Editing Reformation (section)

===Calvin and the ''Institutes of the Christian Religion''===

[[File:MCC-31320 Portret van Johannes Calvijn (1509-1564)-uitsnede.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.8|alt=A long-faced bearded middle-aged man wearing a hat|''Portrait of John Calvin'' ({{circa}} 1550) by an unknown French painter]]

The future reformer [[John Calvin]] (d. 1564) was destined to a church career by his father, a lay administrator of the [[Ancient Diocese of Noyon|Bishopric of Noyon]] in France.{{refn|group=note|Calvin was only twelve when received a benefice at the [[Noyon Cathedral]].{{sfn|Eire|2022|p=98}}}} He studied theology at the Sorbonne, and law at [[University of Orléans|Orléans]] and [[University of Bourges|Bourges]]. He read treatises by Lefèvre and Lefèvre's disciples at the newly established {{lang|fr|[[Collège de France|Collège Royal]]}}, and abandoned Catholicism under the influence of his Protestant friends, particularly the physician [[Nicolas Cop]] (d. 1540).{{sfn|Eire|2022|pp=98–101}} The persecution of French Protestants intensified after the so-called [[Affair of the Placards]]. In October 1534, placards (or posters) attacking the Mass were placed at many places, including the door to the royal bedchamber in [[Château d'Amboise]]. In retaliation, twenty-four Protestants were executed, and many intellectuals had to leave France.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|pp=188–189}}

Calvin was one of the religious refugees. He settled in Basel and completed the first version of his principal theological treatise, the ''[[Institutes of the Christian Religion]]'' in 1536. He would be rewriting and expanding it several times until 1559. As the historian [[Carlos Eire]] writes, "Calvin's text was blessed with a lawyer's penchant for precision, a humanist's love for poetic expression and rhetorical flourishes, and a theologian's respect for paradox".{{sfn|Eire|2022|pp=102–103}} With Eire's words, Calvin "revived [[Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image|the jealous God]] of the Old Testament". He warned King Francis that the persecution of the faithful would incur the wrath of God upon him but sharply distanced moderate Protestants from Anabaptists.{{refn|group=note|In the preface to the ''Institutes'', Calvin described moderate Protestants as examples of "chastity, generousity, mercy, continence, patience, modesty, and all other virtues",{{sfn|Eire|2022|p=103}} contrasting them with the Anabaptists who in his view "only wished to govern themselves in accordance with their foolish brains, under the pretence of wishing to obey God"{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|p=190}}}}{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|p=190}}{{sfn|Eire|2022|pp=103–104}} Already the first edition of the ''Institutes'' contained references to two distinguishing elements of Calvin's theology, both traceable back to Augustine: his conviction that the [[original sin]] had completely corrupted human nature, and his strong belief in "[[Predestination in Calvinism|double predestination]]". In his view, only strict social and ecclesiastic control could prevent sins and crimes,{{sfn|Eire|2022|pp=105–107}} and God did not only decide who were saved but also those who were destined to damnation.{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=156}}{{sfn|Kingdon|2006|p=113}}

In 1536, Farel convinced Calvin to settle in [[Geneva]]. Their attempts to implement radical reforms in discipline brought them into conflicts with those who feared that the new measures would lead to clerical despotism.{{sfn|Kingdon|2006|p=106}} After they refused to acknowledge the urban magistrates' claim to intervene in the process of excommunication, they were banished from the town. Calvin moved to Strasbourg where Bucer made a profound impact on him.{{sfn|Eire|2022|p=109}} Under Bucer's influence, Calvin adopted an intermediate position on the Eucharist between Luther and Zwingli, denying Christ's presence in it but acknowledging that the rite included a real spiritual communion with Christ.{{sfn|Eire|2022|p=109}}

{{Quote box
 |title     = Calvin on the "double pedestrination" 
 |quote     = No one who wishes to be thought religious dares simply deny predestination, by which God adopts some to hope of life, and sentences others to eternal death...For all are not created in an equal condition; rather eternal life is fore-ordained for some, eternal damnation for others. 
 |author    = John Calvin
 |source    = ''Institutes of the Christian Religion'' (1559){{sfn|Eire|2022|p=107}}
 |align     = right
 |width     = 25%
 |bgcolor   = #F5FAFF
 |title_bg  = #CEE0F2
 |qalign    = left
 |salign    = right
 }}

After Calvin and Farel left Geneva, no pastors were able to assume the leadership of the local Protestant community. Fearing of a Catholic restoration, the urban magistrates convinced Calvin to come back to Geneva in 1541. Months after his return, the town council enacted ''The Ecclesiastical Ordinances'', a detailed regulation summarizing Calvin's proposals for church administration.{{sfn|Kingdon|2006|pp=106–107}} The ''Ordinances'' established four church offices. The pastors were responsible for pastoral care and discipline; the doctors instructed believers in the faith; the [[Elder (Christianity)|elders]] (or presbyters) were authorized to "watch over the life of each person" and to report those who lived a "disorderly" life to the pastors; and [[deacon]]s were appointed to administer the town's charity. All townspeople were obliged to regularly attend church services. Calvin established a special court called the consistory to hear cases of moral lapse such as [[Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain|blasphemy]], adultery, disrespect to authorities, gossiping, witchcraft and participation in rites considered superstitious by church authorities. The consistory was composed of the pastors, the elders, and an urban magistrate, and the townspeople were encouraged to report sinful acts to it. First-time offenders mainly received lenient sentences such as fines, but repeat offenders were banished from the town or executed.{{sfn|Eire|2022|pp=110–112}} Resistance against the ''Ordinances'' was significant. Many continued visit shrines and pray to saints, while many patricians insisted on liberal traditional customs for which Calvin called them "[[Libertines (Geneva)|Libertines]]".{{sfn|Eire|2022|pp=112–113}}