HISTORY - continued

Presbyterians

Presbyterian history traces itself back to three key figures. Ulrich Zwingli lived in Switzerland and worked at the same time as Martin Luther. Luther and Zwingli agreed on most theological tenets, but on one item they could not agree. Zwingli understood the Lord’s Supper as simply a memorial in the name of Jesus Christ, while for Luther, the real presence of Christ was to be found in the Supper. This difference of opinion regarding the meaning of the Lord’s Supper caused a split between the Lutheran and Reformed traditions in the Protestant movement that exists to this day.

The great father of the Reformed movement, which includes Presbyterians, was John Calvin. Born in Noyon, France, in 1509, Calvin displayed a remarkable intellectual ability and had completed all his studies in the local schools by the time he was fourteen. He was sent to Paris to study law, but soon thereafter he switched to theological studies. At the age of twenty-six Calvin wrote the book that is considered the theological and intellectual tome of the Reformation, The Institutes of the Christian Religion. The book sets forth all the great doctrines of the Reform movement. John Calvin died in Geneva in 1564.

One of Calvin’s students was John Knox, the man who established the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. Knox is most directly responsible for a basic principle of Reform churches. Believing the church was to be ruled by elders (as opposed to a church controlled by the clergy), Knox also believed that the established state powers are not always of God, and the Christian has the right and duty to revolt and overthrow such powers when they are corrupt. John Knox’s expression of this radical concept played a large part in early American history. “That Presbyterian rebellion” was the way the Revolutionary War was described by one in the British House of Commons.