The Life of Theodore Beza
His Early Years
Theodore Beza was born on June 24, 1519, the seventh child of Pierre de Beza,
in the village of Vezelay in the Burgundy region of France. His father served as
the bailiff of the country, and enjoyed considerable wealth and privilege. Though
his mother died when he was three, Theodore had already been adopted by an
uncle, Nicolas de Beza, and taken to Paris. The uncle, himself a member of the
Parliament, sought the very best education for his nephew. At the advice of a
friend from Orleans, he sent Theodore at age nine to live with Melchior Wolmar,
the famous Greek and Hebrew scholar at Orleans who had earlier instructed
John Calvin. Wolmar not only taught Theodore the classics, but also instilled into
the young man an understanding of the new ideas propagated by Luther that
were making such a stir in France. By age 13, his uncle Nicolas died, and his
education was overseen by yet another uncle, Claudius, an Abbot of a Catholic
monastery. Both his father and his uncle determined that he should study law,
and to that end he was sent to the University in Orleans. At age 20, he obtained
a law degree with honors.
Now he moved on to Paris. His father wanted him to pursue further studies in
law, but Theodore had become a lover of humanism and wanted to study
literature. His father and uncle finally acquiesced, and he soon took his place as
a well-to-do, well-connected member of Parisian society. He was wellmannered, well-bred, handsome, likeable, witty, and was soon recognized as a
successful poet.
Through the influence of his uncle Claudius, he obtained two benefices--i.e. paid
positions as a member of the Catholic clergy--providing a generous income.
Meanwhile, at age 25, like many clergymen of the day, and in order to maintain
his benefices, he secretly wed Claudine Denosse, vowing to marry her publicly
when circumstances allowed.
Beza’s Conversion
At age 29, in 1548, he published Juvenilia, a collection of Latin poety, dedicating
this work to his old teacher, Wolmar. To all outward eyes, he had attained to
what all men seek—wealth, fame, acclaim, etc. But scarcely had his work been
published, than Beza became gravely ill. As he came face to face with the reality
of death and eternity, his conscience began to convict him for his hypocrisy--for
receiving income from the Catholic church while privately harboring Protestant
views; for living a life of duplicity by failing to keep his promise to publicly wed his
wife; for the general condition of his life; etc. The exact circumstances of his
conversion are unknown, but we do know that as soon as he was able, he left
behind his family, fame and fortune, and, with his wife Claudine, crossed the
border into Switzerland. In October, 1548, he entered Geneva. His first order of
business was to publicly marry Claudine in a church ceremony.
Beza’s Early Work
A year later, in 1549, he became a professor of Greek in the Academy in
Lausanne at the urging of Pierre Viret. For the next eight years, he faithfully
served in that capacity, winning the confidence and admiration of many of the
Protestant leaders, including Calvin. When persecution broke out against the
Waldensians in 1557, Beza was chosen to accompany Farel on a series of visits
with the leaders of the Reformation in Switzerland and the Protestant princes of
Germany. It was hoped that some sense of unity might be forged among the
Protestants so that with a united voice they might pressure the French king on
behalf of their persecuted brethren. Beza, because of his background and
breeding, his familiarity with aristocratic society, and his ease with the life of the
court, was a perfect choice for this task. Though nothing of consequence came
of this mission, and though he was roundly criticized back at home for going to
far in forging a compromise with the Lutherans, he nonetheless won the respect
of Calvin who recognized his gifts. In 1558, at Calvin’s suggestion, Beza was
offered the Greek professorship at the newly formed Academy in Geneva. When
it opened in 1559, he was installed as its rector at age 40. From this time
onward, he served as Calvin’s right hand and ambassador.
Beza at Geneva
Beza served well at the Academy, as well as the pastor of one of the churches in
Geneva. But it was his skills in diplomacy that made him so indispensable to
Calvin. Time and again, as political necessity dictated, or persecution arose,
Beza was sent by Calvin as his personal envoy to appeal for aid or to persuade
the nobility towards the Reformed cause. Often he traveled by night, in the midst
of dangerous circumstances. As France was thrown into a virtual civil war, he
occasionally accompanied the Huguenot armies and preached to the troops.
From 1560 through 1563, he was constantly being sent out from Geneva on the
behalf of the Protestant cause. Once, when addressing Catholic theologians in
St. Germain, and learning of the massacre of hundreds of Protestants in Vassy,
he declared to his opponent: “Sire, it is in truth the lot of the Church of God, in
whose name I am speaking, to endure blows, and not to strike them. But also
may it please you to remember that it is an anvil that has worn out many
hammers.”
As Calvin drew near his death in 1564, it was obvious to all that Beza was to be
his successor. Though inferior to Calvin as a theologian, he was superior in his
knowledge of court life and social manner. After Calvin’s death, Beza assumed
leadership of the school in Geneva, graciously receiving scholars and refugees
that fled there from all over Europe. Under his leadership, Geneva became the
virtual capital of Continental Protestantism.
His Later Years
In addition to his responsibilities in Geneva, Beza continued to help support the
cause of the Reformation in his homeland of France. However, though he threw
himself into this cause, there were few causes for joy. For instance, on St.
Bartholomew’s day, Aug. 24, 1572, a massacre ensued in Paris that spread over
much of France in the following days. Somewhere between 30,000 to 100,000
Protestants were massacred!
Later, much hope was held out for the cause of Reformation in France due to the
accession of Henry of Navarre, a protestant, to the French throne. But in 1593,
he received news that Henry had thrown off the Protestant faith in the interests of
the peace and tranquility of France. He is said to have quipped, “Paris is worth a
mass.” Thus, the only Huguenot to ever sit upon the throne of France took a
solemn oath to protect the Roman Catholic religion!
However, the reality of the situation turned out not to be as bad as was feared.
Henry favored the Protestants in many ways, especially in issuing the Edict of
Nantes in 1598, granting them a limited measure of religious freedom.
As his life drew to a close, his physical health began to deteriorate, becoming
enfeebled, losing his hearing, as well as his short-term memory. In 1586, at age
67, he was excused from preaching daily, preaching now only on Sunday. In
1598, at age 79, he retired from active teaching in the Academy, selling his
library. In 1600, he preached his last sermon. Finally, on Oct. 13, 1605, he died
at age 86.
Of the greatest Continental Reformers—Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, Bullinger,
Calvin, and Beza—Beza was the most polished gentleman of them all. He could
hold his own with courtiers, princes and scholars.
His Accomplishments
A year after Calvin’s death, Beza wrote the classical biography of his life. Along
with this, he wrote many theological works and treatises, most unknown today,
but highly valued among his contemporaries.
His greatest scholarly achievements may well be in the field of textual
development. When the city of Lyons was being sacked in 1562, Beza obtained
from the monastery there an uncial manuscript of the Gospels and Acts dating
back to the sixth century. This is known as Codex Beza, or ‘D’, in the recognized
list of uncial manuscripts. It also became the possessor of another uncial
manuscript, also dating back to the sixth century, containing Paul’s epistles. He
presented the former manuscript to Cambridge in 1581. The second was sold at
his death and now resides in the National Library in Paris.
Beza also produced four editions of the Greek New Testament, revisions of
Stephen’s Greek text. The later of these was the primary text in the hands of the
King James translators.
Theologically, Beza was the forerunner of what was later called “Scholastic
Calvinism”. This was a movement away from the biblically based theology of
Calvin to a more rigid, systematic, hard, and mechanical version. The rather
vague teaching of Calvin on the atonement was, under Beza, transformed into a
strict, particularistic doctrine denying any benefit at all for anyone other than the
elect. Beza also developed Calvin’s rather ambiguous stand on the order of the
decrees into a full-blown, rather harsh, supralapsarian view. As such he
prepared the way for the reactionary development of Amyraudism and
Arminianism in the 17th century. (Arminius was himself a student in Geneva
under Beza!) Though, personally, he stood to Calvin as Melancthon to Luther—
milder, more polished, sophisticated and refined—the system of theology he
helped solidify was more harsh and abrasive than that of his esteemed
predecessor.