Eastern Orthodox writer and scholar Cyril Jenkins published an article at the Ancient Faith website in which he discussed the issue of Calvin's view of the Athanasian Creed, as recorded in his 1537 disputation with Pierre Caroli. Apparently, Calvin refused to sign the creed when Caroli asked him to do so.
This episode in the life of the Genevan reformer has generated a lot of controversy, much of which started in Calvin's own lifetime and continues till this day. It is constantly spread around by opponents of the Reformed faith in order to smear Calvin's image. In this article, I wish to investigate and provide an introductory overview of the history of this situation and problem.
Background
Pierre Caroli was initially very accepting of the doctrines of the Reformation. According to some, his conflict with Calvin initially began with the former's view of prayers for the dead. After this, Caroli had a more rooted animosity towards Calvin.
At one point, Caroli made an accusation of Arianism and Sabellianism against Calvin (and possibly his other colleagues), because of the Genevan Confession's lack of "technical language" in explaining the Trinity. Around this time, Calvin wrote a letter to Kaspar Megander (1495-1545), an influential theologian in Bern. He described Caroli as the "rabid fury of the little ass" and as a slanderous individual. Calvin urged Megander to deal with the situation with Caroli immediately, and not wait around the civil magistrates to do so. The Genevan ministers met in Lausanne on May 14 and presented their Trinitarian theology and were vindicated. However, Caroli continued his accusations. Eventually, a synod was held in Bern to deal with the controversy, which had caused Calvin and his fellow Reformer, Guillaume Farel, much anxiety and stress.
The primary reason why Calvin, in this specific situation mind you, refused to sign the Creeds, was because he did not want to cave into the demands of Pierre Caroli and give him the upper hand, so to speak, or make people think of it as an absolutely necessary action.
However, in order to properly understand as to why Calvin chose to do this, it is important for us to see what Calvin himself said two years later (1539) in a letter to Guillaume Farel:
"He boasted, moreover, that at first he had a most just cause of complaint against us, that he did not immediately rush forward to accuse us, but required in a friendly way, that we should subscribe the three creeds; that we not only declined doing so, but disparaged with much scornful derision those three symbols, which by the perpetual confession of good men have always been held as of established authority in the Church. Thereupon they excepted, that he had not on that account any sufficient ground why he should fall away to the Papists. Then, having rebuked him very severely, they admonished him to repentance. When called upon, I replied to his objections, and in the first place, most assuredly did not spare to declare the whole business as it stood from the very commencement. There was some little difficulty in clearing ourselves as to the symbols; for it was certainly somewhat discreditable that we should have rejected those documents, which, since they have been received by the approving judgment of the whole Church, ought to be considered as beyond controversy. Although, therefore, it would have been easy for us to palliate that also, by replying we did not reject these symbols, far less disapprove them, but that we had only refused our subscription, in order that Caroli might not thereby find occasion of triumph in his attacks upon our ministry, there would still have remained somewhat of suspicion in regard to us. That circumstance especially procured him favour, because a little before that, Claude, who it was clear had been often condemned by all the Churches, had been received again into the office of the ministry. Therefore, although I shewed that he had done that from malice, I could not take away from him every pretext for attacking us. It was my duty to give satisfaction on the score of battologies. But by no means have I admitted that there was here any useless battology, or mere contending about words. I confessed, however, that I would not have spoken unless I had been forced by his wickedness to do so." (John Calvin, "Letter 40" to Farel)
Nonetheless, Caroli also recognized that Calvin's theology was not a variance with the teaching of the three ancient creeds (B.B. Warfield, Calvin and Augustine, pg. 208). Calvin repeatedly cited Athanasius in his writings, especially in his famous disputes against the impious heretic Michael Servetus (Anthony N.S. Lane, John Calvin: Student of the Church Fathers [T&T Clark: Edinburgh, 1999], pgs. 77-80).
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