# John Calvin

By [Gregary Alice](https://paragraph.com/@03155) · 2022-07-03

---

**John Calvin** ([/ˈkælvɪn/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English);[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin#cite_note-1) [Middle French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_French): _Jean Cauvin_; [French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language): **Jean Calvin** [\[ʒɑ̃ kalvɛ̃\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/French); 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was a French [theologian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_theology), [pastor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastor), and [reformer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformers) in [Geneva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva) during the [Protestant Reformation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformation). He was a principal figure in the development of the system of [Christian theology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_theology) later called [Calvinism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism), including its doctrines of [predestination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination) and of God's [absolute sovereignty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monergism) in the [salvation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation) of the human soul from death and [eternal damnation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnation). Calvinist doctrines were [influenced by and elaborated upon the Augustinian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustinian_Calvinism) and other Christian traditions. Various [Congregational](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregational_church), [Reformed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformed_churches) and [Presbyterian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterian) churches, which look to Calvin as the chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world.

Calvin was a tireless [polemicist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polemicist) and [apologetic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_apologetics) writer who generated much controversy. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including [Philipp Melanchthon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipp_Melanchthon) and [Heinrich Bullinger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Bullinger). In addition to his seminal [_Institutes of the Christian Religion_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutes_of_the_Christian_Religion), Calvin wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, [confessional documents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession_of_faith), and various other theological treatises.

Calvin was originally trained as a [humanist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Humanism) lawyer. He broke from the [Roman Catholic Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church) around 1530. After religious tensions erupted in widespread deadly violence against [Protestant Christians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Christians) in France, Calvin fled to [Basel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel), Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of the _Institutes_. In that same year, Calvin was recruited by Frenchman [William Farel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Farel) to join the Reformation in [Geneva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva), where he regularly preached sermons throughout the week. However, the governing council of the city resisted the implementation of their ideas, and both men were expelled. At the invitation of [Martin Bucer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bucer), Calvin proceeded to [Strasbourg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg), where he became the minister of a church of French refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and in 1541 he was invited back to lead the church of the city.

Following his return, Calvin introduced new forms of church government and [liturgy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_liturgy), despite opposition from several powerful families in the city who tried to curb his authority. During this period, [Michael Servetus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Servetus), a Spaniard regarded by both Roman Catholics and Protestants as having a [heretical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_heresy) view of the [Trinity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity), arrived in Geneva. He was denounced by Calvin and [burned at the stake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burned_at_the_stake) for heresy by the city council. Following an influx of supportive refugees and new elections to the city council, Calvin's opponents were forced out. Calvin spent his final years promoting the Reformation both in Geneva and throughout Europe.

---

*Originally published on [Gregary Alice](https://paragraph.com/@03155/john-calvin)*