Peace from Heidelberg
Studies in Protestant Irenics Vol. 1
By Herman Selderhuis
$17.95 $12.50
Published October 2, 2025
About this book
Short, scholarly studies in Rich Protestant Wisdom
The irenical theology taught and promoted at the Heidelberg University in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century has largely been influenced by the theology and irenical attitude of Philipp Melanchthon. In line with Melanchthon’s attitude this irenical theology seeks for unity but within strict limitation of the foundations of the theology of the Reformation. This theology seeks for unity through finding formulations that can unite and through pointing out commonalities but without giving up content. This is clearly demonstrated by the position taken by Heidelberg’s delegation to the Synod of Dordrecht. The theologians promoting this theology were motivated by the ecclesiastical and political need for the unity of Protestantism but mainly by the conviction that Calvinism and Lutheranism belong together and that differences between these two groups are more a matter of formulation than of theology.
Paperback | 110 pages | 5×8 | Published October 2, 2025 | ISBN-10 1-949716-73-2 | ISBN-13 978-1-949716-73-3
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FROM THE BOOK
“Although Junius’ Eirenicum appeared before Pareus’ Irenicum, it is often treated after it because it was not published in Heidelberg and not directly related to the situation in the Palatinate. Still, its inclusion in this book is entirely justified because the contents of this well-known work go back to Junius’s time in Heidelberg.
Franciscus Junius (François du Jon; b. 1545, in Bourges, d. 1602, in Leiden) – often referred to as Junius the Elder to distinguish him from his equally famous son – arrived in Heidelberg in 1573, and together with his colleagues stayed at the ‘ersatz Heidelberg’ i.e. the Casimirianum in Neustadt an der Haardt, from 1576 to 1583. Shortly after Johann Sohn (c.1547-1617) and Johann Jakob Grynaeus (1540-1617), Junius was appointed in Heidelberg in 1584, where he received his doctorate after defending nine theses on the justification of faith. In his inaugural speech, he addressed the covenant of grace. In 1591, Junius was granted three months leave from the university to accompany a campaign in France as a theologian at the request of the French king. The University regretted this, but they also saw his trip as a means to promote true religion in France and to fight papist doctrine. They did want a guarantee that Junius would return after three months, which he did, but not long after his return, in 1592 saw himself forced to leave what he referred to as his “other fatherland” (altera patria mea), and became professor of theology at Leiden where he remained until his death in 1602.
Because Junius left Heidelberg in the summer of 1592 and the Eirenicum was published in March of 1593, it is clearly the product of his lengthy stay in the Palatinate. This fruit of his Heidelberg period also appeared in French under the title Le Paisible Chrestien. In this work, one finds the explanation for his restraint in the Dutch struggle over predestination and for his aversion to polemics. This Eirenicum, with its search for unity and emphatic rejection of the rabies theologorum [“rage of theologians”], shows an obvious relationship with the ideas of Melanchthon. “
– Chapter 4 – The Eirenicum of Franciscus Junius
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1
Criticism of the “Calvinists”
2
Contents
3
Criticism
4
The Eirenicum of Franciscus Junius
5
Irenicism and the Reformation Jubilee (1617)
6
Irenicism and the Synod of Dordt
Conclusion
Bibliography
Praise for this work
“Herman J. Selderhuis is one of the best scholars of early modern Christianity. His ‘Peace from Heidelberg’ draws on scholarly expertise gained through extensive research over many years – and it shows just how manifold Protestantism was. Readers of this book will be in for surprises beginning with a challenge to well-established narratives on the relationship between politics and religion, and not ending with the long-lasting influence of Philip Melanchthon.”
– Tobias Jammerthal
Dr. Theol., MA (Dunelm); Professor of Church History and Head of the Institute for Swiss Reformation Studies in the University of Zurich
“Herman Selderhuis’s concise work on theological irenicism at the University of Heidelberg in the late 16th and early 17th century is a gem. Written in lucid and engaging prose, this text sheds light on significant Reformed attempts to build theological consensus with their Lutheran counterparts in an era that, like our own, tended to favor polemics over finding common ground.”
– Dr. Karin Maag
Director, H. Henry Meeter Center, Hekman Library
“Representing a minority in Germany, Reformed Heidelberg became a centre of religious irenism in the eve of the Thirty Years’ War. Herman Selderhuis unfolds this decisive moment of history in meticulously crafted studies. With clarity and depth, he shows what can happen when great minds reflect on faith and reconciliation. This book is a gift to all who seek to understand how peace can grow from mutual respect.”
– Volker Leppin
Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology, Yale Divinity School
About the Author
Herman Selderhuis (1961) is professor of Church History at the Theological University Apeldoorn (TUA), where in 1994 he defended his PhD on “Marriage and Divorce in the theology of Martin Bucer (1491-1551).” Selderhuis is also President of the Reformation Research Consortium (REFORC) and President of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe). He has published extensively on the history and theology of the Reformation. Selderhuis holds honorary doctorates from the University of Debrecen (Hungary) and from the University of Zurich (Switzerland).
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