Ockham On The Papacy

Abstract

In this chapter, the author argues that despite John Calvin's constant dialogue with both ante-Nicene and post-Nicene fathers, certain aspects of his trinitarian thought as early as the 1536 Institutes betray his medieval sources. The argument will proceed by first explicating the various trends in scholarship, which see Calvin's trinitarian doctrine as either fundamentally Western (Augustinian) or Eastern (Cappadocian). The chapter describes John Duns Scotus' account of the distinction of persons by absolute properties, noting the divergence between Scotus and the earlier patristic and medieval tradition. The argument follow closely the recent work of Russell Friedman and his narration of trinitarian developments in the late thirteenth and first half of the fourteenth centuries. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Calvin's trinitarian theology in the 1536 Institutes , examining how the persons of the Trinity are distinct. Keywords: Institutes ; John Calvin; medieval tradition; Scotus; trinitarian theology