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29-660: Desiderius Erasmus was a Christian humanist and reformer, in the sense of checking clerical abuses, honoring inner piety , considering reason as meaningful in theology as in other ways. He also promoted the notion that Christianity must remain under one church, both theologically and literally, under the body of the Catholic Church . Since his time, irenicism has postulated removing conflicts between different Christian creeds by way of mediation and gradual amalgamation of theological differences. Erasmus wrote extensively on topics related generally to peace, and an irenic approach

58-430: A latitudinarian position in theology, derived from a review of church history. Anthony Milton writes: [Ecumenical historians] have tended to assume the existence of an irenical 'essentialism' in which the association of Christian unity with peace, toleration and ecumenism is presupposed. [...] In fact, most thinkers of this period accepted that religious unity was a good idea, in the same way that they believed that sin

87-784: A peace treaty ending the Eighty Years' War that was not part of the Peace of Westphalia. Münster had been, since its re-Catholicism in 1535, a strictly mono-denominational community. It housed the Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster . Only Roman Catholic worship was permitted, while Calvinism and Lutheranism were prohibited. Sweden preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, which

116-569: A heavy toll in money and lives. The Eighty Years' War was a prolonged struggle for the independence of the Protestant-majority Dutch Republic (the modern Netherlands), supported by Protestant-majority England, against Catholic-dominated Spain and Portugal. The Thirty Years' War was the most deadly of the European wars of religion , centred on the Holy Roman Empire. The war, which developed into four phases, included

145-712: A large number of domestic and foreign players, siding either with the Catholic League or the Protestant Union (later Heilbronn League ). The Peace of Prague (1635) ended most religious aspects of the war, and the French–Habsburg rivalry took over prominence. With between 4.5 million and 8 million dead in the Thirty Years' War alone, and decades of constant warfare, the need for peace became increasingly clear. Peace negotiations between France and

174-487: A proposed reconciliation of Lutherans and Calvinists. Irenical has become a commonly used adjective to design an idealist and pacific conception, such as the democratic peace theory . False irenicism or false eirenism is an expression used in certain 20th-century documents of the Catholic Church to criticize attempts at ecumenism that would allow Catholic doctrine to be distorted or clouded. Documents using

203-421: Is part of the texture of his thought, both on theology and in relation to politics: Despite the frequency and severity of polemics directed against him, Erasmus continued ... to practice a kind of discourse that is critical and ironic, yet modest and irenic. Certain important irenic contributions from Erasmus helped to further the humanist consideration of themes of peace and religious conciliation; these included

232-669: Is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster . They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire , closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III , the kingdoms of France and Sweden , and their respective allies among

261-1014: The Document on Human Fraternity joint declaration of Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb , and of Pope Benedict XVI 's reported request for the Catholic church to participate in celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017. Desiderius Erasmus Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 534071878 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:54:53 GMT Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia ( German : Westfälischer Friede , pronounced [vɛstˈfɛːlɪʃɐ ˈfʁiːdə] )

290-589: The Habsburg Emperor began in Cologne in 1636. These negotiations were initially blocked by Cardinal Richelieu of France, who insisted on the inclusion of all his allies, whether fully sovereign countries or states within the Holy Roman Empire . In Hamburg , Sweden, France, and the Holy Roman Empire negotiated a preliminary peace in December 1641. They declared that the preparations of Cologne and

319-520: The Inquisitio de fide (1524), arguing against the papal opinion that Martin Luther was a heretic, and De sarcienda ecclesiae concordia (1533). Erasmus had close associates sharing his views ( Julius von Pflug , Christoph von Stadion , Jakob Ziegler and Jan Łaski ) and was followed on the Catholic side by George Cassander and Georg Witzel . The influence of Erasmus was, however, limited, by

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348-719: The Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, with the Habsburgs (rulers of Austria and Spain) and their Catholic allies on one side, battling the Protestant powers (Sweden and certain Holy Roman principalities) allied with France (though Catholic, strongly anti-Habsburg under King Louis XIV ). Several scholars of international relations have identified

377-545: The papal brief Zelo Domus Dei . The main tenets of the Peace of Westphalia were: The treaties did not entirely end conflicts arising out of the Thirty Years' War. Fighting continued between France and Spain until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. The Dutch-Portuguese War that had begun during the Iberian Union between Spain and Portugal , as part of the Eighty Years' War, went on until 1663. Nevertheless,

406-605: The English Protestant religious factions, and prove an irenicon . The Greek ἐιρηνικόν ( eirenikon ) or peace proposal is also seen as irenicum in its Latin version. An irenic literature developed, relating to divisions within Protestantism, particularly in the twenty years after the Peace of Westphalia . Examples marked out by title are: Isaac Newton wrote an Irenicum (unpublished manuscript); it supported

435-638: The French politique statesman Michel de l'Hôpital and reformer Sebastian Castellio . Irenic movements were influential in the 17th century, and irenicism, for example in the form of Gottfried Leibniz 's efforts to reunite Catholics and Protestants, is in some ways a forerunner to the more modern ecumenical movements. The 1589 Examen pacifique de la doctrine des Huguenots by Henry Constable proved influential, for example on Christopher Potter and William Forbes . Richard Montagu admired Cassander and Andreas Fricius . The 1628 Syllabus aliquot synodorum

464-458: The Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations, collectively known as Westphalian sovereignty . However, some historians have argued against this, suggesting that such views emerged during the nineteenth and twentieth century in relation to concerns about sovereignty during that time. Europe had been battered by both the Thirty Years' War and the overlapping Eighty Years' War (begun c. 1568), exacting

493-456: The Peace of Westphalia did settle many outstanding European issues of the time. Some scholars of international relations have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations , including the inviolability of borders and non-interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign states. This system became known in the literature as Westphalian sovereignty . Most modern historians have challenged

522-515: The Protestant tradition; to the arguments of Gallicanism being welcomed but also treated as particularly insidious; and an irenist such as Francis a Sancta Clara being attacked strongly by firm Calvinists . The handful of Protestant writers who were convinced in their irenic approach to Catholics included William Covell and Thomas Dove . James I of England thought that the Bible translation he commissioned might effect some reconciliation between

551-554: The Treaty of Hamburg were preliminaries of an overall peace agreement. The main peace negotiations took place in Westphalia , in the neighbouring cities of Münster and Osnabrück . Both cities were maintained as neutral and demilitarized zones for the negotiations. In Münster, negotiations took place between the Holy Roman Empire and France, as well as between the Dutch Republic and Spain who on 30 January 1648 signed

580-462: The association of this system with the Peace of Westphalia, calling it the 'Westphalian myth'. They have challenged the view that the modern European states system originated with the Westphalian treaties. The treaties do not contain anything in their text about religious freedom, sovereignty, or balance of power that can be construed as international law principles. Constitutional arrangements of

609-466: The interests of 140 Imperial States, and 27 interest groups representing 38 groups. Two separate treaties constituted the peace settlement: The power asserted by Ferdinand III was stripped from him and returned to the rulers of the Imperial States . The rulers of the Imperial States could again choose their own official religions. Catholics and Lutherans were redefined as equal before

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638-473: The law, and Calvinism was given legal recognition as an official religion. The independence of the Dutch Republic, which practiced religious toleration, also provided a safe haven for European Jews. The Holy See was very displeased at the settlement, with Pope Innocent X calling it "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all time" in

667-455: The princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties. The negotiation process was lengthy and complex. Talks took place in two cities, because each side wanted to meet on territory under its own control. A total of 109 delegations arrived to represent the belligerent states, but not all delegations were present at the same time. Two treaties were signed to end the war in the Empire:

696-514: The term include the encyclical letter Humani generis , promulgated by Pope Pius XII in 1950, Pope Paul VI 's encyclical letter, Ecclesiam Suam , the Second Vatican Council 's 1964 Decree on Ecumenism , Unitatis Redintegratio , Pope John Paul II 's Ut unum sint , and his 1984 post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Reconciliatio et paenitentia . Modern positive examples of Catholic non-false irenicism can be seen in

725-446: The virtual exclusion of his works from countries such as France, from 1525, at least in the open; though they did appear in numerous forms and translations. James Hutton speaks of "the surreptitious manner in which Erasmus' peace propaganda reached the French public." Franciscus Junius published in 1593 Le paisible Chrestien arguing for religious tolerance and Ecumenism . He addressed Philip II of Spain , using arguments taken from

754-441: Was a bad idea. The problem was that, of course, different people wanted irenicism on different terms. [...] Different interpretations of irenicism could have direct political implications, making the rhetoric of Christian unity an important tool in the political conflicts of the period. It is in that light that he comments on the irenists' succession: Erasmus, Cassander, Jacob Acontius , Grotius, then John Dury, who spent much time on

783-692: Was a bibliography of the literature of religious concord, compiled by Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul decades earlier, and seen into print by Hugo Grotius using the pseudonym "Theodosius Irenaeus," with a preface by Matthias Bernegger . It was typical enough, however, for moderate and even irenical writers on the Catholic side to find in this period that their arguments were turned back against Catholicism. This style of arguing developed in England from Thomas Bell and particularly Thomas Morton . It led to Thomas James mining Marcantonio de Dominis and Paolo Sarpi , and making efforts to claim Witzel for

812-505: Was controlled by Protestant forces. Osnabrück was a bi-denominational Lutheran and Catholic city, with two Lutheran churches and two Catholic churches. The city council was exclusively Lutheran, and the burghers mostly so, but the city also housed the Catholic Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück and had many other Catholic inhabitants. Osnabrück had been subjugated by troops of the Catholic League from 1628 to 1633 and

841-409: Was then taken by Lutheran Sweden. The peace negotiations had no exact beginning or end, because the 109 delegations never met in a plenary session. Instead, various delegations arrived between 1643 and 1646 and left between 1647 and 1649. The largest number of diplomats were present between January 1646 and July 1647. Delegations had been sent by 16 European states, 66 Imperial States representing

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