Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples: Pioneer of French Reform
This article by Rev. Angus Stewart examines Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples (c. 1455-1536), a French scholar whose theological work on Paul's epistles and the doctrine of justification by faith anticipated and influenced the Protestant Reformation, despite his remaining in the Roman Catholic Church until his death. Stewart addresses the historiographical challenges in evaluating Lefèvre's legacy and his role as a precursor to French Reformation figures like William Farel, making it valuable for understanding pre-Reformation reform movements and the intellectual foundations of Reformation theology.
Rev. Angus Stewart Introduction As his name indicates Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples (c. 1455-1536) was a Frenchman from Étaples, a coastal town south of Calais, in Picardy. His surname is sometimes given as Fabry or Fabri, and he is also known by the Latin form of his name: Jacobus Faber Stapulensis, often simply going by Faber. Although this sounds complicated, it is worth bearing in mind if you look him up on-line or in books and articles dealing with the Reformation, and the men and ideas that...