Calvin. History and Reception of a Reformation Week 2. Calvin's Thought Sequence 8. The Christian Community The Christian community, or Church, is the result of a divine decision, of a divine election (a notion we've recently discussed). This community does not come together by and of itself, by a process of attraction, but is the product of the Word, of the Divine Word. Ultimately, God alone knows who is truly a member of His Church. It is not possible for us to conclusively assert who does or does not belong to it. Yet did Calvin not help to undermine the unity of the Latin Church? How did he view this new schism, in which he was a participant? For Calvin, there is but one Church -- the body of Christ --, of which Christ is the head. He writes: "the Church is called catholic or universal, for two or three [churches] cannot be invented without dividing Christ, which is impossible." Thus the Church, on a fundamental level, is one. Where, then, is the Church to be found? God alone knows. Nonetheless, there are "notes" (Latin: notae ecclesiae) -- markers or criteria to determine where a Church may be found. A Church is found anywhere the Gospel is purely, or properly, announced; and anywhere the sacraments are soundly administered. These are the two criteria for Calvin: the Gospel purely (or correctly) announced and the sacraments soundly administered. In this respect, Calvin is merely echoing the Augsburg Confession, the 1530 text that is fundamental to Lutheranism. Calvin had very harsh words for the Roman Catholic Church of his time. These words must be read in the context of the 16th century, with its particular mode of expression, which is very different from the conciliatory or ecumenical tone
we are used to today. Calvin writes: "the state of religion is corrupt and depraved with them. [...] Their idolatry far exceeds that of
the kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam." The assemblies of the Roman Catholic Church are "contaminated by idolatry, various superstitions, and evil doctrines." "Instead of the ministry of the Word, they have schools of impiety, and an abyss of all kinds of error." "Yet we deny not to the Papists those vestiges of a Church which the Lord has allowed to remain among them amid the dissipation" -- all hope is not lost. Baptism, for example, "retains its virtue [i.e., power] in spite of human depravity." These quotes are taken from book 4 of the "Institutes," in which Calvin presents his ecclesiology (doctrine of the Church). "The Church is in a fearful state of ruin. Nonetheless, God has provided by His providence that there should remain some residue therein, to prevent the Church as a whole from perishing." The Church is organized; it has a form. "Churches are maintained by proper order, and by disorder are dissipated." Calvin liked order; the Calvinist (Presbyterian) tradition does too. Yet this order and organization are the work of mankind. Such things "must not be thought necessary to salvation, nor lay the conscience under a religious obligation. They must not be compared to the worship of God, nor substituted
for piety." Thus certain traditions are not necessary to salvation. A distinction must be made between the levels of faith -- faith in God, faith in the Church. This is something we'll come back to. The Church is organized into several different ministerial offices, through which God builds up and instructs His community. In Calvin's vision, there are four such offices: the pastors, the scholars (or teachers), the elders and the deacons. Four ministries, then (or offices). The episcopal office, that of the bishop, is represented not by an individual, but by a body, a group. For Calvin, the ordination of ministers is virtually a sacrament in itself. It is accomplished by way of a visible gesture, the laying on of hands, which symbolizes an invisible sign, or promise. So, as is the case with Calvin's conception of the Lord's Supper, we find here a similar duality: an external, material sign -- in this case, the laying on of hands -- that points to (or symbolizes)
a hidden, spiritual promise. Yet ultimately, Calvin stops short of calling the ordination process a sacrament, on the grounds that it applies only to certain members of the Christian community.
For Calvin, indeed, availability to all members of the community is one of the criteria for what
constitutes a sacrament. Calvin makes a rather subtle distinction -- one that originates in the Apostles' Creed -- when he writes: "One does not believe in the Church so much as one believes the Church," according to the original confessions of faith of Christianity. What is the meaning of this distinction between "believing in the Church" and "believing the Church" (in Latin, "credo in ecclesiam" as opposed to "credo ecclesiam")? Calvin writes: "We declare that we believe in God, both because our mind reclines upon Him as true, and our
confidence is fully satisfied in Him. This cannot be said of the Church, just as it cannot be said of
the forgiveness of sins, or the resurrection of the body." Thus the faith that is placed in God cannot be transferred to something else, such as the Church. The faith we have in God is different from the faith we place in the Church. Hence the distinction between "believing in the Church" and "believing the Church." Thus the ecclesial community, the Church, consists in those believers who come together to hear the Word -- through which the community is built up --, to administer the sacraments,
and who live together under a common faith.