Pierre Boquin (also known as Bouquin, Boucquin, or Petrus Boquinus; post 1518 –1582 in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

) was a French Reformed

Theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

who played a critical role in the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

of the

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

Origins and early career

Pierre Boquin was probably born after 1518 in

Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux. The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...

in Western France. He earned a doctorate in theology in 1539 at the

University of Bourges The University of Bourges (french: Université de Bourges) was a university located in Bourges, France. It was founded by Louis XI of France, Louis XI in 1463 and closed during the French Revolution. Until the mid-17th century, lack of suitable le ...

. He was briefly a member of the Carmelite Order even serving as prior of the Bourges community before leaving in 1541 due to his turn toward Protestantism. He fled through

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...

. He joined the faculty of the Strasbourg Academy in 1542 as the successor of John Calvin. Towards the end of that year he returned to Bourges to lecture at the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

under the protection of Queen

Marguerite de Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (french: Marguerite d'Angoulême, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Queen ...

. Bouquin also served as cathedral preacher in Bourges, but he lost this position in short order due to his Protestant convictions. Because of this he was brought up on charges before the Archbishop of Paris, which he wholly escaped by fleeing again to Strasbourg in 1555. He served there for two years from 1555 as preacher for the church of the French refugee community.

Activity in the Electorate of the Palatinate

He was appointed Professor of Theology at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

in 1557. He served as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the theological faculty, and Frederick III tapped him to serve on the church council due to his Reformed opinions. In June 1560, he participated in a

disputation In the scholastic system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations (in Latin: ''disputationes'', singular: ''disputatio'') offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences. Fixed ru ...

with Saxon

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

s from the court of John Frederick II on the Lord's Supper, chiefly against

Johann Stössel Johann Stössel (also spelled Stoessel; 24 June 1524 – 18 March 1576) was a Lutheran Theologian and Reformer. Life Stössel was born in Kitzingen. He came to Wittenberg at 15 and became a master after 10 years of study. Since he distanced him ...

. He also he participated in the Maulbronn Colloquy in April 1564, a debate with the Lutheran theologians of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

, chiefly

Jakob Andreae Jakob Andreae (25 March 1528 – 7 January 1590) was a significant German Lutheran theologian and Protestant Reformer involved in the drafting of major documents. Life He was born in Waiblingen, in the Duchy of Württemberg. He studied at the U ...

, over the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. There is currently no consensus on how large a role should be attributed to Boquin in the composition of the Heidelberg Catechism, although he was certainly a prime theological authority in that period alongside the principal author

Zacharias Ursinus Zacharias Ursinus (18 July 15346 May 1583) was a sixteenth-century German Reformed theologian and Protestant reformer, born Zacharias Baer in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). He became the leading theologian of the Reformed Protestant movement ...

. He supported the doctoral promotion of the Englishman George Withers at the University of Heidelberg in 1568, which in part helped to ignite the controversy over

church discipline Church discipline is the practice of church members calling upon an individual within the Church to repent for their sins. Church discipline is performed when one has sinned or gone against the rules of the church. Church discipline is practiced wi ...

between the Calvinist ''disciplinist'' party and

Thomas Erastus Thomas Erastus (original surname Lüber, Lieber, or Liebler; 7 September 152431 December 1583) was a Swiss physician and Calvinist theologian. He wrote 100 theses (later reduced to 75) in which he argued that the sins committed by Christians sho ...

.Ruth Wesel-Roth, ''Thomas Erastus: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der reformierten Kirche und zur Lehre von der Staatssouveränität'', 53-54.

Late career

When Frederick III died on 26 October 1576, his son Elector Louis VI returned the Palatinate to the Lutheran confession. To this end he released Reformed teachers and preachers, and therefore, Bouquin lost his post. He accepted a position in Bernese territory as preacher and instructor at the Lausanne Academy in 1578. He died four years later.

Works

''Ad calumnias doctoris cujusdam Avii in Evangelii professores Defensio''
n.p., 1558 * ''Apodeixis antichristianismi, qua christianismum veram religionem, pharisaismum christianismo contrarium, papismum pharisaismo simillimum esse ostenditur'' (Geneva 1583)* ''Examen libri, quem D. Til. Heshusius nuper scripsit de praesentia corporis Christi in coena Domini'' (Basel 1561) * ''Assertio veteris et veri christianismi adversus novum et fictum jesuitismum'' (Heidelberg 1579) * ''Exegesis divinae atque humanae koinonías'' (Heidelberg 1561)
Oratio de Vita et morte illustrissimi Principis D.D. Friderici III....

eidelberg Eidelberg (russian: Эйдельберг) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Joseph Eidelberg, Israeli historian * Martin Eidelberg, American art historian * Paul Eidelberg, American-Israeli political scientist and author ...

Apud Ioannem Mareschallum, 1577.

References

External links