Theologian and ecclesiastical statesman John Calvin, sometimes known as Jean Calvin or Jean Cauvin, was the foremost French Protestant reformer and the most significant player in the second wave of the Protestant Reformation. His understanding of Christianity, which was most fully developed in his “Institutio Christianae religionis” (1536 Institutes of the Christian Religion), as well as the administrative and social frameworks he devised for Geneva, had a significant impact on Protestantism in other parts of Europe and North America.

Early Life and Education

On July 10, 1509, in the town of Noyon in the French province of Picardy, he was born as Jehan Cauvin. He was the second son of three who made it past infancy.  As the cathedral notary and registrar of the ecclesiastical court, Gérard Cauvin his father enjoyed a successful career. At the age of 12, he began working as a clerk for the bishop and was given the tonsure, which involved shaving his head to signify his commitment to the Church. He also gained the support of the Montmors, a powerful family. As a result of their help, he was able to enroll at the Collège de la Marche in Paris, where he studied Latin under Mathurin Cordier, one of the school’s best professors. After finishing the course, he enrolled in the Collège de Montaigu as a philosophy student.

Gérard took his son out of the Collège de Montaigu in 1525 or 1526 and registered him at the University of Orléans to study law. It was claimed that Gérard thought his son would make more money as a lawyer than a priest. He enrolled at the University of Bourges in 1529 after a few years of solitary study.

Humanism

Andreas Alciati, a humanist lawyer, piqued his interest. Humanism was a classical studies-focused intellectual movement in Europe. He picked up Koine Greek during his 18-month stay at Bourges, which was essential for understanding the New Testament.

He was also exposed to Renaissance humanism during this time, which was the radical student movement at the time and was influenced by Erasmus and Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples. This movement, which predated the Reformation, sought to reform church and society in accordance with both classical and Christian antiquity. Its foundation was to be provided by a return to the study of the Bible in its original languages. It left a lasting impression on him. In preparation for a serious study of the Scriptures, he studied Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, the three languages of ancient Christian communication, under the influence of this movement. It also heightened his interest in the classics; his first piece of writing, a critique on Seneca’s essay on clemency, appeared in 1532.

Flight to Basel

Nicolas Cop, a reformer, served as the university’s rector. He focused his inaugural speech on the Roman Catholic Church’s need for reform and regeneration on November 1, 1533. The speech sparked a fierce response from the professors, who branded it as heretical, leading Cop to leave for Basel. He, a close friend of Cop’s, was charged with the crime and had to go into hiding for a year. He kept moving, seeking safety in Noyon and Orléans as well as in Angoulême with his friend Louis du Tillet. During the Placard Affair in the middle of October 1534, he was ultimately compelled to leave France. He joined Cop in Basel in January 1535.

 Institutio Christianae Religionis

He released the first version of his “Institutio Christianae Religionis”(Institutes of the Christian Religion), in March 1536. The writing served as both a doctrinal statement for the reformers and an apologia, or defense, of the author’s religion. Additionally, he wanted it to act as a basic manual for anyone who was curious in the Christian faith. The book served as his theology’s debut publication. Throughout his lifetime, he made revisions to the work and released fresh editions. His departure from Basel for Ferrara, Italy, where he briefly worked as Princess Renée of France’s secretary, came soon after the book’s release.

He traveled to Geneva. He had only planned to remain for one night, but William Farel, a fellow French reformer who lived in the city, begged him to stay and help him with his efforts to reform the church there. With no conditions on his new responsibilities or obligations, he accepted the position.

Strasbourg Ministry

He received an invitation to oversee a Strasbourg congregation of French immigrants. He started his new job in Strasbourg by September 1538, fully anticipating that it would be there permanently. A few months later, he petitioned for and was given city citizenship. He provided ministry to 400–500 churchgoers.

He abandoned this style in favor of carefully presenting the key biblical principles for the second edition, which was published in 1539. The result was an expansion of the book from six to seventeen chapters. The Commentary on Romans, which he was simultaneously writing, was released in March 1540. His own Latin translation from the Greek, an exegesis, and an explication were all included in the work, which served as a model for his later commentary. In the dedicatory letter, he lauded the work of his predecessors Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, and Philipp Melanchthon while also making sure to set his own work apart from theirs and pointing out some of their flaws.

Family Life

He wed Idelette de Bure, the widow of a man he had converted from anabaptism, in Strasbourg in 1540. Despite the fact that none of their children made it past infancy, their marriage turned out to be quite loving.

Reforms in Geneva

Strasbourg chose to lend him to Geneva for six months by the mid – 1541. With a formal escort and a wagon for his family, he returned on September 13th, 1541.

The Ordonnances ecclésiastiques (Ecclesiastical Ordinances) were adopted by the Council of Geneva on November 20, 1541, in favor of his reform ideas. The ordinances outlined four tiers of ministerial responsibility: pastors to preach and administer the sacraments; doctors to train believers in the faith; elders to enforce rules; and deacons to assist the destitute and those in need. They also demanded the establishment of the Consistoire (Consistory), an ecclesiastical court made up of ministers and elders. He delivered approximately 2,000 sermons while serving in Geneva.

Opposition

His efforts in Geneva were met with vehement criticism. Around 1546, the disorganized forces came together to form a distinct group that he termed the libertines but who wanted to be called Spirituels or Patriots.

The majority of the syndics, or civil magistrates, of Geneva opposed him and other French refugee ministers by 1547. These conflicts, together with the persecution of his adherents in France, serve to explain why Michael Servetus, a Spanish theologian who preached and published unconventional doctrines, was tried and executed. Both sides felt the need to show their fervor for orthodoxy when Servetus suddenly arrived in Geneva in 1553. Although he would have preferred a less cruel method of death, he was responsible of Servetus’s capture and conviction.

Libertine’s End

Libertine leaders were forced to escape and arrested adherents were executed following a drunken demonstration that resulted in a house being set on fire. In his later years, his authority was essentially unchallenged and he was known over the world as a reformer different from Martin Luther.

His Theology

He agreed with Luther on many grounds, including justification by faith alone, original sin, Scripture, and the whole reliance of humans on divine grace. However, despite the fact that some of them were mainly questions of emphasis, his differences with Luther are extremely important. Thus, he was arguably more moved by God’s transcendence and his mastery over the world than Luther was. He stressed God’s splendor and power, whereas Luther frequently imagined God as the baby in the manger, here among us. Contrary to popular belief, his view on predestination was nearly identical to Luther’s, and while he may have expressed it more forcefully, the matter itself was not of primary significance to his theology.

Later Years and Death

He developed a fever in late1558. He coerced himself into working because he was terrified he might die before finishing the Institutes’ final version. He strained his voice while preaching shortly after he felt better, which resulted in a severe coughing episode. As his health deteriorated, he ruptured a blood vessel in his lungs. On February 6th, 1564, in St. Pierre, he delivered his last sermon. On May 27, 1564, he passed away.

His Legacy

His influence has endured not only in the Reformed churches of France, Germany, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Hungary, but also in the Church of England, where he enj oyed for a long time at least equal standing to that of the Puritans who broke away from the Anglican hierarchy. The latter established their own congregations, either Presbyterian or Congregational, and this is how Calvinism arrived in North America. These churches still credit Calvin as their founder, along with the historically German Evangelical and Reformed Church.