John Calvin

John Calvin (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism, aspects of which include the doctrines of predestination and of the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation.

Early life and education[edit | edit source]

Calvin was born on 10 July 1509, in Noyon, a town in Picardy, a province of the Kingdom of France. He was the first of four sons who survived infancy. His mother, Jeanne le Franc, was the daughter of an innkeeper from Cambrai. She died of an unknown cause in Calvin's childhood, after having borne four more children. Calvin's father, Gérard Cauvin, had a prosperous career as the cathedral notary and registrar to the ecclesiastical court.

Career[edit | edit source]

Calvin trained for the priesthood at the Collège de la Marche in Paris, then at the Collège de Montaigu where he studied philosophy and theology. Most notably, Calvin published Institutio Christianae Religionis (Institutes of the Christian Religion) in 1536, a seminal work in Christian theology that shaped Protestant thought for centuries.

Death and legacy[edit | edit source]

Calvin died in Geneva on 27 May 1564, aged 54. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Cimetière des Rois. His teachings have been widely influential in the shaping of Protestantism, and more broadly in the tradition of Reformed theology.

References[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Britannica Biography: John Calvin

John Calvin Resources
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