July 24, 2008

“Philippe Duplessis-Mornay and Origins of Religious Coexistence in Saumur”

A Meeter Center Summer Fellowship Presentation by Scott Marr, Ph.D student at Boston University and 2008 Meeter Center Student Fellowship recipient.

Historians have studied Philippe Duplessis-Mornay’s career as a Huguenot statesman, diplomat, and theologian. Less consideration has been given to his tenure as governor of Saumur from 1589 to 1621, a period that saw the end of the religious wars of the 16th century, the promulgation of the Edict of Nantes, and the renewal of military conflict between Catholics and Huguenots in the 17th century. Duplessis-Mornay carried out much of his political and theological work while governing a city whose population was largely Catholic. He helped to make Saumur a thriving center of Huguenot activity, the Academy of Saumur being his most lasting accomplishment. The Catholic Church, however, refused to let the Reformed Church carry the field in Saumur; Counter-Reformation religious orders came into the city, and a shrine to the Virgin Mary flourished at Notre-Dame-les-Ardilliers. The presentation will consider Duplessis-Mornay in his capacity as governor and particularly how he sought to balance the sometimes conflicting imperatives of advancing the cause of the Reformed Church and maintaining peace in a religiously-divided city.

The presentation will take place at 3:00 PM on Thursday July 24, 2008, in the Meeter Center on the 4th floor of Hekman Library. All are welcome and refreshments will be served. Come and hear what one of our summer visiting fellows is working on at this presentation with informal discussion afterwards.

October 30-November 1, 2008

Institute for Reformation Research at the Theological University of Apeldoorn

"Calvin: Reformer and Saint?"

In this ´kick-off´ for the 500th anniversary of  Calvin’s birth in 2009, leading European and North American scholars will discuss the question of whether Calvin really was a reformer and whether he was  “saint or sinner.”   

Presenters will be: Irena Backus (Geneva), Jon Balserak (Edinburgh), Christoph Burger (Amsterdam),  Emidio Campi (Zürich), Max Engammare (Geneva),  Günter Frank (Berlin/Bretten), Isabelle Graesslé (Geneva), Arnold Huijgen(Apeldoorn), Wim Janse (Amsterdam), Kees van der Kooi (Amsterdam), Tony Lane (London),  Volker Leppin (Jena),  Christian Link (Bochum),  Karin Maag (Grand Rapids),  Scott Manetsch (Chicago), Elsie McKee (Princeton), Olivier Millet (Paris); Frans van Stam ( Amsterdam) and John Thompson (Pasadena).

During this conference the presentation of the  Calvin Handbook (Herman J. Selderhuis ed., Mohr Siebeck) will take place, as well as the presentation of the new book  of Irena Backus on the image of Calvin in the 16th and 17th century (Ashgate). The conference will take place at Kasteeel De Vanenburg ( www.vanenburg.nl)

The fee for the conference is €95, and for students €65,-.  This fee includes drinks, lunches and dinner.  You will receive a list of hotels when you sign up for the conference. We will supply a shuttle service between the hotels and De Vanenburg.

If you want to take part in this conference,  please send your application to:

Instituut voor Reformatieonderzoek
Mevr. Drs. Christa Boerke
Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn
Wilhelminpark 4
NL-7316 BT  Apeldoorn
reformatieinstituut.tua@planet.nl