Texts & Studies: Polanus on Councils
Greystone Texts & Studies publishes a wide variety of theological, biblical, historical, ethical, and ecclesiastical texts and brief studies, including translations of never before translated works. This is a resource created exclusively for Greystone Members to encourage the confessional and catholic endeavor of reading well and widely within the Church throughout all time.
Greystone’s first Text & Studies release is Amandus Polanus’ Some Chapters on Councils (De conciliis capita quaedam), published in 1592.
Greystone Fellow in Theology and History, Robert Letham, published “Amandus Polanus: A Neglected Theologian” in 1990.¹ Since that time, Polanus remains a neglected voice in theological ressourcement for the Church. But this tide is finally beginning to turn in scholarship.² Polanus was a significant theologian in early Reformed Orthodoxy and stands in a vital location, socially, theologically, and ecclesiastically—to bring much needed aid and comfort to the Church today. We believe that now is the time for Polanus’ voice to gain a wider audience. Why Polanus?
Polanus stands between the earliest periods of Reformed Orthodoxy and the events that brought about its most intense confessionalizations. As a key synthesizer of the tradition, he demonstrates for us the whole, the parts, and the possibilities. He was a Professor of Old Testament at Basel in 1596. His productive years (1590-1610) puts him on the scene to carry out the work of the previous generation (e.g. Beza, Zanchi) in the midst of the tumultuous events that eventually end with the Synod of Dort.
The value of his theological contributions for more recent modern controversies is, of course, readily apparent, but it is his comprehensive vision that we most want to capture for the Reformed churches today. Such theological knowledge, we trust and hope, while not pretending at a knowledge fully grasped now, becomes a virtue put to work for godliness and good works in our lives and communities. Narrowness and incomplete instruction bring opportunity for sin and worldliness, but our fathers in the faith were never narrow.
To this end, we plan to introduce the Greystone Membership to Polanus through a series of shorter works, beginning with Certain Chapters on Councils (De conciliis capita quaedam), published in 1592, a series of theses and arguments about the nature, function, and purpose of Church councils for settling disputes. In roughly 3,000 words, Polanus describes what a council is, by whom it should be summoned, the role of the Pope in convening a council,³ who should be invited, where it should be located, rules for order and argument, conciliar goals, the presence of Christ in the council, how to avoid prejudice, whether the presiders alone are the council judges, the duty of presiders, three kinds of councils, whether councils err, and ends with statements from the Fathers on the relation of councils to Scripture. His statements about councils are representative of the period, arranged logically in a way that contributes to retention for the reader, and present a worthy challenge for those that take a different view.
We hope to regularly release translations for our Greystone supporters. With your support, we also desire to release larger works for the Greystone community and beyond.
Notes:
Robert Letham, “Amandus Polanus: A Neglected Theologian?”, The Sixteenth Century Journal Vol. 21, No. 3 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 463-476.
Stephen Tipton, The Ground, Method, and Goal of Amandus Polanus, 1561-1610: Doctrine of God: A Historical and Contextual Analysis (Reformed Historical Theology, 73), V&R, 2022.
There is no such role for the Roman Pontiff in Polanus’ thought.