THE IRENIC MOVEMENTS SINCE 

 THE REFORMATION 



Y\ /"HEN the great Reformation came to 

 a close, the spirit of controversy 

 prevailed everywhere on the map of the 

 new Protestantism. The Reformed were in 

 the ascendency in Switzerland, in Southern 

 Germany, in Holland and Scotland. The 

 Lutherans predominated in Central Ger- 

 many and in the Scandinavian countries. 

 The press teemed with controversial dis- 

 cussions. The atmosphere of the univer- 

 sities was lurid with the violent storm. 

 Only at intervals was a strong word spoken 

 for the harmony of Protestantism. Me- 

 lanchthon had been the one peaceful spirit 

 of the Reformation, but this irenic char- 

 acter of the man did not avail to calm 

 the troubled waters of the period. The 

 question was, How long must the Prot- 

 estantism of the continent wait for an 



