You will remember how many times William Farel had made vain attempts to get an entrance into Lausanne. The old city, with its proud bishop and its grand cathedral, its army of bigoted priests and ignorant monks, had again and again closed its gates against the gospel of the grace of God. But now the Pays de Vaud was in the hands of Berne, and the Bishop of Lausanne had fled. “They gave me a warm welcome at Friburg,” he wrote to his nephew, “and I promise you we are having good cheer.” The Bernese declared that Lausanne should have a bishop no more. They entered the town in triumph, and took possession of it in the name of the lords of Berne.
Lausanne, like Geneva, was now a free city.
The Council of Berne now determined that the priests of Lausanne should be brought face to face with William Farel and Peter Viret, and any other gospelers who were able “to give a reason of the hope that was in them.” Farel had longed for this opportunity, and had told the Council of his desire. They fixed the first of October for the beginning of the discussion. This would allow the priests plenty of time to find able speakers.
In vain did the Emperor Charles V. write to the Council of Lausanne and to the Council of Berne to forbid these proceedings. The little Swiss cities turned a deaf ear to the great emperor who had Europe at his feet. And the emperor was just then too busy with his invasion of France to be able to attend to such small matters as the disrespect of Berne and Lausanne.
And now let us take a journey to the beautiful old city on the vine-clad hills of the Pays de Vaud, looking down on the blue lake of Geneva far below. High up on those green hills we see the towers of the cathedral. All around are the old buildings where the bishop, the priests, and the monks, had “had good cheer,” and had thundered forth threatenings and slaughter against Lutheran heretics. We see churches and convents rising above the quaint steep roofs on the hill side. In one of these convents Peter Viret has been preaching for some months back, for the lords of Berne had demanded it from the Council of Lausanne. We see, across the still waters of the lake, the blue mountains with their snowy peaks, range behind range, till they seem to be lost in the white clouds, and we cannot tell which is cloud and which is snow. And down the steep hillsides we see the sunny vineyards and green, shady meadows. In the dark corner of one of the steep winding streets, some ill-looking fellows are waiting for the heretics from Geneva: they have been posted there by the priests to murder them.
But the heretics came in such a strong force that the murderers durst not attack them. Moreover their plot having reached the ears of the Council, they were arrested and sentenced. But the “heretics” entreated for mercy for these poor men, who knew not what they did, and thereupon they were pardoned.
On Sunday morning, October 1st, the great Cathedral of Lausanne was filled from end to end. Scaffoldings were put up all around to seat the immense multitude. They were interspersed with the painting and gilding, the jewelery and the pomp of the old times; and posted up on every side were the sentences concerning which the disputation was to be held. Let us read the first sentence:
“The Holy Scripture teaches no other way of being justified save by faith in Jesus Christ, offered up once for all, and never to be offered again: insomuch that he who puts forward any other satisfaction for the remission of sins, utterly abolishes the truth which Christ has revealed.”
William Farel stands up. He says that the Lord Jesus Christ “came down into this miserable world in order that by Him we should have salvation and life. For this end He died that He might gather in One the elect of God. Satan’s work is to scatter the sheep, the work of the Lord Jesus is to gather them.” He then asked for prayer that the truth might be victorious, that the weakness and foolishness of those who speak the truth might hinder none from owning it—that all hearts might be turned to the Great Shepherd of the sheep, who gave His life for His poor people; that none might seek their own honor and glory, but only that Christ should be “known and owned,” and, having prayed together, they separated till the next morning.
At seven o’clock on Monday the cathedral was again filled. The varied costumes showed from how many different places the hearers had come. In the center of the cathedral were ranged the speakers on both sides—Farel, Viret, Calvin, Marcourt—and Caroli! This time Caroli was a gospeler. But Farel saw him arrive with sorrow and distrust. On the other side an array of about 174 priests and monks in addition.
Farel stood up. He read the first sentence which was posted up. “The heavens and the earth may pass away,” he said “but the word of the Lord cannot pass away. If then that word shows us no other righteousness than that which is by faith in Christ, it follows as absolutely certain, that there is no other righteousness. By being made righteous, we understand that sin is put away, that God imputes it to us no more. As a prisoner brought before the judge is acquitted, so God, having put away out sin, acquits us. And he who thus receives remission of sins, is counted righteous before God, as though he had never committed any sins at all.”
A priest rose up to speak for the rest. He said the Scriptures commanded peace, and forbade disputings. A disputation is therefore a sinful act of disobedience. They would rather bear in silence the reproach of being beaten in argument, than take upon themselves to decide questions which could only be decided by the universal Church. They would thus be bearing the cross in meekness and humility.
Farel then spoke at length, being interrupted several times by an angry monk. “It is now your turn,” said Farel, fixing his eyes on the monk; “stand up, and prove what you have preached during the past Lent, here in Lausanne.”
The monk said he would not do so except before competent judges. Peter Viret remarked that the word of God was the best judge. The monk replied, “The Church is above the Bible, For the Bible would have no authority, except that it is approved by the Church.”
“That is as much as to say,” said Viret, “that God is not to be believed except as He is approved of by men. And what judge do you desire better than One who is infallible? It is God who speaks in His word.”
“That is no answer,” said the monk; “Anyone can quote the Bible. You explain it in your way, and I in mine; who is to say which is right? The devil quoted Scripture when he tempted Jesus. One must not only quote Scripture rightly, but interpret it rightly.”
Viret replied that the best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture itself. And that the right interpretation must always be that which honors Christ, and makes Him to be all in all, not that which honors man, and, moreover, puts money into his pocket. “And that, as you say, the devil quoted Scripture,” he added, “furnishes me with a weapon wherewith to smite you: for the Lord Jesus did not therefore throw contempt on Scripture, but confounded Satan by replying out of Scripture. If therefore the Lord did so, you ought not to refuse thus to answer us: for you are not greater than Jesus, nor are we devils, but Christian brethren.”
But the monk stood firm. No one should persuade him to dispute with heretics. The Church had forbidden it, and the Church must be obeyed. Thus, the chronicler tells us, he persisted in refusing to speak, except to give reasons for not speaking, until at 11 o’clock the bell rang for dinner and the meeting adjourned.
Farel then preached to the whole assembly, and all the priests returned on the following day to their homes.
But some returned to preach the Saviour they had heard of at Lausanne, and amongst those truly converted to God were some who had at first been the chief speakers on the side of Rome. On no occasion of a public discussion had so many sinners been saved.
And now began the great work which was to prove that Lausanne too had received the gospel. The altars and images, the holy vessels of the priests, the robes and the jewelry, were carried forth from the cathedral and the churches, as the idols from the cities of Israel. The images and crucifixes were broken in pieces. The great image, called by the priests “our Lady of Lausanne,” by the gospelers “Diana of the Ephesians,” was reduced to atoms.
An inventory was made of the vessels and ornaments, literally “the merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls and fine linen and purple, and silk and scarlet, and all thyme wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass and iron and marble.”
Any persons who had given these ornaments to the churches, or whose parents or grandparents had given them might claim them as family property. But the remainder was of such enormous value that, in addition to the value of church lands, a sum was paid into the treasury of Berne, which served for the founding of hospitals and colleges, and for a fund for the poor of the Pays de Vaud. Besides this, the old canons were allowed a pension for the remainder of their lives.
It was with this treasure that the present college, the Academy of Lausanne, was founded and endowed. F. B.