The ''Consensus Tigurinus'' or Consensus of Zurich was a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

document written in 1549 by

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

and Heinrich Bullinger. The document was intended to bring unity to the Protestant churches on their doctrines of the

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...

, particularly the Lord's Supper. Calvin’s views stood between the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

view of

Real Presence The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, sometimes shortened Real Presence'','' is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. Th ...

and the Zwinglian view of symbolism. He wrote the first draft of the document in November 1548, with notes by Bullinger.

Content

The document covered 26 Articles of Reformed Sacramentology. Calvin emphasized that there is great meaning in sacramental symbols but it does not have power to act on its own. The document taught: :that the Sacraments are not in and of themselves effective and conferring

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

, but that God, through the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, acts through them as means; that the internal effect appears only in the elect; that the good of the Sacraments consists in leading us to

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, and being instruments of the grace of God, which is sincerely offered to all; that in

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

we receive the remission of sins, although this proceeds primarily not from baptism, but from the blood of Christ; that in the Lord's Supper we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ, not, however, by means of a carnal presence of Christ's human nature, which is in heaven, but by the power of the Holy Spirit and the devout elevation of our soul to heaven.

Reception

Calvin sent the document to the Swiss churches, but the Synod at

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

opposed Calvin's view strongly and continued to do so until after Calvin's death. In May 1549, Calvin met with William Farel and Bullinger in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, and the three revised the document into its final form, which was published in Zürich and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1551. The Latin original was translated into German by Bullinger and French by Calvin. The Consensus Tigurinus attempted to coalesce the Calvinist and the advanced Zwinglian doctrines while standing opposed to

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (; Greek language, Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of sacramental bread, bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and ...

, the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

view, and sacramental union, the Lutheran view. It was accepted by the churches in Zürich, Geneva, St. Gallen,

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

, the

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

, and eventually by

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, and brought them into harmony with one another. It was "favorably received" in France and parts of Germany, but while Melancthon said that he understood the Swiss for the first time and would no longer write against them, it was attacked by the Gnesio-Lutheran Joachim Westphal and "became the innocent occasion of the second sacramental war." The Consensus was well received in England, with

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...

praising it and Peter Martyr Vermigli endorsing it. Calvin refused to answer the published attacks until these started to strain the Lutheran-Reformed relations, particularly Westphal's claim that those writing in support of the document were Sacramentarians. According to Westphal in his ''Farrago of Confused and Divergent Opinions on the Lord's Supper'', Zwingli and Calvin were heretics since they rejected the position of the literal eating of Christ's body in the ''Lord's Supper''.

References

External links

English Translation
by Ian D. Bunting
English Translation
by Henry Beveridge, with introductory commentary by Lutherans {{Authority control 16th-century Christian texts Calvinist texts 1551 works 1551 in Christianity