31
May 1567 A.D.
Guido de Bres Martyred by Spanish Romanists—Reformed Churchman &
Author of the Belgic Confession.
From Wiki.
Early life
Guido de Bres was
born in Mons, today in southwestern Belgium. His father was
formerly known as Jean Du Beguinage (alternatively: Jan le Béguinage) was an
itinerant blauschilder [lit. blue painter] which is indicative of the tin-glazed process, a
precursor to Delftware, introduced into the Netherlands by Guido de Savino in 1512 at Antwerp.
Jean changed his name to that of De Bres when he settled in Mons and with his
wife bore five children: Jehan, Jherome, Christoffel, Guy and daughter
Mailette. Rehalenbeck suggests one other son, Michel.
De Bres was
brought up by his mother, a devout Roman Catholic until the end of her days.
The names of Guy's mother are unknown other than that of De Bres. Guy was a
Roman Catholic and was very strong in that faith by all accounts.[1] Not much is known
of Guy's early life other than he followed his brother Jehan into school at the
appropriate age and after a basic education followed his father in learning the
craft of blauschilder.
The De Bres family
were known for their skills in glass painting, and young Guido was trained in
this art before moving to England. In his teenage years, he became a follower of the Protestant
religion as taught by Martin Luther. Later he
converted to Calvinism. He met and studied under John Calvin at the academy of
Geneva where Calvin
taught.
Career
Guy was converted
between the age of 18 and 25. It is almost certain he became familiar with the Reformed faith through
printed works. On 22 September 1540 a proclamation banned a large number of
books: by Erasmus in Latin, Melanchthon, Eobanus Hessus and others, as
well as the New Testament, the Gospels, the Epistles, and the Prophetical books
of the Bible in French and Flemish. These books were deemed heretical by the Roman Catholic Church
authorities. In 1543 books were burned in the marketplace of Lille: La
Doctrines des Enfants (a Lutheran catechism), also Lamentations of Jesus
Christ, La Sant Otraison and a book by a Flemish priest entitled: Letters
Institution 2.
In 1548, while Guy
was still in Mons, he forged a friendship with an English couple: Mr. Nicholas
and his wife. Mr Nicholas, his friend and two wives were caught by the
authorities and charged with subversion of the Roman Catholic faith. They were
imprisoned together with a number of Protestants from that area. Guy then fled
to England, during the reign of Edward VI. On 4 November 1547 the English parliament had decided to allow the two
elements used in the communion to be enjoyed by all people. Guy probably kept
company with a number of refugees from continental Europe: Tremellius, Valérand Poullain, Martin Bucer, John a Lasco, Jan Utenhove, Marten de Klyne (Marten
Micron or Micronius), Wouter Deelen, François
Perucel de la Rivière and others.[1] Whilst in England
Guy attended the church of John a Lasco, and in 1551 he also became familiar
with a Lasco's London
Confession. The largest group of refugees came from the Low Countries.
John a Lasco served as superintendent to a number of foreign congregations
including the Dutch. A Lasco was a Polish nobleman with Zwinglian
tendencies.(1551).[2] Guy left England
in 1552 before Mary, Queen of England came to the throne.
De Bres went to Germany and later moved
back to Geneva. Around 1559 he
returned to the Low Countries, but now as a travelling Calvinist preacher. From 1559 to 1561 he served
as the resident minister in Tournai. In 1561 De Bres
authored the Belgic Confession. This confession was meant for the Spanish Government to show them that the Calvinists weren't a radical Anabaptist sectarian
movement, but demanded a Reformation in the biblical sense of the Roman Catholic Church. The text is strongly influenced by Calvin's "Institutes
of the Christian Religion" and the
creed of the French Huguenots. The creed was printed by Jean Crespin in Geneva. On the
night of November 1, 1561, De Bres threw his creed over the castle wall of
Tournai, where Margaret of Parma, governor
of the Netherlands stayed, to bring the confession to the
attention of the Spanish government.[1][3][4][5]
Death
In 1565 De Bres
was arrested for his Calvinist beliefs. He was tried before the Spanish Inquisition, received the death penalty and was hanged at Valenciennes. He died a martyr's death in front
of a large crowd after making a final statement of his beliefs. He was pushed
off the scaffold by the hangman whilst addressing the crowd. Twelve days before
his death he wrote a still-circulating letter[6] to his wife
showing his trust in God.
Legacy
De Bres wrote a
number of books. The Belgic Confession is part of the Three Forms of Unity, a set of official statements of doctrine used by churches with roots in
the continental Reformed tradition. Its text is still in wide use in particular among confessionally Reformed
churches.
References
1.
^ Jump up to: a b c d L.A. van
Langeraad, Guido de Bray Zijn Leven en Werken, Zierikzee: S.Ochtman en
Zoon 1884 p.9, 13
3.
Jump up ^ Frossart, CH. L
(1857), L'Église sous la croix pendant la domination espaynole [The church
under the cross during the Spanish domination] (in French), Paris: Lille,
pp. 163–71.
4.
Jump up ^ Crespin, J;
Goulart, S (1582), Histoire des Martyrs, persecutez et mis a mort la verite
de l’Evangile, depsis le temps des Apostres iusques a l’an 1574 [History
of the Martirs, persecuted and killed for the truth of the Gospel, since the
time of the Apostles until the year 1574] (in French), Geneva: Eustache
Vignon, f0. 197, v0. a-109 v0. b.
External links
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