Sermon for October 31st, 2021

Theodore Beza: In Calvin's Shadow

In July of 2019, I had the pleasure of visiting the city of Geneva, Switzerland--the city where the great reformed theologian John Calvin lived and worked. Near the heart of the city, there is a famous monument, often called the "Reformation Wall." (pictures).

The tall guy with the long arms (second from the left) is John Calvin. The one on the far right is John Knox, the founder of the Reformed church in Scotland, where Presbyterians come from. The guy on the far left is William Farrell (no relation to the modern comedian) and the guy just to the right of Calvin is the one we'll be talking about today. His name is Theodore Beza, and you would be forgiven if you've never heard of him before. Most people haven't, not even in Geneva, even among Presbyterian history nerds. Nine times out of ten, he's the one people are most likely forget when trying to name all four pastors on the Reformation Wall.

Who was Theodore Beza? Well, he belongs to a long and somewhat distinguished company, along with these guys: (pictures). Yes, Theodore Beza was a sidekick. Specifically, he was John Calvin's sidekick, his right hand man, his student, biographer, and eventually his successor as the leader of the church in Geneva. Beza lived most of his life in Calvin's shadow, and even today, you will rarely find Beza mentioned in any history or theology book without Calvin's name at least five words away in the same sentence.

And yet, without Beza, Calvin's immense legacy and influence, not to mention his life story and much of his correspondence, would be almost entirely lost to us. Beyond that, Beza was a gifted writer, theologian, pastor and diplomat in his own right. So today, on Reformation Sunday, I hope we can bring him out of the shadows and into the light.

• called Aristotle the summum illum omnium Philosophorum principem, the highest prince of all philosophers.