Agustinus Marthinus Luther BATLAJERY
This study deals with the central question of Calvin‟s opinion concerning the unity of the church, and whether and in what ways, his view will be useful to the churches in Indonesia as they seek unity. To answer this question we will study Calvin‟s ecclesiology, trace the ecumenical journey of the churches in Indonesia under the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, and see how far Calvin‟s view influenced their thinking on the unity they are searching. Calvin did not develop his ecclesiology in an empty space. On the one hand he faced the traditional church with its papalist ecclesiology, and on the other hand the Anabaptists as an emerging radical movement, which was not always easy to define; sometimes Calvin calls them Anabaptists, sometimes „fanatics‟, „enthusiasts‟, or „libertines‟. He reacted against the Catholic identification of the church with the kingdom of God on earth, and to the Anabaptist concept of the nature of the church, the actualization of the church and the maintenance of a pure church. In this he asserted that it would not be possible that the church could be so perfect at that time. He stressed this in relation to Anabaptist spiritualism and subjectivism. This is the context that influenced Calvin‟s ecclesiology, which is described in Chapter 2.
In Chapter 3 Calvin‟s clear understanding about the unity of the church and also of the way to achieve ecclesiastical unity is explained and discussed. His ideas were implied in all his writings such as the Institutes, commentaries, sermons, letters, and in tracts like his Reply to Sadoleto.
Examining the Institutes of 1936 we find that Calvin contextualized and developed his ecclesiology in interaction with Rome and the Anabaptists. Therefore, according to Calvin there was a need for a church order and for the office of the minister in the church. He showed prominently the invisible dimension and hidden aspect of the church and also the nature of the church as one. More than Luther did, he added the aspect of predestination and the glory of God. Besides, he asserted that there could not be two or three churches since the church is catholic and universal, one body with Christ as the head, to be one congregation of God where Christ is the good shepherd, a unity of believers. From this we begin to have a clear picture of Calvin‟s firmness in refusing all sectarian tendencies.
In the Institutes of 1539, however, there was a new dimension which Calvin put forward: the visible dimension of the church. As to this dimension, Calvin stressed two things: Firstly, the unity of the church should be manifested in the visible church. While the traditional church was in ruins and had become an ecclesia deformata and the Anabaptists boasted that they had the ecclesia perfecta and tended to be exclusive, for Calvin it was always necessary to preserve the unity of the church. The basis on which we believe the church is that we are fully convinced that we are members of it. Therefore, to withdraw from the community of the church is an inconsistency. Secondly, the idea of the church as mother of all believers was meant to assert that it is necessary for every believer to be a church member. With this idea Calvin wanted to oppose the tendency of the Anabaptists to walk out from the church and build up a new church consisting of holy, perfect members.
The next edition of the Institutes, of 1543 showed other developments. Here Calvin discussed in detail the visible church. Baptism is understood as an insertion into
the body of Christ and as a sign of initiation, which was the real sign of acceptance into the visible church. The other issue of this edition is about ecclesiastical offices and the discipline which is very important for the visible church. Here we see that for Calvin, to have faith in Christ, to accept the right teaching, to love and to confess God‟s Word as true and trustworthy are important unifying forces. These forces are in action where the Word is truly preached and the sacraments are rightly administered.
In the 1559 edition of the Institutes, Calvin stressed several points such as the church as mother of the believers; the catholicity of the church; the marks of the church; that the imperfection of the church is no reason for separation from the church; and fundamental criteria for the unity of the church. The same ideas which are found in the Institutes could be traced also in Calvin‟s other writings such as commentaries, sermons, letters, and his Reply to Sadoleto.
For Calvin the way towards the unity of the church was not at first an issue of building up new structures or a bureaucratic organization. The most important thing is that it had to start with the basic issue of faith in Jesus Christ as the Head of the church which is Christ‟s body. Calvin‟s view of unity is based on his vision of true catholicity. This is not a geographical, horizontal structure, but a spiritual communion in obedience to Christ‟s commandments, and the true preaching of the gospel and administration of the sacraments. What Calvin referred to was the unity in and because of Christ, the unity in the basic Christian faith and the true doctrine, which can be called the criteria of the unity – the unity in mutual acknowledgment and acceptance as churches that perform the ministry of the Word and the sacraments. These are the principal and fundamental elements of the unity. This kind of unity should be apparent in the visible church. Although various structures are possible, also differences concerning unessential matters are possible.
Calvin had not merely a theological theory about unity. He was not just a formulator of the ideas but he was the executor as well. This is the main theme of Chapter 4. Calvin really fought for this unity itself. Therefore, he took part in Colloquies of Hagenau, Worms and Regensburg, and the ecumenical meeting of the reformists‟ leaders in Lambeth Palace in London. We also see what Calvin did in several disputes, which reflected how he was very sensitive to separation and tried hard to avoid it. Calvin was involved in efforts to end the conflicts in Neuchatel and Frankfurt and also the disagreement concerning the Lord‟s Supper, which resulted in the Consensus Tigurinus. Additionally, his tolerant attitude to various issues, such as ecclesiastical structure in Poland is part of the evidence. All this shows us the concordance of his teaching and life or between a theoretical Calvin and a practical Calvin.
In Chapter 5 we try to analyze and discuss the influence Calvin‟s thinking on unity in Indonesia. We do so in a historical overview, divided into three sections, which respectively have a historical, ecumenical and theological emphasis. In the first section, it is demonstrated how Calvin‟s teachings and ideas entered the Dutch East Indies (the future Indonesia) through the VOC, through non-church bound mission societies, and through missionary organizations of particular churches. The second part describes the history of the ecumenical journey of the Dewan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia (DGI) and its successor, the Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia (PGI).
It can be concluded that the Reformed churches indebted to Calvin played a big role in the formation of the Council and later the Communion of Churches in Indonesia. Several Reformed pastors and theologians, whose ideas showed a deep affinity with Calvin‟s thinking, influenced the form and content of the unity the Indonesian churches are struggling for. The Five Documents of Church Unity (1984) which were revised and accepted during the General Assembly of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia in 2000 to become its official Documents on Church Unity, breath the spirit and show the thinking of Calvin in several of its chapters. Calvin‟s teachings on the government and the relation between church and state are echoed in the Statement on Mutual Profession (Understanding) about the Christian Faith in Indonesia. One of its articles emphasizes that the government is instituted by God and given the task of protecting those who are good and resisting evil. The church is obliged to pray for the government and help it to carry out its job. The church is also expected to criticize the government if it wrongly exercises the authority it has been granted (Rev.13). If the government should demand something that is incompatible with the faith, Christians are to show their allegiance to God before man. Another article makes clear that the church is an autonomous institution apart from the state and is free of any state intervention. Meanwhile, the church has no right to intervene in the life of the state, for both have their own tasks. So it can be said that this document exhibits a Calvinistic approach or Reformed traits toward unity both in title and content, especially within the Statement on Mutual Profession (Understanding) about the Christian Faith in Indonesia and the Charter of Mutual Recognition and Acceptance. The latter document should be understood as the manifestation of unity in a more concrete way, for instance the mutual recognition of ministry and sacraments.
In the third section of Chapter 5 the thinking about church unity of seven contemporary Indonesian theologians and church leaders is discussed. Several of them were actively involved in the DGI or PGI. Leimena stressed the parallel path of the nation and the church as to unity and diversity. Rumambi emphasized the need of a coordinating institution. Soedarmo and Harun Hadiwijono, both professors of systematic theology in Jakarta and Yogyakarta respectively, wrote important essays on the plurality of the church and the need for a common confession. Abineno pointed to the Bible which testifies the necessity of a good equilibrium between of plurality and unity. Two theologians belonging to the most recent period have been Eka Darmaputera, who encountered practical problems such as primordiality (e.g., ethnic Chinese churches) and Agustina Lumentut who was offended by the lack of a spirit of togetherness within many churches.
In Chapter 6, finally, it is attempted to draw conclusions as to the benefit and meaningfulness of Calvin‟s thinking about the unity of the church for the churches in Indonesia nowadays. I prefer to state that unity witnessed to by having these Five Documents of Unity is sufficient within the Indonesian context. Failure of endeavors to form such a United Christian Church in Indonesia (GKYE) is caused by a lack of awareness as to the views about unity of some of the sixteenth-century reformers and especially of Calvin. So, what will be important in the future is not thinking about how to form a GKYE but how to manifest this United Christian Church in accordance to the decision of the Tenth General Assembly of the Council of Churches in Indonesia in 1984.
But we have to be aware that there are factors that challenge the proposed unity from a Calvinistic perspective: ethnic factors, nationalism instead of church unity, non-creedal churches, the problems of rebaptism and the power of confessional families. Also critical theological voices have been raised from some theologians and church leaders who have a negative evaluation concerning the significance of Calvinist teaching in the Indonesian context. Nevertheless, we see that Calvin‟s legacy is still kept in the church life and practices of the churches in Indonesia.
To keep the unity of the church, Calvin showed tolerance in various circumstances. He did not require of all Christians to share the same insight on all questions, nor did he require of all churches the same height of spiritual life in all situations. Compared with Luther and Zwingli, Calvin was the sole really international ecumenical reformer. His theology was basically and essentially an ecumenical one, aimed, especially in its ecclesiology, at building bridges between the different churches. Practically all his life Calvin struggled to bring a visible unity in reality in the various Reformed churches of his time. Though he distinguished between the visible and the invisible church, in both cases he stressed the necessity of unity.
This study is important for the ecumenicity of the churches in Indonesia. The Council of Churches in Indonesia was founded in 1950 and later became the Communion of Churches in Indonesia. Its aim is to form a United Christian Church in Indonesia. Two streams of thinking emerged concerning what this intended United Christian Church in Indonesia should look like, and how would it come into being. The first stream stresses the structure: the so called structural unity. The second stream emphasizes unity in togetherness by witnessing and serving, which is called the functional unity. The tension between these two streams has been for long in discussion. In this situation, it may be useful for the churches in Indonesia to learn and to study the teachings of Calvin as the reformer who settled the basic doctrines of Protestantism including ecclesiology.
Finally, the churches in Indonesia are recommended to do several things. Firstly, that study on Calvin and his theology ought to be promoted in Indonesia, both in the churches and in academic theological circles. This recommendation is more specifically directed to the churches which proclaim themselves Calvinistic. Secondly, it is recommended that the Documents on Church Unity are implemented more concretely and universally by churches which have joined together in the PGI. Thirdly, it is advised that these churches carry out joint studies about the roots of Protestantism that can bring them closer together. Fourthly, it is recommendable that Calvinist churches conduct a study of the presbyterial-synodal system to reevaluate whether it still suits the cultural context of leadership in Indonesia. Finally, I strongly recommend the churches in Indonesia to keep the Church Documents on Unity as a model of unity that is relevant to the Indonesian context and to think about its realization through what is called unity in action.
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