John Calvin, Bernardino Ochino, and Italian ‘Heretics’

Abstract

Until recently, scholars have often framed the relationship between John Calvin and the radical wing of the Italian Reformation through the lens of a dialectical and rather violent clash. Springing from different cultural backgrounds, this confrontation reached its peak after the condemnation of the anti-trinitarian Michael Servetus in Geneva (1553), when some Italian exiles religionis causa gathered in Basel to express a sharp criticism towards Calvin’s intransigence and dogmatism in dealing with internal dissent. Recent works have led to a deconstruction of this enduring interpretation and offered a more complex view of Calvin’s personality, theology, and agency. As the chapter shows, such a problematizing approach inspires a less teleological reading of the ambiguous but rich entanglement between the Genevan Reformer and the Italian ‘heretics’, suggesting that, through the confrontation with the sceptical rationalism and the elusive spiritualism of his critics, Calvin’s theology reached its full maturity and clarity of expression.