Bern, Synod of

BERN, SYNOD OF: The name given to the first Reformed synod at Bern (1532). The Reformation was established at Bern by the Disputation and the edict of Feb. 7, 1528 (see Bern, Disputation of), but much remained to be done in the way of consolidation and to finish the building of the new Church. This task was entrusted to a general synod, to which all the clergy of the land, 220 in number, were invited. It met on Jan. 9–14; Capito from Strasburg was the principal figure, and he collected the results of the discussion with much care and labor. They form a church directory and pastor's manual which is noteworthy, even among the monuments of the Reformation time, for its apostolic force and unction, its warmth and sincerity, its homely simplicity and practical wisdom.

Bibliography: The acts of the synod were officially printed at Basel, 1532, again in 1728 sad 1778. Both the original and a modernized text were issued by Lauener, Basel, 1830. Consult M. Kirchhofer, Berthold Haller, pp. 169 sqq., Zurich, 1828; Billeter, in the Berner Beiträge, ed. F. Nippold, Bern, 1884 (especially useful); E. Bloesch, Geschichte der schweizerisch-reformierten Kirchen, i, 74–81, Bern, 1898.