PIERRE VIRET: A PASTOR AND ETHICIST FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Abstract

Pierre Viret was a Swiss Reformation leader who worked alongside John Calvin, William Farel, and Theodore Beza, but he is less well known in the English-speaking world. Viret brought his distinctive contributions to the Protestant Reformation as a pastor and an ethicist. These contributions in life and doctrine need to be rediscovered for a more robust reformational church today. This article considers Viret’s credentials as a Reformer. It then explores various areas in which Viret applied his distinctively biblical ethic, particularly respecting the role of the magistrate and the relation between church and state. His biblical worldview is comprehensive in breadth and depth. His example is very accessible to Christians wanting to follow in his footsteps.