A Nicodemite () is a person suspected of publicly misrepresenting their religious faith to conceal their true beliefs. The term is sometimes defined as referring to a Protestant Christian who lived in a Roman Catholic country and escaped persecution by concealing their Protestantism. The word is normally a term of disparagement. Introduced into 16th-century religious discourse, it persisted in use into the 18th century and beyond. Originally employed mostly by

Protestants 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 ...

, it was usually applied to persons of publicly conservative religious position and practice who were thought to be secretly

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

or reformed. In England during the 17th and 18th centuries the term was often applied to those suspected of secret

Socinian Socinianism ( ) is a Nontrinitarian Christian belief system developed and co-founded during the Protestant Reformation by the Italian Renaissance humanists and theologians Lelio Sozzini and Fausto Sozzini, uncle and nephew, respectively. I ...

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

, or

Deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

beliefs.

Origin

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 181

The term was apparently introduced 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 ...

(1509–1564) in 1544 in his . Since the French

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

had increased its prosecution 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 ...

with the Edict of Fontainebleau (1540), it had become more dangerous to profess dissident beliefs publicly, so refuge was sought in emulating the disciple

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; ; ; ; ) is a New Testament figure venerated as a saint in a number of Christian traditions. He is depicted as a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin who is drawn to hear Jesus's teachings. Like Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus, Nicode ...

. According to the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

( John 3
John 3:1-2
, Nicodemus was a

Pharisee The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

and member of the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic , a loanword from , 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was a Jewish legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level i ...

. Although outwardly remaining a pious Jew, he came to Jesus secretly by night to receive instruction.

Notable suspected Nicodemites

* Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (c.1527–1556),

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

(1489–1556), first

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

under

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

(1475–1564), who sculpted a portrait of himself as Nicodemus in his Florentine Pietà *

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

(1643–1727), eminent scientist and theologian * Reginald Cardinal Pole (1500–1558), last

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 ...

Overell 2008, p. 7.

References

Bibliography

* Eire, Carlos M. N. "Prelude to Sedition: Calvin's Attack on Nicodemism and Religious Compromise". ''Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte'' 76:120-45. * Eire, Carlos M. N. "Calvin and Nicodemism: A Reappraisal". ''

Sixteenth Century Journal ''The Sixteenth Century Journal: The Journal of Early Modern Studies'' (SCJ) is a quarterly journal of early modern studies. The senior editors are Merry Wiesner-Hanks and Patricia Phillippy. Until 2022 it was published by Sixteenth Century Publi ...

'' X:1, 1979. * Ginzburg, Carlo. "Il nicodemismo. Simulazione e dissimulazione religiosa nell'Europa del Cinquecento", Einaudi, Torino 1970. * Livingstone, E. A. "Nicodemism". In ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000. Entry availabl
here
* Magalhães, Anderson. ''All’ombra dell’eresia: Bernardo Tasso e le donne della Bibbia in Francia e in Italia'', in ''Le donne della Bibbia, la Bibbia delle donne. Teatro, letteratura e vita'', Atti del XV Convegno Internazionale di Studio organizzato dal Gruppo di Studio sul Cinquecento francese, Verona, 16-19 ottobre 2009, a cura di R. Gorris Camos, Fasano, Schena, 2012, pp. 159–218. * Overell, M. Anne ''Italian Reform and English Reformations, c.1535–c.1585''. The Open University, UK. 2008
Excerpt available online.
* Overell, Anne. "A Nicodemite in England and Italy: Edward Courtenay, 1548-46". In ''John Foxe at Home and Abroad''. D. M. Loades, ed. Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, Surrey, UK, 2004. * Pettegree, Andrew. "Nicodemism and the English Reformation" in ''Marian Protestantism: Six Studies'', St. Andrews Studies in Reformation History. Aldershot, 1996, pp. 86–117. * Shrimplin-Evangelidis, Valerie. ''Michelangelo and Nicodemism: The Florentine Pietà.'' College Art Association, 1989. * Snobelen, Stephen D. "Isaac Newton, heretic: the strategies of a Nicodemite." ''The British Journal for the History of Science'', 32:4:381-419. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Origin

Notable suspected Nicodemites

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading