Gérard Roussel (1500–1550) was a French cleric, a student of

Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples (; Latinized as Jacobus Faber Stapulensis; c. 1455 – c. 1536) was a French theologian and a leading figure in French humanism. He was a precursor of the Protestant movement in France. The "d'Étaples" was not par ...

and later a member, with his former teacher, of the Circle of Meaux around Guillaume Briçonnet, bishop of Meaux.Schmidt, C., ''Gérard Roussel: prédicateur de la reine Marguerite de Navarre'', Strasbourg, Genève, 1845."
/ref> This group was characterized by

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

sensibilities, but all the while remaining Catholics, at a time when religious identities were unclear and a matter of dispute, due to the very recent Protestant

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. Gérard Roussel, along with

, was described by the historian Thierry Wanegffelen as being "between two pulpits", that of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and that of

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 ...

where

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

would settle permanently in 1541, and, more generally, between Catholicism and Protestantism.A. A. Tilley
The Reformation In France.
/ref> When the Circle of Meaux was broken up in 1525, Roussel, like most of its members and unlike Guillaume Farel, stayed within the Catholic Church. He then became the personal preacher of Marguerite of Navarre, queen consort of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

; under her patronage, he became bishop of the

diocese of Oloron The former Roman Catholic Diocese of Oloron was a Latin rite bishopric in Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, Aquitaine region of south-west France, from the 6th to the 19th century. History The diocese of Oleron already existed in the 6th ce ...

, within the kingdom of Navarre, in 1536.

addressed on this occasion a letter to Roussel, mostly condemnatory, in which he said : Calling to mind the "former piety" of Roussel, "which I alvin/nowiki> formerly admired, and which was for me an example of extreme worth", he called Roussel Calvin ended his letter with a condemnation of Roussel's new position : Gérard Roussel did not cease to be bishop of Oloron ; however, he served as advisor to Marguerite of Navarre and then to her husband, king

Henry II of Navarre Henry II (Spanish: ''Enrique II''; Basque: ''Henrike II''; 18 April 1503 – 25 May 1555), nicknamed ''Sangüesino'' because he was born in Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517. The kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of t ...

. On his advice, measures quite similar to some aspects of the Protestant

were introduced, such as preaching in

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

rather than Latin, but without formally breaking away from Catholicism. In much the same spirit, and to establish a reference for the priests of the kingdom of Navarre, he wrote the ''Familiar Exposition of the

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

, of the

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and of the Sunday Prayer'' (''Familière exposition du symbole, de la loi et de l'oraison dominicale'') in which he explained these fundamental texts in a light that could be seen as Protestant, especially close to the idea of

justification by faith (or simply ), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheranism, Lutheran and Reformed tradition, Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, from th ...

; it should however be noted that this trend of interpretation existed within Christianity before the Protestant Reformation, and was still held by some Catholic bishops and theologians. However, such a stance was by now suspect at best, and in 1550 the Sorbonne, at that time Paris' university of theology and a major

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

watchdog in the kingdom of France, condemned Roussel's work as "pernicious for Christiendom ../nowiki> reeking of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

and in part obviously heretic". Thus, condemned by representatives of both the catholic orthodoxy and the

calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

orthodoxy, Roussel indeed illustrated these men "between Rome and Geneva" studied by Thierry Wanegffelen. He died in the same year 1550. He had a brother, Antoine Roussel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roussel, Gerard 1500 births 1550 deaths 16th-century French Catholic theologians 16th-century French male writers Bishops of Oloron French Renaissance humanists 16th-century French Roman Catholic bishops French male non-fiction writers