the anticipated renewal of the Tridentinum (q. v.); partly as a sort of national council, to effect the refor- mation of the French Church; and partly to help re- duce the debt of the kingdom by the treasures of the Church. But however friendly the prelates were to the state, they did not look very favorably upon the project of reform, though all classes of society were then anxious- ly discussing not only reform of abuses but of doctrine. Reformed preachers were invited to participate, and even Catharine wrote in favor of the project of keeping the Huguenots within the pale cf the Church, and to fa- cilitate a reconciliation by tolerating a difference of sen- timent. Pius IV, then the Roman pontiff, objected to the conference, on the ground that '• if every prince were to take upon himself to hold councils in his own domin- ions, the Church would soon become a scene of universal confusion" (Fra Paolo, Hist, du Concile de Trente, liv. v, § 53, 72).
The colloquy was opened Sept. 9, in presence of the young king, the queen-mother, the princes of the blood, the great officers of the crown, and a brilliant audience. Cardinal de Touruon presided. The Reformers were represented by twelve of their most eminent ministers, headed by Theodore Beza, the favorite disciple and con- fidential friend of Calvin. Peter Martyr, who was reck- oned the ablest theologian of the party, was likewise present. The proceedings were opened with a speech by chancellor L'Hopital in favor of this national coun- cil, and its advantages over an oecumenical synod. Beza spoke next in elaborate exposition of the doctrinal sys- tem of the Reformers as set forth in the ''Institutions" of Calvin. Beza's tone was calm, conciliatory, and im- pressive. In treating of the Eucharist, be employed language which at first seemed almost tantamount to the Catholic terminology on that vital point. But on further explanation it appeared that the presence which he recognised was subjective only; depending not on the supernatural virtue of the sacrament, but on the power of faith ; to be sought not in any change of the substance of the elements, but in the heart of the de-
j vout communicant. Beza repudiated both transvbstan- tiation (q. v.) and consubstantiation (q. v.). Cardinal de Tournon objected to Beza's speech, and in a trem- bling voice prayed for its interruption on the ground
1 that the young monarch's mind would be poisoned. Beza, however, managed to conclude, when, after a few hasty words of angry remonstrance from the cardinal, the assembly separated in a state of agitation (De Thou, Hist. Univ. liv. xxviii; La Place. Commentaire de VEtat de Religion, liv. vi).
At the second meeting, several days afterwards, the cardinal of Lorraine replied to Beza in a very able dis- course. The doctrine of the real presence, as held in the Church of Home, he proceeded to establish by proofs drawn with great skill from the Holy Bible and the Church fathers. (The speech is given at fidl length in the Collection des Proces-verbaux des Assemblies ge- nerates du Clerge de France, vol. i, "Pieces Justifica- tions," No. 2.) The sitting was then adjourned. The sessions which followed were not held in the royal pres- ence, and were comparatively private. Though it was clear that there could be no successful settlement by the conference, it was resolved by all parties to make a final effort for approximation, and for this purpose a select committee of ten persons was named from the most moderate members of each party. After some days of negotiation, these divines drew up a formulary upon the doctrine of the Eucharist, in the terms of which it was hoped that all sincere friends of peace in the rival communions might be induced to concur. Its language, however, was so ambiguous that each party was at lib- erty to construe it in accordance with their own pre- possessions. The following was the draft agreed upon : " We confess that Jesus Christ, in his Holy Supper, pre- sents, gives, and exhibits to us the true substance of his body and blood by the operation of the Holy Spirit; and that we receive and eat sacramentally, spiritually,
POITIER
334
POITIERS
and by faith the very body which died for us. tlmt we : bis bone and flesh of bis flesh; and in- ns faith, resting on the Word of God, makes things which are promised, bo that thereby we
. tually the true and natural body and bl I of
by tli-- power of the Holy Ghost, in thai sense •, ledge the n :il presence of Chrisl in the Holy Histoin desEglisesRef.l, 608; ' Fkury, liv. xlvii, -l . Of course Buch evasion could do! prove satisfactory. The doctors of the Sorbonne being appealed to, rejected the formulary as "captious, insufficient and heretical;" and then the prelates pul forth a counter-Btatement, asserting the real presence by transubstantiation of the elemi nta, according to the authorized traditions of the Church. This they for- warded to i h<- queen, with a request thai Beza and his • mighl be ordered t" signify their acceptance ofil without further demur, under pain of being i >r«>- Bcribed as heretics and banished from the kingdom. Tin- peremptory demand was equivalent to a rupture of the negotiations; and the conference of Poissy ter- minated without satisfactory result