Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 85:2 (Fall 2023)
Article: “A Theological Disputation On The Papal Circle,” By Francis Turretin (1623–1687), Professor Of Sacred Theology, Geneva, 1666, With Élie Saurin Of Pragelato As A Respondent
Author: Anonymous

WTJ 85:2 (Fall 2023) p. 223

“A Theological Disputation On The Papal Circle,”
By Francis Turretin (1623–1687), Professor Of Sacred Theology, Geneva, 1666, With Élie Saurin Of Pragelato As A Respondent

Translated by Zachary Herbster

Zachary Herbster is the pastor of Providence OPC in Mantua, NJ.

Translator’s Preface

The present disputation, “The Papal Circle,” was published in Geneva in 1666 by brothers Jean Antoine de Tournes (1624–1682) and Samuel de Tournes (1628–1695) as one of two smaller, additional disputations to the larger, twelve-part disputation series entitled “Disputations on the Satisfaction of Christ.” It was prepared with reference to a former student at Geneva who completed his degree in 1659, Elias Saurinus, or Élie Saurin (1639–1703).1 A disputation was an academic exercise for graduation, often prepared by either a presiding professor or in conjunction with the graduating student.2 This culmination of one’s education represents an intensive study of a disputed theological question.

Turretin does not say why he includes “The Papal Circle” as an appendage to the much larger “Disputations on the Satisfaction of Christ.” Nevertheless, he presents us with an example of how carefully students had to examine their positions. It is also important to note that Saurin was not preparing for a lifetime in the academy but for the pastorate.3

Turretin begins this relatively short exercise (the published Latin text is only nineteen pages) with an introduction and recap of circular

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arguments (sections 1–3). He then demonstrates how the Roman Catholic view of both the church’s and the Bible’s authority proceeds in a vicious circle (sections 4–7). Next, Turretin presents in painstaking detail an account of six interrelated defenses of the “Papal Circle,” along with his counterarguments (sections 8–20). Finally, in sections 21–25, he defends the Reformed view of biblical and church authority against charges of its own circularity before responding to allegations of enthusiastic and antinomian tendencies in a Reformed epistemology of Scripture. The following disputation offers a succinct and careful treatment of a Reformed epistemology founded on God’s Word that will help pastors and scholars articulate sola Scriptura to their respective audiences.

This translation is the first time Turretin’s Latin disputation on the Papal Circle has appeared in English. At times, I have changed punctuation and sentence structure to mak...