John Calvin’s Journey in the Reformation

Mario 1

Mario Yarbrough

April 4, 2022

     Jehan Cauvin, otherwise known as John Calvin, was a theologian in the protestant reformation. He wrote many books and commentaries and worked to reform the church and to follow scripture more closely.

      John Calvin was born in 1509, in France, and came from a lower class family. However, his father was able to educate himself enough to become a lawyer and helped his family’s position somewhat. Calvin wanted to pursue a career in the church, but his father influenced him to pursue becoming a lawyer instead. He learned Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, and published his first book at age 22. Around this time he was also converted to Christianity from Judaism.

     Luther’s reforms and ideas had spread through much of Europe at this point and Calvin joined the Lutheran movement. When persecution for the Lutheran movement came to Paris, he fled to Basel. There, he wrote “The Institutes of the Christian Religion,” which was published in 1536. Calvin and several of his friends headed for Strasbourg, a small free city where intended to build their ministry. They stopped at Geneva along the way one night, and through a series of events, he came to believe that god wanted him to stay as a pastor in Geneva.

     His ministry was based on 4 principles he found in the new testament, It’s a pastor’s duty to administer the word and sacraments, Doctors and teachers were given the job of education, the elders watched over the daily life of people, and the deacons ran the social welfare of Geneva. In addition to his working Geneva, he also spent some time helping Martin Bucer, in Strasbourg. Most of his life, Calvin suffered from poor health and his workload didn’t help. However, he pushed through anyway, wanting to be as productive as he could with the time he had.

     John Calvin continued preaching and writing until just a couple months before his death. He died at the age of 54 in May of 1564, in Geneva. In the end his works and legacy have lasted through the years and have been influential in the lives of many theologians