thumb|right|Berengar of Tours, engraving by [[Hendrik Hondius I|Henrik Hondius from Jacob Verheiden, Praestantium aliquot theologorum (1602)]]

Berengar of Tours (died 6 January 1088), in Latin Berengarius Turonensis, was an 11th-century French Christian theologian and archdeacon of Angers, a scholar whose leadership of the cathedral school at Chartres set an example of intellectual inquiry through the revived tools of dialectic that was soon followed at cathedral schools of Laon and Paris. Berengar of Tours was distinguished from mainline Catholic theology by two views: his assertion of the supremacy of Scripture and his denial of transubstantiation. According to Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa, "Berengarius ... withdrew his error and acknowledged the truth of the faith."

Biography

Berengar of Tours was born perhaps at Tours, probably in the early years of the 11th century. His education began in the school of Bishop Fulbert of Chartres, who represented the traditional theology of the early Middle Ages, but did not succeed in imparting it to his pupil. Berengar was less attracted by pure theology than by secular learning, and brought away a knowledge of Latin literature, dialectic, and general knowledge and freedom of thought. Later he paid more attention to the Bible and early Christian writers, especially Gregory of Tours and Augustine of Hippo; and thus he came to formal theology.

After the death of Fulbert in 1028, Berengar returned to Tours, where he became a canon of the cathedral. In about 1040 he became head of its school, improving its efficiency and attracting students from far and near. He acquired his fame as much from his blameless and ascetic life as from the success of his teaching. His reputation was such that a number of monks requested him to write a book to kindle their zeal; and his letter to Joscelin, later archbishop of Bordeaux, who had asked him to decide a dispute between Bishop Isembert of Poitiers and his chapter, is evidence of the authority attributed to his judgment. He became archdeacon of Angers, but remained in Tours to direct the school. He enjoyed the confidence of not a few bishops and of the powerful Count Geoffrey of Anjou.

Amid this chorus of praise, a discordant voice began to be heard; it was asserted that Berengar held heretical views on the Eucharist. The first controversies on the nature of the Eucharistic Presence date from the earlier Middle Ages. In the ninth century Paschasius Radbertus claimed that Christ's Eucharistic body was identical with his body in heaven, but he won practically no support. His doctrine was sharply attacked by Ratramnus and Rabanus Maurus, who opposed his emphatic realism, which was sometimes marred by unfortunate comparisons and illustrations, and proposed a more spiritual conception of the Divine Presence. As for Berengar, by one account, "Considerably greater stir was provoked ... by the teaching of Berengar, who opposed the doctrine of the Real Presence." But in reality, there are diverse opinions among theologians and historians on this point, and it is not clear that Berengar actually denies the Real Presence, though he does deny transubstantiation.

On his release from prison, probably affected by the influence of Geoffrey of Anjou, the king still pursued him, and called a synod to meet in Paris in October 1051. Berengar, fearing its purpose, avoided appearing, and the king's threats after its session had no effect, since Berengar was sheltered by Geoffrey and by his former student, Eusebius, now Bishop of Angers. He also found numerous partisans among less prominent people. The French bishops indicated that they wished a speedy settlement of the controversy and the synod declared itself satisfied by Berengar's written declaration.

In 1059, Berengar went to Rome, fortified by a letter of commendation from Count Geoffrey to Hildebrand. At a council held in the Lateran, he could get no hearing, and a formula representing what seemed to him the most carnal view of the sacrament was offered for his acceptance. Overwhelmed by the forces against him, he took this document in his hand and threw himself on the ground in the silence of apparent submission.

Text of his 1079 confession

"I, Berengarius, believe in my heart and openly profess that the bread and wine that are placed on the altar are through the mystery of the sacred prayer and the words of our Redeemer substantially changed into the true and proper life-giving flesh and blood of Jesus Christ our Lord; and that after the consecration is the true body of Christ, which was born of the Virgin, as an offering for the salvation of the world hung on the cross, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and (is) the true blood of Christ which flowed from his side; not only through the sign and power of the sacrament but in his proper nature and true substance; as it is set down in this summary and as I read it and you understand it. Thus I believe, and I will not teach any more against this faith. So help me God and this holy Gospel of God."

Berengar's theory of the Eucharist

Berengar's theory of the Eucharist had four points:

  1. The elements [bread and wine] remain in substance as well as in appearance, after the consecration, although they acquire a new significance.
  2. However the wine and bread are not mere symbols, but in some sense, they still are the body and blood of Jesus which they represent.
  3. Christ is spiritually present and is spiritually received by faith.
  4. The communion in the Eucharist is a communion with the whole undivided person of Jesus Christ, and not the blood and body of Jesus as separate elements. As the whole body of Christ was sacrificed in death, it is received in a spiritual manner as the whole body; and as Christ’s body is now glorified in heaven, we must spiritually ascend to heaven.

The views of Berengar on the Eucharist had very much in common with the views of John Calvin.

Berengar's position was never diametrically opposed to that of his critics. But the controversy that he aroused forced people to reconsider the ninth-century discussion of the Eucharist, as Paschasius Radbertus had left it, and to clarify the doctrine of transubstantiation. Further, when both Berengar and his critics used the secular disciplines of logic and grammar to express a matter of Christian doctrine, the way was open to the scholasticism of the twelfth century.

Berengar of Tours was a forerunner of the Reformers, especially of Zwingli and John Calvin.