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Disclaimer: pages.slu.edu is a service of Saint Louis University, Saint Louis University does not control, monitor or guarantee the information contained in these sites. For more information » |
Zanchi's De religione christiana fides, which was given the title Confessions of the Christian Religion when it was first translated into English in 1599, is a particularly useful text for understanding the scope of his theology available in translation. This is the case for at least two reasons: First, it is the only text in which Zanchi laid out the entirety of his theological system. During his tenure at Heidelberg (1568-1577) he produced a number of works that might have resulted in a massive Reformed systematic theology but comleted only three and a half volumes. His work was interupted by the death of the Calvinist Prince Fredrick III. The new ruler of the Palatinate, the Lutheran Ludwig IV, ordered the removal of all Reformed professors from the University. Zanchi was invited to take refuge at the newly founded Casimiranium at Neustadt an der Hardt as professor of New Testament but never resumed his work in systematic theology.
The second reason why De religione is particularly interesting is that it was the last major work that Zanchi completed and therefore is an example of his theological reflection at its most mature level. Although he had completed a version of it some years before, Zanchi edited it toward the end of his life and it was first published in Latin in 1585, five years before his death at age 74. Zanchi saw the world around him as having been filled with "the light of the truth... which through God's singular gift has been found out in the holy scriptures by some faithful servants of Christ and spreading abroad far and wide has shined forth unto us as the sun in the firmament." Nevertheless, he also saw many "mists of errors" and "black clouds of heresies" surrounding him. This complex theological situation necessitated, he believed, a record of his own thoughts both for the sake of his own reputation and so that his children might have such a record available to them.
After its initial printing in 1585, De religione went through several additional editions. Two octavio impressions were made in Neustadt in 1595 and in 1605 a London Edition was produced under the direction of James Rime. It was included in the three printings of the Operum theologicorum D. Hieronymi Zanchii, comprising volume VIII, Part 1, pages 453-610. In 1599 the first English translation was completed by John Legat of Cambridge. In 1659 it was reprinted under the title The Whole Body of Christian Religion. A modern translation is being completed by John Farthing of Hendrix College that will hopefully be available in the near future.
The work of transcription and editing of this particular electronic version of the 1599 English edition was completed by Dr. Joel Beeke of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and his staff. I would like to thank Dr. Beeke for granting me permission to use this version.
The volume used in transcription was unfortunately lacking pages 210-221. I hope to fill that gap in the not too distant future.
Patrick J. O'Banion - Dana Point, Ca
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Disclaimer: pages.slu.edu is a service of Saint Louis University, Saint Louis University does not control, monitor or guarantee the information contained in these sites. For more information » |