Poissy, Colloquy of

POISSY, Colloquy of. - The discords provoked by Calvinist preaching in the Kingdom of France and the factions that had arisen from it, especially among the high nobility, together with the ambiguous policy pursued by the regent queen Catherine de' Medici, had given occasion for dangerous turmoils.

While Pius IV, on 2 June 1561, created Cardinal Ippolito d'Este his legate in France, the court set for 20 July an assembly of the episcopate, on the pretext of choosing the bishops to send to the Council of Trent and of remedying the abuses introduced into the Gallican Church. Poissy having been chosen as the place of the meeting, there were present on 31 July the King, the Queen, the court with 48 bishops; the chancellor Michel L'Hospital, opening the session, spoke of it as of a national council, but Cardinal François de Tournon at once proclaimed that it was not a council and that doctrinal questions were not to be agitated. The court, however, wished the reformed to be heard. These came with 22 representatives of their communities and 12 preachers headed by Theodore Beza (v.) and were admitted to the assembly of the bishops on 26 August; then on 9 September Beza was able to speak against the Church and the "real presence". The Cardinal of Guise, addressing the King, brilliantly refuted Beza's assertions on 16 September. On the 19th Cardinal d'Este arrived, followed by the bishops, while the chancellor tried in vain to prevent his mission from being recognized. On the 24th and the 27th Beza replied to the Cardinal of Lorraine, who replied to him in turn; then Peter Martyr Vermigli spoke, followed by Diego Lainez (v.), general of the Jesuits, theologian of Cardinal d'Este, who gave wide circulation to the speech he had delivered. But the reformed continued to argue without yielding; however, they were no longer heard by the assembly, not even in private audiences. The bishops, on the other hand, under Cardinal de

Tournon, drew up canons of reform which they presented to the Queen. Despite Cardinal d'Este's talks with the Queen, the reformed were able to continue arguing in private until 11 February 1564, when it was decided to refer the theological decisions to the Council. Meanwhile, however, on 17 January the King had issued an "edict of tolerance" granting the reformed free exercise of worship, but outside the cities; while Lainez, by his preaching in Paris, kept the Catholics firm. Since Parliament was unwilling to register the Edict, the reformed unleashed a bloody reaction, to which the Catholics responded, so that Parliament yielded and on 7 March registered the Edict; but this did not suffice to prevent the religious wars that bloodied France for long years.

Pio Paschini