CONSENSUS. – A term used by Protestants to denote a concise doctrinal exposition. They give various names to summaries of their doctrines: they call them catechisms (such as the two by LUTHER and the Westminster Confession), theses (such as the Bern Theses), confessions of faith (such as the Augsburg, Gallican, Belgic, etc.), articles (such as the 39 Articles of the Anglican Church), and also “c.” (v. CONFESSIONS OF FAITH). Some of these are little known, such as the *Consensus repetitus* of CALOVIUS (1664) against the syncretism of G. CALIXTUS; others, however, have remained famous. Of the latter, three originated in Switzerland, namely the *Consensus Tigurinus* of Zurich (1549), the *Consensus Genevensis* (1552), and the *Formula Consensus Ecclesiarum Helveticarum* (1675); one was composed in Poland and is known as the *Consensus Poloniae Sandomiriensis* (1570–95). A brief account of each is given below.
I. *CONSENSUS TIGURINUS*. – The controversy between LUTHER and ZWINGLI over the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist did not end with Zwingli’s death in 1531, but continued under his successor, H. BULLINGER (v.), who in 1545 published his *Vera confessio ministrorum ecclesiae Tigurinae*... especially concerning the Lord’s Supper. CALVIN made some observations on Bullinger’s work, and the latter, having received them courteously, opened the way to a common agreement between the leaders of the two parties, which was realized in the city of Zurich in 1549. It consists of 26 articles that equally condemn the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Lutheran doctrine of consubstantiation. Bullinger accepted almost all Calvinist doctrines not only regarding the Eucharist but also regarding very specific Calvinist tenets, such as the efficacy of the sacraments depending on God’s election. With the exception of this clause, the entire *Consensus* was pleasing even to MELANCHTHON, who at that time was the leader of the “crypto-Calvinists” (v.), but it gave rise to a violent work by JOACHIM WESTPHAL (1552). The *Consensus Tigurinus* indeed drew the Zwinglians closer to the Calvinists but separated them ever more from the Lutherans. It was accepted by most of the Reformed Churches in Switzerland, France, and Germany.
II. *CONSENSUS GENEVENSIS*. – If the *Consensus Tigurinus* served to establish Calvin’s doctrine of the virtual presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist among the Zwinglians, the *Consensus Genevensis* gave him the opportunity to expound at length his theory on predestination. It was drawn up in 1552 chiefly against the Catholic doctor ALBERT PIGHIUS BOLSEC (v.), who had attacked him, and was addressed “Viris et magnificis dominis, syndicis, senatuique Genevensi, etc.,” a fact that gave it a local character. It did not gain wide circulation, perhaps also because of its violent and biting style and its prolixity.
III. *FORMULA CONSENSUS ECCLESIARUM HELVETICARUM* (1675). – This was the response of the Swiss Churches to those who impugned Calvinist doctrines (the Amyraldians). During the 17th century at the Reformed Academy of Saumur (v. CAMERONIANS), the Amyraldians, so called after their chief leader MOSES AMYRAUT, taught doctrines that were modifications of Calvinism. Against these the *Formula Consensus* was drawn up, which, adhering tenaciously to Calvinist doctrines, laid down among other things that the verbal inspiration of Holy Scripture extended “tum quoad consonantes, tum quoad vocalia sive puncta ipsa sive punctorum saltem potestatem etc.”; that God had from the beginning determined to create man upright, but permitted his fall and then chose some men to save, leaving the rest as a corrupt mass and condemning them to eternal punishment; that Jesus Christ had died only for the elect; and that man, before he personally commits sin, is condemned for two reasons: for the inherited original sin imputed to him and for the corruption of his very nature, which remained entirely depraved and spiritually dead. This formula held authority in the cantons of Zurich, Basel, Geneva, and some others, but it has now been superseded by the confessions of the Free Evangelical Churches of Vaud, Geneva, Neuchâtel, etc.
IV. *CONSENSUS POLONIAE SANDOMIRIENSIS* (1570–95). – This *Consensus* was formulated at a meeting between Lutherans, Calvinists, and the Bohemian Brethren in Poland. In it, avoiding certain extreme phrases such as the Lutheran *manducatio realis*, or setting aside controversial issues such as Calvinist predestination, the three parties declared themselves all to be orthodox, agreed to avoid disputes and conflicts among themselves, permitted ministers of one party to preach from the pulpits of the others, granted intercommunion, etc. This *Consensus* was the precursor of modern pan-Christian congresses, in which, under the guise of union, the doctrines and errors of each party remain unaltered. The *Consensus*, signed by representatives of the three parties and by many notable ministers and laymen, was drawn up at Sandomierz in Lesser Poland in 1570, published in Latin and Polish in 1586, and confirmed at the Synods of Cracow (1573), Piotrków (1578), Wrocław (1583), and Toruń (1595).