Catholic or Protestant? The Story of Contarini and the Reformation (Part 1 of 2)
Author: Chris Castaldo, PhD
June 21, 2023
Part 1 of 2
What is the fundamental difference between Roman Catholic and evangelical Protestant faith? The story of Cardinal Gasparo Contarini at Regensburg illustrates the answer.
Trained in philosophy at the University of Padua, Contarini (1483-1542) became a champion of evangelical renewal in Italy. While much can be said about his career as an imperial diplomat, his elevation to the role of cardinal (1535), and his advocacy of the new Jesuit order (1540), we shall focus on his interaction with Protestants around the gospel.
Contarini enjoyed discussing theology with friends. On one occasion, his friend Tomasso Giustiniani wrote Contarini distressed that the Camaldoese Order of Hermits, which Giustiniani had recently entered, failed to provide certainty of salvation.[1] This news deeply troubled Contarini and led him to reexamine his faith. Like Luther, Contarini’s crisis revolved around the question of how one secures divine forgiveness.
A ray of hope eventually pierced Contarini’s dark cloud of doubt. It was “on Holy Saturday of 1511” when he “experienced a moment of illumination” that was likened to Luther’s epiphany, where “he was fully convinced that salvation could not be won by any human act but was God’s free gift; and, as in Luther’s case, this conviction was accompanied by a perception that the monastery could not, for himself, procure an eternal blessedness.”[2] This discovery left Contarini awestruck. The 20th-century Catholic historian Hubert Jedin has described it as a “tower experience.”[3] As with Luther, this awakening led Contarini to a doctrine of imputation. But unlike Luther, it also inspired an ecumenical spirit.
Contarini’s opportunity to engage Protestants in ecumenical dialogue came in April 1541 when Charles V organized an imperial conclave to unify his empire against threats from the outside. The Emperor simultaneously engineered a theological conference at Regensburg to accompany diplomatic sessions. Given the integral relationship of church and state in the pre-modern era, religious solidarity between Roman Catholics and Protestants was an important step toward the goal of political coherency in Europe.
Meanwhile, by the 1540s Protestant churches had established their basic theological convictions. In 1530 Melanchthon finished editing the Augsburg Confession; John Calvin completed his first edition of his magnum opus, Institutes of the Christian Religion, in 1536. Moreover, doctrinal slogans such as sola fide (faith alone) had become familiar throughout Europe. All of this meant that Charles V’s dream of unification among Catholics and Protestants was no small feat.
This was a gathering of the Protestant intelligentsia; bright sparks from both sides were chosen to participate. On April 21, 1541, the Emperor announced their names. Philip Melanchthon, Martin Bucer, and Johann Pistorius represented the Protestants (a young John Calvin was present on the sideline). For the Roman Catholic Church were Johann Eck, Johann Gropper, and Julius Pflug. Cardinal Gasparo Contarini was papal legate, advising Catholic debaters behind the scenes. Also present was Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, one of the most prominent statesmen of the era. The theological meeting came to be called the Colloquy of Regensburg.[4]
To the surprise of many in attendance, theological discussion revealed a considerable amount of agreement. The first four articles, dealing with the creation of humans and their state before the fall; free will; the cause of sin; and original sin went uncontested and unchanged by both groups.[5]
On the next day, April 28, attention turned to the controversial matter of justification. Neither Eck nor Melanchthon was pleased with the “long-winded and highly ambiguous article.”[6] Their insistence on its inadequacy led the group to set the book aside in favor of open discussion. After much debate and exchanging of further drafts, both sides managed to finally agree on May 2, when Protestants amended the Catholic version to their satisfaction. The Catholic side, in turn, gave their consent. Agreement on Article Five then became official.[7] An inside look at a Protestant’s perspective on the Catholic concession is found in a personal letter of Calvin to his friend William Farel:
“You will marvel when you read the copy of the article on justification . . . 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.”[8]
With agreement on the doctrine of justification, discussion continued on May 3 on the subject of the Church and its authority. This is when tensions rose. Articles Six through Eight were accepted with little dispute.
Then came Article Nine, which dealt with the authority of the Church.
Next week: Part 2: Bringing the House Down: Contarini and Regensburg
[1] Felix Gilbert, History: Choice and Commitment (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1977), 252.
[2] William J. Bouwsma, Venice and the Defense of Republican Liberty (Los Angeles: University of California, 1984), 124.
[3] Jedin’s language of “Turmerlebnis” suggests a parallel with the conversion experience of Luther. See H. Jedin, “Ein Turmerlebnis des jungen Contarinis,” in Kirche des Glaubens-Kirche der Geschichte: Ausgewählte Aufsätze und Vorträge, ed. H. Jedin (Freiburg: B. Herder, 1966), 1:167-190.
[4] The colloquy also goes by the name “Ratisbon,” which is the city’s French name.
[5] Hans J. Hillerbrand ed. The Oxford Encylclopedia of the Reformation (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 377-378.
[6] Peter Matheson, Cardinal Contarini at Regensburg (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972), 105.
[7] Agreement between Catholics and Protestants on the doctrine of justification (Article Five) was indebted to the idea of twofold righteousness (duplex iustitia), the notion that conversion brings both inherent and imputed righteousness. Because the position taught that one should rely completely on the latter for divine acceptance (imputation), and not depend upon inherent righteousness for such forgiveness, it aligned with the teaching of the Protestant Reformers. In a few years’ time, however, the Council of Trent would adopt a position that differed greatly, insisting on inherent righteousness as the one formal cause of justification. For more on this see Anthony N. S. Lane “A Tale of Two Imperial Cities: Justification at Regensburg (1541) and Trent (1546-1547).” In Justification in Perspective: Historical Developments and Contemporary Challenges, edited by Bruce L. McCormack (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 119-145.
[8] Matheson, Cardinal Contarini at Regensburg, 142.
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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