaching, both sides became stuck in a doctrinal impasse. Everyone in attendance recognized that the colloquy was in jeopardy of an irreparable conflict.
Count Fredrick of Palatinate proposed that the Protestant representatives submit their own statement as an alternative. “Like the original article, this Protestant draft was unpolemical, and went far to meet the Catholic position.”[9] This statement acknowledged the interpretive role of the Church. And following Augustine they agreed that Scripture was to be properly understood in the Church. Nevertheless, the Protestant side objected that interpretation of Scripture was bound to a particular ecclesial office, such as the pope. They argued, “On historical, therefore, as well as theological grounds the infallibility of the Councils and of the early Church Fathers could not be accepted.”[10]
Confronted by an unyielding stalemate, Granvelle intervened, calling for further discussions of Article Nine to be postponed to the end of the colloquy. Among onlookers it may have appeared that the meeting was progressing according to plan, but to participants the severity of the impasse was obvious.
When the issue of authority was evaded, the doom of the colloquy appeared certain. Although dialogue proceeded to address articles 10 to 17 on the sacraments, the predicament of Article Nine continued to loom overhead. Finally, when it came to the doctrine of the Eucharist, Contarini departed from his normal conciliatory manner and dogmatically insisted on the use of the term “transubstantiation.” Another debate ensued. Historian Michael McDuffee explains why Contarini probably changed his attitude so drastically:
“Contarini “fast forwarded” failure’s arrival by demanding that the Lord’s elements must be understood in terms of transubstantiation. He probably did this to cover himself after the issue of authority made it clear that there would be no general agreement. . . . It is true no agreement over the nature of the real presence of Christ was reached, however, this was an anticlimactic conflict. Doctrinal differences receded in significance in comparison to the single most important question, “who has the authority to pronounce on matters of doctrine?” This remains the most important point of division between Catholicism and Protestantism today.”[11]
On May 29 the Colloquy of Regensburg ended, having lasted in total for about a month, while the imperial convention continued until July 29.[12] After the convention concluded, Contarini traveled to the Italian city of Lucca to attend a summit between Emperor Charles V and Pope Paul III.[13] Arriving for its start on September 7, Contarini found lodging at San Frediano, the monastery over which Peter Martyr Vermigli served as Prior.[14] Vermigli’s contemporary biographer, Josiah Simler, indicates that during these days, “Martyr and Contarini held daily discussions about religion.”[15] According to Simler, these discussions revolved around the Regensburg debate.
What does Contarini’s experience teach us about the fundamental difference between Roman Catholic and evangelical Protestant faith? In short, it illustrates the crucial issue of religious authority. When he was forced to choose between his evangelical understanding of the gospel and the authority of the Roman Catholic institution, Contarini submitted to the authority of Rome. Other Italian reformers such as Peter Martyr contrast this response by embracing a life of exile on account of the gospel. But Contarini was truly a Catholic, as demonstrated by his choice of the papacy over his own conscience. This remains the basic difference between Catholics and Protestants to the present.
[9] Matheson, Cardinal Contarini at Regensburg, 118.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Michael McDuffee, interview by author, 11 December 2000, Chicago, IL, electronic mail.
[12] Heinz Mackensen, “The Diplomatic Role of Gasparo Cardinal Contarini at the Colloquy of Ratisbon of 1541,” Church History 27 (1958): 316.
[13] Elisabeth Gleason, Gasparo Contarini: Venice, Rome, and Reform (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 259. Marvin W. Anderson, Peter Martyr, a Reformer in Exile (1542-1562): A Chronology of Biblical Writings in England & Europe (Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1975), 46.
[14] Philip McNair, Peter Martyr in Italy: An Anatomy of Apostasy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967), 233.
[15] Josias Simler, Life, Letters, and Sermons, trans. and ed. John Patrick Donnelly, The Peter Martyr Library 5 (Kirksville, MO: Thomas Jefferson University Press, 1999), 24-25.
Chris Castaldo, PhD, is lead pastor of New Covenant Church in Naperville and author of the forthcoming book, The Upside Down Kingdom, from Crossway.
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