Overview

In the public religious controversies of sixteenth-century France, no subject received more attention or provoked greater passion that the eucharist. In this study of Reformation theologies of the eucharist, Christopher Elwood contends that the doctrine for which French Protestants argued played a pivotal role in the development of Calvinist revolutionary politics. By focusing on the new understandings of signs and symbols purveyed in Protestant writing on the sacrament of the Lords Supper, Elwood shows how adherents to the Reformation movement came to interpret the nature of power and the relation between society and the sacred in ways that departed radically from the views of their Catholic neighbors. The clash of religious, social, and political ideals focused in interpretations of the sacrament led eventually to political violence that tore France apart in the latter half of the sixteenth century.

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9780195121339

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"""This theological and sociological study will also be of interest to those concerned with inculturation, communications media and political development.""--Worship ""In a masterpiece of concise exposition, Elwood demonstrates how Calvin's fundamental re-ordering of the sacraments was elaborated and expanded by a tight circle of friends and followers whose writings quickly became normative for French evangelism. Closely written and based on a wide-ranging survey of contemporary literature, this work is likely to become the definitive study of a subject of central importance in understanding why evangelical reform in France could not be accomplished without striking at the heart of the established system of belief.""--Andrew Pettegree, Director, St. Andrews Reformation Studies Institute. ""This is an important book, thorough, convincing, and well documented. Elwood demonstrates the revolutionary impact of religious change on society and politics, challenging the very bases of secular authority...This superb book will be of interest to historians, theologians, and political theorists.""--American Historical Review ""All in all, then, this is a most engaging and stimulating study which students of sixteenth-century Calvinism, especially anyone interested in the social implications of Reformed liturgical and sacrament teachings, cannot ignore.""--Sixteenth Century Journal ""...his book is greatly to be commended and it deserves to sponsor and stimulate widespread discussion and further work...""--Church History ""This theological and sociological study will also be of interest to those concerned with inculturation, communications media and political development.""--Worship ""In a masterpiece of concise exposition, Elwood demonstrates how Calvin's fundamental re-ordering of the sacraments was elaborated and expanded by a tight circle of friends and followers whose writings quickly became normative for French evangelism. Closely written and based on a wide-ranging survey of contemporary literature, this work is likely to become the definitive study of a subject of central importance in understanding why evangelical reform in France could not be accomplished without striking at the heart of the established system of belief.""--Andrew Pettegree, Director, St. Andrews Reformation Studies Institute. ""Elwood clearly and effectively lays out the complicated issues driving one of the most contested areas of doctrinal debate in the sixteenth century....[He] also succeeds in treating the eucharistic debate not as an abstract theological problem, but as a genre of writing aimed at influencing popular opinion....[The book] makes a valuable contribution in its systematic exposition of the evolving versions of eucharistic theology in sixteenth-century France.""--Journal of Modern History ""Elwood's precise and lucid writing makes a plain way through theological exposition and 'semiotic realignments' that might in other hands have been altogether harder going... Elwood's illuminating work is a reminder...that the French religious crisis was indeed about religion; but also that religion, crucially and indissociably, was about power."" Forum for Modern Language Studies"

This is an important book, thorough, convincing, and well-documented ... This superb book will be of interest to historians, theologians, and political theorists American Historical Review This book is a rare work that delivers more than its title promises American Historical Review Elwood's study is a fascinating mix of theological and social interpretation Mid-America Journal of Theology All those interested in sixteenth-century French history will benefit from this study on the public role of religious ideas and symbols in understanding the breakdown of governmental authority and social stability in sixteenth-century France The Expository Times The central chapters of the book provide an admirably clear exposition of the nuances of Reformed eucharistic teachings ... The book is a valuable addition to the history of sixteenth-century eucharistic theology. Philip Benedict, Ecclesiastical History

This is an important book, thorough, convincing, and well-documented ... This superb book will be of interest to historians, theologians, and political theorists American Historical Review This book is a rare work that delivers more than its title promises American Historical Review Elwood's study is a fascinating mix of theological and social interpretation Mid-America Journal of Theology All those interested in sixteenth-century French history will benefit from this study on the public role of religious ideas and symbols in understanding the breakdown of governmental authority and social stability in sixteenth-century France The Expository Times The central chapters of the book provide an admirably clear exposition of the nuances of Reformed eucharistic teachings ... The book is a valuable addition to the history of sixteenth-century eucharistic theology. Philip Benedict, Ecclesiastical History

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