CALVINIST PENITENCE EVALUATED: …

1 CALVIN AND RESTORATION241 CALVINIST PENITENCE evaluated : restoration OFCALVIN S AND CALVINIST CHURCHESJung-Sook Lee*Euan Cameron pointed out that the Protestant reformation broughtabout a more severe, rational and demanding code of conduct than hadever been expected of all Christian people in the Middle Ages. 1 Hisargument seems to have been proved by scholars who studied earlyCalvinist churches in According to studies on churchdiscipline, the church in Geneva and CALVINIST churches in other partsof Europe scrutinized the daily lives of their church members to see ifthey were living within the standards of comportment. Theseexaminations were conducted through disciplinary institutions such asthe consistory or its equivalent system (the Scottish Kirk).

2 If someonewere accused of impropriety by neighbors, elders or pastors, the personwas obliged appear before the consistory. If found guilty, he would beexcommunicated,3 then restored. It is well expounded that *Rev. Dr. Jung-Sook Lee, , is Assistant Professor of Church History at TorchTrinity Graduate School of Theology. Her research interests include Calvin s legacy inthe world and Women in Christianity. She is currently working on volume two of Women and Christianity series (Korean) with three other church paper was possible with the generous grant and research facilitation of theHenry H. Meeter Center in Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Cameron, The European Reformation (New York: Oxford University Press,1991), M.

3 Kingdon said that the consistory of Geneva was an effective tool for social andpolitical control in Geneva. Echoing E. W. Monter s observation, he also believed that theconsistory of Geneva played a critical role in the transformation of Geneva into a socially orderedand morally advanced city within a relatively short time. Robert M. Kingdon, Social Control andPolitical Control in Calvin s Geneva, Archiv f r Reformationsgeschichte (special volume, 1993),523. Mentzer and Parker both emphasized moral control as the most important function of theconsistory. According to them, CALVINIST discipline has made believers agitated with shame andalienation from the community when they were excommunicated.

4 As a result, thoseexcommunicated sought their restoration ardently and immediately in order to regain their honorin the society, which eventually served to create a cohesive Christian community. Raymond Jr., Ecclesiastical discipline and Communal Reorganization among the Protestants ofSouthern France, European History Quarterly 21 (1991), 163-183; and Notions of Sin andPenitence within the French Reformed Community, PENITENCE in the Age of Refomations, Jackson Lualdi and Anne T. Thayer(Alershot: Ashgate, 2000). Charles Parker, TheMoral Agency and Moral Autonomy of Church Folk in the Dutch Reformed Church of Delft,1580-1620, Journal of Ecclesiastical History 48 (1 Jan 1997).

5 3 Excommunication could be a perplexing term. In Geneva and other Calvinistchurches it meant a temporary exclusion from the Lord s Supper and some extent of242 TORCH TRINITY JOURNAL 6 (2003)excommunication and restoration became an efficient means of moraland social control in the sixteenth Europe. However, it has not beenfully discussed that the CALVINIST disciplinary system was believed tohave a spiritual and even a soteriological benefit for InCalvin s discussion and implementation of excommunication andrestoration, spiritual and soteriological benefits seem to be his utmostinterest. Those who were excommunicated from communion had tocome to the consistory for hearing, then to wait for the consistorialdecision.

6 Once the person was excommunicated as a result of hisimpropriety or lack of remorse, he first had to abstain from taking thecommunion, and undergo a certain social chastisement while beingexcommunicated. The person could then seek restoration . He was theneither restored upon evidence of contrition and explicit sign ofrepentance; or else he was denied based on a need for goodrepentance (bonne repentance) or better repentance (meilleurrepentance).Repentance was the decisive factor for restoration . But what are thesigns of repentance? What constitutes good repentance? What is betterrepentance? How did the consistory distinguish true repentance fromsham repentance?

7 Were any rituals of repentance required? This articleattempts to understand Calvin s theological understanding of churchdiscipline and repentance, and then to observe CALVINIST repentance inthe restoration process. Finally, it evaluates the nature andcharacteristics of CALVINIST S THEOLOGY OF CHURCH DISCIPLINEIf social or moral control is what would follow as a result of theadequate operation of a disciplinary institution, church discipline itselfhad a theological purpose in Calvin s mind. From the first edition of hisInstitutes, Calvin made it clear that excommunication has three social exclusion.

8 Because of its temporary character, some scholars such as Parker donot call it excommunication, but censure, probably because it might be wronglyidentified with the medieval excommunication which was a more my study of the consistory of Geneva, Calvin and other pastors paidgreat time and attention to teach the Protestant faith and practice to the people ofGeneva through the consistory. (Cf. See my dissertation chapter three). McKeeemphasized that the consistory of Geneva edified and taught the people of Geneva theessentials of their relationship with God. CALVIN AND RESTORATION243purposes. Calvin s primary concern in church discipline obviously layin guarding the honor of God.

9 Although not present in other reformers,Calvin place it at the forefront of church s first purpose was the glory of God. If the church neglectsdiscipline or executes it improperly, the reputation of the church will beeasily jeopardized. Eventually it will cause great damage to the glory ofGod. In the 1559 edition of Institutes Calvin was also concerned withthe preservation of the order of the Lord s Supper which could beprofaned by indiscriminate administration to people of second and third purposes focus on the spiritual welfare ofhuman beings at both the communal and communal level, that is, theprotection of the congregation and the repentance of sinners.

10 Thecommunal benefit of church discipline is that excommunicating thetransgressors from the Eucharist can protect the rest of congregationfrom committing the same kind of sins. By instilling the fear ofpunishment and causing practical disadvantage in life by means ofexcommunication, society might be more in control and less evil. Theindividual profit of excommunication is the sinners remorse andrepentance over their misconduct or ignorance, which will lead to seekreconciliation with God and the community. Throughexcommunication, excommunicants would learn to submit to theauthority of the church and to the Commandments.