Pierre Viret

Pierre Viret

Pierre Viret (1511 – 4 May 1571) was a Swiss Reformed theologian.

Early life

Pierre Viret was born in 1511 in Orbe, a small town in the Pays de Vaud (present-day French-Switzerland), to a devout Roman Catholic family. His father Guillaume was a tailor. Of his childhood, Pierre later noted, “I was naturally given to religion, of which however I was then ignorant.” His schoolteacher, Marc Romain, was a follower of Martin Luther; thus Viret, while still a child, was exposed to the teachings of the Protestant Reformation. Viret’s parents soon noticed their child possessed an aptitude for learning and sent him to Paris to study for the priesthood. While at college Viret was converted to the Protestant Faith and, fleeing the persecutions rampant in the Roman Catholic stronghold of Paris, he returned to his hometown, Orbe.[1]


Preaching

William Farel, a Protestant preacher, called Viret to the ministry at his return to Orbe. On May 6, 1531, Viret preached his first sermon, being only twenty years old at the time. His preaching was received with astonishment and acclamation by his hearers, and many were soon converted to the Reformed Faith, among them both Viret's parents.[2] Subsequently, he preached in Lausanne and Geneva, before undertaking missionary tours in France, preaching to crowds of thousands in Paris, Orléans, Avignon, Montauban, and Montpellier. His preaching was sweet and winning, and won him the name of "The Smile of the Reformation."

At one time he was captured by Catholic forces. Viret was considered one of the most popular French-speaking preachers in the 16th century. Above all he was the reformer of the city of Lausanne, where he converted the local population to the Reformed faith. In his time, Lausanne also became, with Geneva, a training ground for Reformation preachers. Among those who studied in Lausanne was the author of the Belgic Confession, Guy de Brès. While at Lausanne, Viret founded a Reformed Academy, which was forced to relocate to Geneva in 1559. The relocated professors and students of Viret's Lausanne Academy soon became the foundation of Calvin’s famed Geneva Academy.[3]

Bas relief of Pierre Viret.

He died in Orthez in 1571.

Notes

  1. ↑ Sheats, R.A. "Pierre Viret: The Unknown Reformer.” Faith for All of Life Mar/Apr. 2011: 3-8. Print.
  2. ↑ D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation in Europe, pages 223-224
  3. ↑ Michael W. Bruening, Calvinism’s First Battleground: Conflict and Reform in the Pays de Vaud, 1528-1559 (Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2005), page 254

Bibliographic sources

External links