John Calvin

== Life ==

===Early life (1509–1535)===
[[File:John Calvin - Young.jpg|right|thumb|Calvin was originally interested in the priesthood, but he changed course to study law in [[Orléans]] and [[Bourges]]. Painting titled ''Portrait of Young John Calvin'' from the collection of the Library of Geneva.]]

John Calvin was born as Jehan Cauvin on 10 July 1509, at [[Noyon]], a town in [[Picardy (region)|Picardy]], a province of the [[Kingdom of France]].<ref>Robert Dean Linder, ''The Reformation Era'', (Greenwood Press, 2008), p. 139.</ref> He was the second of three 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 public|notary]] and registrar to the [[ecclesiastical court]]. Gérard intended his three sons—Charles, Jean, and Antoine—for the priesthood.

Young Calvin was particularly precocious. By age 12, he was employed by the bishop as a clerk and received the [[tonsure]], cutting his hair to symbolize his dedication to the Church. He also won the patronage of an influential family, the Montmors.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=8–12}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=17–20}}</ref> Through their assistance, Calvin was able to attend the [[Collège de la Marche]], [[University of Paris|Paris]], where he learned [[Latin]] from one of its greatest teachers, [[Mathurin Cordier]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ganoczy|2004|pp=3–4}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=12–16}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|p=21}}. {{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=22–27}} states that Nicolas Colladon was the source that he attended Collège de la Marche which McGrath disputes.</ref> Once he completed the course, he entered the [[Collège de Montaigu]] as a philosophy student.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=17–18}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=22–23}}</ref>

In 1525 or 1526, Gérard withdrew his son from the Collège de Montaigu and enrolled him in the [[University of Orléans]] to study law. According to contemporary biographers [[Theodore Beza]] and [[Nicolas Colladon]], Gérard believed that Calvin would earn more money as a lawyer than as a priest.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|1975|p=15}}. According to {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|p=20}}, there may have been a family conflict with the clergy in Noyon.</ref> After a few years of quiet study, Calvin entered the [[University of Bourges]] in 1529. He was intrigued by [[Andrea Alciato|Andreas Alciati]], a humanist lawyer. [[Humanism]] was a European intellectual movement which stressed classical studies. During his 18-month stay in [[Bourges]], Calvin learned [[Koine Greek]], a necessity for studying the [[New Testament]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=20–24}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|1975|pp=22–25}}</ref>

Alternative theories have been suggested regarding the date of Calvin's [[religious conversion]]. Some have placed the date of his conversion around 1533, shortly before he resigned from his chaplaincy. In this view, his resignation is the direct evidence for his conversion to the evangelical faith. However, T. H. L. Parker argues that, although this date is a terminus for his conversion, the more likely date is in late 1529 or early 1530.<ref>Parker, T. H. L, ''John Calvin: a Biography'', Louisville, Kentucky (Westminster John Knox: 2006), pp. 199–203.</ref> The main evidence for his conversion is contained in two significantly different accounts of his conversion. In the first, found in his ''Commentary on the Book of Psalms'', Calvin portrayed his conversion as a sudden change of mind, brought about by God:

<blockquote>God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame, which was more hardened in such matters than might have been expected from one at my early period of life. Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately inflamed with so intense a desire to make progress therein, that although I did not altogether leave off other studies, yet I pursued them with less ardor.<ref>J. Calvin, preface to ''Commentary on the Book of Psalms'', trans. James Anderson, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1948), pp. xl–xli as quoted in {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|p=67}}. The translation by Anderson is available at {{Citation |chapter-url= http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom08.vi.html |title= Commentary on Psalms |volume=1 |chapter=The Author's Preface }} See also {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|p=200}}.</ref></blockquote>

In the second account, Calvin wrote of a long process of inner turmoil, followed by spiritual and psychological anguish:

<blockquote>Being exceedingly alarmed at the misery into which I had fallen, and much more at that which threatened me in view of eternal death, I, duty bound, made it my first business to betake myself to your way, condemning my past life, not without groans and tears. And now, O Lord, what remains to a wretch like me, but instead of defense, earnestly to supplicate you not to judge that fearful abandonment of your Word according to its deserts, from which in your wondrous goodness you have at last delivered me.<ref>from: [[Bruce Gordon (historian)|Bruce Gordon]], ''Calvin'', New Haven; London 2009, p. 34.</ref></blockquote>

Scholars have argued about the precise interpretation of these accounts, but most agree that his conversion corresponded with his break from the Roman Catholic Church.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ganoczy|2004|pp=9–10}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=65–70}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=199–203}}; {{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=69–72}}</ref><ref>According to {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=68–70}}, Ganoczy in his book ''Le Jeune Calvin. Genèse et evolution de sa vocation réformatrice'', Wiesbaden: F. Steiner, 1966, p. 302, argues that Calvin conversion took place over several years and that it was not a biographical or chronological event. Cottret quotes Olivier Millet, ''Calvin et la dynamique de la Parole. Essai de rhétorique réformée'', Paris: H. Champion 1992, p. 522, noting a typological rather than a biographical perspective of the account of his conversion. The biographical argument is promoted by D. Fischer, "Conversion de Calvin", ''Etudes Theéologiques et Religieuses'' 58 (1983), pp. 203–220. According to {{Harvnb|Parker|1975|pp=192–196}} Parker is in sympathy with Ganoczy's view, but in his investigations, he concluded that a certain period for his conversion could be determined.</ref> The Calvin biographer [[Bruce Gordon (historian)|Bruce Gordon]] has stressed that "the two accounts are not antithetical, revealing some inconsistency in Calvin's memory, but rather [are] two different ways of expressing the same reality."<ref>Bruce Gordon, ''Calvin'', New Haven; London 2009, p. 34.</ref>

By 1532, Calvin received his [[Licentiate (degree)|licentiate]] in law and published his first book, a commentary on [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]'s ''[[De Clementia]]''. After uneventful trips to Orléans and his hometown of Noyon, Calvin returned to Paris in October 1533. During this time, tensions rose at the {{lang|fr|[[Collège de France|Collège Royal]]|italic=no}} (later to become the Collège de France) between the humanists/reformers and the conservative senior faculty members. One of the reformers, [[Nicolas Cop]], was rector of the university. On 1 November 1533 he devoted his inaugural address to the need for reform and renewal in the Roman Catholic Church. The address provoked a strong reaction from the faculty, who denounced it as heretical, forcing Cop to flee to [[Basel]]. Calvin, a close friend of Cop, was implicated in the offense, and for the next year he was forced into hiding. He remained on the move, sheltering with his friend Louis du Tillet in [[Angoulême]] and taking refuge in Noyon and Orléans. He was finally forced to flee France during the [[Affair of the Placards]] in mid-October 1534. In that incident, unknown reformers had posted placards in various cities criticizing the Roman Catholic [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]], to which adherents of the Roman Catholic church responded with violence against the would-be Reformers and their sympathizers. In January 1535, Calvin joined Cop in Basel, a city under the enduring influence of the late reformer [[Johannes Oecolampadius]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ganoczy|2004|pp=7–8}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=63–65, 73–74, 82–88, 101}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=47–51}}; {{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=62–67}}</ref>

===Reform work commences (1536–1538)===
[[File:William-Farel.jpg|thumb|[[William Farel]] was the reformer who persuaded Calvin to stay in Geneva. 16th-century painting. In the [[Bibliothèque Publique et Universitaire (Geneva)|Bibliothèque Publique et Universitaire, Geneva]].]]

In March 1536, Calvin published the first edition of his ''Institutio Christianae Religionis'' or ''Institutes of the Christian Religion''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ganoczy|2005}}</ref> The work was an ''[[apologia]]'' or defense of his faith and a statement of the doctrinal position of the reformers. He also intended it to serve as an elementary instruction book for anyone interested in the Christian faith. The book was the first expression of his theology. Calvin updated the work and published new editions throughout his life.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ganoczy|2004|p=9}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=110–114}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=52, 72}}</ref> Shortly after its publication, he left Basel for [[Ferrara]], Italy, where he briefly served as secretary to [[Renée of France|Princess Renée of France]]. By June he was back in Paris with his brother Antoine, who was resolving their father's affairs. Following the [[Edict of Coucy]], which gave a limited six-month period for heretics to reconcile with the Catholic faith, Calvin decided that there was no future for him in France. In August he set off for [[Strasbourg]], a [[free imperial city]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and a refuge for reformers. Due to [[Italian War of 1536–1538|military maneuvers of imperial and French forces]], he was forced to make a detour to the south, bringing him to Geneva. Calvin had intended to stay only a single night, but William Farel, a fellow French reformer residing in the city, implored him to stay and assist him in his work of reforming the church there. Calvin accepted his new role without any preconditions on his tasks or duties.<ref>{{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=76–78}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=110, 118–120}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=73–75}}</ref> The office to which he was initially assigned is unknown. He was eventually given the title of "reader", which most likely meant that he could give expository lectures on the Bible. Sometime in 1537 he was selected to be a "pastor" although he never received any [[Ordination|pastoral consecration]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|p=120}}</ref> For the first time, the lawyer-theologian took up pastoral duties such as [[baptism]]s, weddings, and church services.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|p=80}}</ref>

During late 1536, Farel drafted a [[confession of faith]], and Calvin wrote separate articles on reorganizing the church in Geneva. On 16 January 1537, Farel and Calvin presented their ''Articles concernant l'organisation de l'église et du culte à Genève'' (Articles on the Organization of the Church and its Worship at Geneva) to the city council.<ref>{{Harvnb|De Greef|2004|p=50}}</ref> The document described the manner and frequency of their celebrations of the [[Eucharist]], the reason for, and the method of, [[excommunication]], the requirement to subscribe to the confession of faith, the use of congregational singing in the [[Christian liturgy|liturgy]], and the revision of marriage laws. The council accepted the document on the same day.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=128–129}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|1975|pp=74–76}}</ref>

As the year progressed, Calvin and Farel's reputation with the council began to suffer. The council was reluctant to enforce the subscription requirement, as only a few citizens had subscribed to their confession of faith. On 26 November, the two ministers hotly debated the council over the issue. Furthermore, France was taking an interest in forming an alliance with Geneva and as the two ministers were Frenchmen, councilors had begun to question their loyalty. Finally, a major ecclesiastical-political quarrel developed when the city of [[Bern]], Geneva's ally in the reformation of the Swiss churches, proposed to introduce uniformity in the church ceremonies. One proposal required the use of [[unleavened bread]] for the [[Eucharist]]. The two ministers were unwilling to follow Bern's lead and delayed the use of such bread until a [[synod]] in Zurich could be convened to make the final decision. The council ordered Calvin and Farel to use unleavened bread for the Easter Eucharist. In protest, they refused to administer communion during the Easter service. This caused a riot during the service. The next day, the council told Farel and Calvin to leave Geneva.<ref>{{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=98–100}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=129–131}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=85–90}}</ref>

Farel and Calvin then went to Bern and Zurich to plead their case. The resulting synod in Zurich placed most of the blame on Calvin for not being sympathetic enough toward the people of Geneva. It asked Bern to mediate with the aim of restoring the two ministers. The Geneva council refused to readmit the two men, who then took refuge in Basel. Subsequently, Farel received an invitation to lead the church in [[Neuchâtel]]. Calvin was invited to lead a church of French refugees in Strasbourg by that city's leading reformers, [[Martin Bucer]] and [[Wolfgang Capito]]. Initially, Calvin refused because Farel was not included in the invitation, but relented when Bucer appealed to him. By September 1538 Calvin had taken up his new position in Strasbourg, fully expecting that this time it would be permanent; a few months later, he applied for and was granted citizenship of the city.<ref>{{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=101–102}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=90–92}}</ref>

===Minister in Strasbourg (1538–1541)===
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Strasbourg - Église Saint-Nicolas.jpg
| caption1 = Saint-Nicolas Church, Strasbourg, where Calvin preached in 1538. The building was architecturally modified in the 19th century.
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| caption2 = Martin Bucer invited Calvin to Strasbourg after he was expelled from Geneva. Illustration by [[Jean-Jacques Boissard]].
}}

During his time in Strasbourg, Calvin was not attached to one particular church, but held his office successively in the Saint-Nicolas Church, the [[Sainte-Madeleine Church, Strasbourg|Sainte-Madeleine Church]] and the former [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] Church, renamed the [[Temple Neuf, Strasbourg|Temple Neuf]].<ref>[http://archives.strasbourg.fr/calvin.htm Calvin et Strasbourg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908170246/http://archives.strasbourg.fr/calvin.htm|date=8 September 2013}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> (All of these churches still exist, but none are in the architectural state of Calvin's days.) Calvin ministered to 400–500 members in his church. He preached or lectured every day, with two sermons on Sunday. Communion was celebrated monthly and congregational singing of the psalms was encouraged.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=92–93}}</ref> He also worked on the second edition of the ''Institutes''. Calvin was dissatisfied with its original structure as a catechism, a primer for young Christians.<ref name="Parker 1995 4–5">{{Harvnb|Parker|1995|pp=4–5}}</ref>

For the second edition, published in 1539, Calvin changed its format in favor of systematically presenting the main doctrines from the Bible. In the process, the book was enlarged from six chapters to seventeen.<ref name="Parker 1995 4–5" /> He concurrently worked on another book, the ''Commentary on Romans'', which was published in March 1540. The book was a model for his later commentaries: it included his own Latin translation from the Greek rather than the Latin [[Vulgate]], an [[exegesis]], and an [[Expository preaching|exposition]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=97–101}}</ref> In the dedicatory letter, Calvin praised the work of his predecessors [[Philipp Melanchthon]], [[Heinrich Bullinger]], and Martin Bucer, but he also took care to distinguish his own work from theirs and to criticize some of their shortcomings.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=143–146}}</ref>

Calvin's friends urged him to marry. Calvin took a prosaic view, writing to one correspondent:

<blockquote>I, who have the air of being so hostile to celibacy, I am still not married and do not know whether I will ever be. If I take a wife it will be because, being better freed from numerous worries, I can devote myself to the Lord.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|p=140}}</ref></blockquote>

Several candidates were presented to him including one young woman from a noble family. Reluctantly, Calvin agreed to the marriage, on the condition that she would learn French. Although a wedding date was planned for March 1540, he remained reluctant and the wedding never took place. He later wrote that he would never think of marrying her, "unless the Lord had entirely bereft me of my wits".<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|1975|p=87}}</ref> Instead, in August of that year, he married [[Idelette de Bure]], a widow who had two children from her first marriage.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=139–142}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=96–97}}</ref>

Geneva reconsidered its expulsion of Calvin. Church attendance had dwindled and the political climate had changed; as Bern and Geneva quarreled over land, their alliance frayed. When Cardinal [[Jacopo Sadoleto]] wrote a letter to the city council inviting Geneva to return to the Catholic faith, the council searched for an ecclesiastical authority to respond to him. At first [[Pierre Viret]] was consulted, but when he refused, the council asked Calvin. He agreed and his ''Responsio ad Sadoletum'' (Letter to Sadoleto) strongly defended Geneva's position concerning reforms in the church.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ganoczy|2004|pp=12–14}}; {{Harvnb|De Greef|2004|p=46}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=152–156}}</ref> On 21 September 1540 the council commissioned one of its members, [[Ami Perrin]], to find a way to recall Calvin. An embassy reached Calvin while he was at a [[Colloquy (religious)|colloquy]], a conference to settle religious disputes, in [[Worms, Germany|Worms]]. His reaction to the suggestion was one of horror in which he wrote, "Rather would I submit to death a hundred times than to that cross on which I had to perish daily a thousand times over."<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|p=105}}</ref>

Calvin also wrote that he was prepared to follow the Lord's calling. A plan was drawn up in which Viret would be appointed to take temporary charge in Geneva for six months while Bucer and Calvin would visit the city to determine the next steps. The city council pressed for the immediate appointment of Calvin in Geneva. By mid-1541, Strasbourg decided to lend Calvin to Geneva for six months. Calvin returned on 13 September 1541 with an official escort and a wagon for his family.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=103–107}}</ref>

===Reform in Geneva (1541–1549)===
{{Further|Hymnody of continental Europe#Reformed Church|Regulative principle of worship#John Calvin's liturgy}}

In supporting Calvin's proposals for reforms, the council of Geneva passed the ''Ordonnances ecclésiastiques'' (Ecclesiastical Ordinances) on 20 November 1541. The ordinances defined four orders of ministerial function: pastors to preach and to administer the [[sacraments]]; doctors to instruct believers in the faith; [[Elder (Christianity)|elders]] to provide discipline; and [[deacons]] to care for the poor and needy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ganoczy|2004|pp=15–17}}</ref> They also called for the creation of the ''[[Consistory (Protestantism)#Reformed usage|Consistoire]]'' ([[Genevan Consistory|Consistory]]), an ecclesiastical court composed of the elders and the ministers. The city government retained the power to summon persons before the court, and the Consistory could judge only ecclesiastical matters having no civil jurisdiction. Originally, the court had the power to mete out sentences, with excommunication as its most severe penalty. The government contested this power and on 19 March 1543 the council decided that all sentencing would be carried out by the government.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=165–166}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=108–111}}</ref>

[[File:Façade de la cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Genève.jpg|thumb|left|Calvin preached at [[St. Pierre Cathedral]], the main church in Geneva.|266x266px]]

In 1542, Calvin adapted a service book used in Strasbourg, publishing ''La Forme des Prières et Chants Ecclésiastiques'' (The Form of Prayers and Church Hymns). Calvin recognized the power of music and he intended that it be used to support scripture readings. The original Strasbourg [[psalter]] contained twelve psalms by [[Clément Marot]] and Calvin added several more hymns of his own composition in the Geneva version. At the end of 1542, Marot became a refugee in Geneva and contributed nineteen more psalms. [[Louis Bourgeois (composer)|Louis Bourgeois]], also a refugee, lived and taught music in Geneva for sixteen years and Calvin took the opportunity to add his hymns, the most famous being the [[Old Hundredth]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=172–174}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=112–115}}</ref>

In the same year of 1542, Calvin published ''Catéchisme de l'Eglise de Genève'' (Catechism of the Church of Geneva), which was inspired by Bucer's ''Kurze Schrifftliche Erklärung'' of 1534. Calvin had written an earlier [[catechism]] during his first stay in Geneva which was largely based on [[Martin Luther]]'s [[Large Catechism]]. The first version was arranged pedagogically, describing Law, Faith, and Prayer. The 1542 version was rearranged for theological reasons, covering Faith first, then Law and Prayer.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=170–171}}</ref>

Historians debate the extent to which Geneva was a [[theocracy]]. On the one hand, Calvin's theology clearly called for separation between church and state. Other historians have stressed the enormous political power wielded on a daily basis by the clerics.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mark J. Larson|title=Calvin's Doctrine of the State: A Reformed Doctrine and Its American Trajectory, The Revolutionary War, and the Founding of the Republic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ItFLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|year=2009|publisher=Wipf and Stock|pages=1–20|isbn=978-1-60608-073-3|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915225800/https://books.google.com/books?id=ItFLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|archive-date=15 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Harro Höpfl, ''The Christian Polity of John Calvin'' (Cambridge University Press, 1985)</ref>

[[File:Idelette Calvin.jpg|thumb|right|[[Idelette Calvin|Idelette]] and Calvin had no children survive infancy.]]

During his ministry in Geneva, Calvin preached over two thousand sermons. Initially he preached twice on Sunday and three times during the week. This proved to be too heavy a burden and late in 1542 the council allowed him to preach only once on Sunday. In October 1549, he was again required to preach twice on Sundays and, in addition, every weekday of alternate weeks. His sermons lasted more than an hour and he did not use notes. An occasional secretary tried to record his sermons, but very little of his preaching was preserved before 1549. In that year, professional scribe Denis Raguenier, who had learned or developed a system of shorthand, was assigned to record all of Calvin's sermons. An analysis of his sermons by T. H. L. Parker suggests that Calvin was a consistent preacher and his style changed very little over the years.<ref>{{Harvnb|DeVries|2004|pp=106–124}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=116–123}}</ref><ref>See also {{Citation | last = Parker | first =T. H. L. | title = The Oracles of God: An Introduction to the Preaching of John Calvin | publisher=James Clarke Company | year =2002 | place = Cambridge| isbn = 978-0-227-17091-5}}</ref> John Calvin was also known for his thorough manner of working his way through the Bible in consecutive sermons. From March 1555 to July 1556, Calvin delivered two hundred sermons on [[Deuteronomy]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Currid | first = John D. | title = Calvin and the Biblical Languages | publisher= Christian Focus Publications | year = 2006 | place = UK| isbn=978-1-84550-212-6}}</ref>

[[Voltaire]] wrote about Calvin, [[Martin Luther|Luther]] and [[Zwingli]], "If they condemned celibacy in the priests, and opened the gates of the convents, it was only to turn all society into a convent. Shows and entertainments were expressly forbidden by their religion; and for more than two hundred years there was not a single musical instrument allowed in the city of Geneva. They condemned auricular confession, but they enjoined a public one; and in Switzerland, Scotland, and Geneva it was performed the same as penance."<ref>{{cite web |author=Voltaire, 1694–1778 |title=The works of Voltaire: Volume XXVII. Ancient and Modern History. 4. Charles V., 1512 – Philip II., 1584 |url=http://www.cristoraul.com/ENGLISH/Universal-Literature/Voltaire-Works/Works-of-Voltaire-Volume-27.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211302/http://www.cristoraul.com/ENGLISH/Universal-Literature/Voltaire-Works/Works-of-Voltaire-Volume-27.html |archive-date=23 September 2015 |access-date=13 September 2015 |work=cristoraul.com}}</ref>

Very little is known about Calvin's personal life in Geneva. His house and furniture were owned by the council. The house was big enough to accommodate his family as well as Antoine's family and some servants. On 28 July 1542, Idelette gave birth to a son, Jacques, but he was born prematurely and survived only briefly. Idelette fell ill in 1545 and died on 29 March 1549. Calvin never married again. He expressed his sorrow in a letter to Viret:

<blockquote>I have been bereaved of the best friend of my life, of one who, if it has been so ordained, would willingly have shared not only my poverty but also my death. During her life she was the faithful helper of my ministry. From her I never experienced the slightest hindrance.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=129–130}}</ref></blockquote>

Throughout the rest of his life in Geneva, he maintained several friendships from his early years including Montmor, Cordier, Cop, Farel, Melanchthon and Bullinger.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=183–184}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|p=131}}</ref>

===Discipline and opposition (1546–1553)===
[[File:Portrait john calvin.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Sixteenth-century portrait of John Calvin by an unknown artist. From the collection of the Bibliothèque de Genève (Library of Geneva)]]

Calvin encountered bitter opposition to his work in Geneva. Around 1546, the uncoordinated forces coalesced into an identifiable group whom he referred to as the [[libertine]]s, but who preferred to be called either Spirituels or Patriots.<ref name="Libertines">{{citation|last=Schaff|first=Philip|chapter=§ 108. Calvin's Struggle with the Patriots and Libertines|title=History of the Christian Church|volume=VIII|chapter-url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.xiii.xi.html|access-date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509182955/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.xiii.xi.html|archive-date=9 May 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fisher">{{cite book|last=Fisher|first=George Park|title=The Reformation|year=1912|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|location=New York|page=192|url=https://archive.org/stream/reformation12fishgoog/reformation12fishgoog_djvu.txt|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403190246/https://archive.org/stream/reformation12fishgoog/reformation12fishgoog_djvu.txt|archive-date=3 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Calvin, these were people who felt that after being liberated through [[Irresistible grace|grace]], they were exempted from both ecclesiastical and civil law. The group consisted of wealthy, politically powerful, and interrelated families of Geneva.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=185–186}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=124–126}}</ref> At the end of January 1546, Pierre Ameaux, a maker of playing cards who had already been in conflict with the Consistory, attacked Calvin by calling him a "Picard", an epithet denoting anti-French sentiment, and accused him of false doctrine. Ameaux was punished by the council and forced to make [[expiation]] by parading through the city and begging God for forgiveness.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|p=187}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|p=126}}</ref> A few months later Ami Perrin, the man who had brought Calvin to Geneva, moved into open opposition. Perrin had married Françoise Favre, daughter of François Favre, a well-established Genevan merchant. Both Perrin's wife and father-in-law had previous conflicts with the Consistory. The court noted that many of Geneva's notables, including Perrin, had breached a law against dancing. Initially, Perrin ignored the court when he was summoned, but after receiving a letter from Calvin, he appeared before the Consistory.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|p=127}}</ref>

By 1547, opposition to Calvin and other French refugee ministers had grown to constitute the majority of the [[syndics]], the civil magistrates of Geneva. On 27 June an unsigned threatening letter in Genevan dialect was found at the pulpit of [[St. Pierre Cathedral]] where Calvin preached. Suspecting a plot against both the church and the state, the council appointed a commission to investigate. [[Jacques Gruet]], a Genevan member of Favre's group, was arrested and incriminating evidence was found when his house was searched. Under torture, he confessed to several crimes including writing the letter left in the pulpit which threatened the church leaders. A civil court condemned Gruet to death and he was beheaded on 26 July. Calvin was not opposed to the civil court's decision.<ref>{{Harvnb|De Greef|2008|pp=30–31}}; {{Harvnb|McNeill|1954|pp=170–171}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=190–191}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=136–138}}</ref>

The libertines continued organizing opposition, insulting the appointed ministers, and challenging the authority of the Consistory. The council straddled both sides of the conflict, alternately admonishing and upholding Calvin. When Perrin was elected first syndic in February 1552, Calvin's authority appeared to be at its lowest point. After some losses before the council, Calvin believed he was defeated; on 24 July 1553 he asked the council to allow him to resign. Although the libertines controlled the council, his request was refused. The opposition realized that they could curb Calvin's authority, but they did not have enough power to banish him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=139–145}}</ref>

===Michael Servetus (1553)===
[[File:Michael Servetus.jpg|thumb|right|[[Michael Servetus]] exchanged many letters with Calvin until he was denounced by Calvin and executed.|280x280px]]

The turning point in Calvin's fortunes occurred when Michael Servetus, a brilliant Spanish polymath who introduced [[ibn al-Nafis#Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon|the Islamic idea]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Majeed|first1=Azeem|date=2005|title=How Islam changed medicine|journal=BMJ|volume=331|issue=7531|pages=1486–1487|doi=10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1486|pmid=16373721|pmc=1322233}}</ref> of [[pulmonary circulation]] to Europe, and a fugitive from ecclesiastical authorities, appeared in Geneva on 13 August 1553. Servetus was a fugitive on the run after he published ''[[The Restoration of Christianity]]'' (1553), Calvin scholar Bruce Gordon commented "Among its offenses were a denial of original sin and a bizarre and hardly comprehensible view of the Trinity."<ref name="postbarthian.com">{{Cite news|title=Michael Servetus: Saint, Heretic and Martyr (Part 3: A Radical Theology)|url=https://postbarthian.com/2018/10/05/michael-servetus-saint-heretic-and-martyr-part-3-a-radical-theology/|date=5 October 2018|newspaper=The Postbarthian &#124; Ecumenical Reformed Musing of Wyatt Houtz|language=en-US|access-date=9 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Bainton141">''Hunted Heretic'', p. 141.</ref>

Decades earlier, in July 1530 he disputed with [[Johannes Oecolampadius]] in Basel and was eventually expelled. He went to Strasbourg, where he published a pamphlet against the Trinity. Bucer publicly refuted it and asked Servetus to leave. After returning to Basel, Servetus published ''[[Dialogorum de Trinitate libri duo|Two Books of Dialogues on the Trinity]]'' ({{lang-la|Dialogorum de Trinitate libri duo}}) which caused a sensation among Reformers and Catholics alike. When John Calvin alerted the [[Spanish Inquisition|Inquisition in Spain]] about this publication, an order was issued for Servetus's arrest.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=213–216}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|p=146}}</ref>

Calvin and Servetus were first brought into contact in 1546 through a common acquaintance, Jean Frellon of Lyon; they exchanged letters debating doctrine; Calvin used a pseudonym as ''Charles d' Espeville'' and Servetus used the moniker ''Michel de Villeneuve.''<ref name="postbarthian.com" /> Eventually, Calvin lost patience and refused to respond; by this time Servetus had written around thirty letters to Calvin. Calvin was particularly outraged when Servetus sent him a copy of the ''Institutes of the Christian Religion'' heavily annotated with arguments pointing to errors in the book. When Servetus mentioned that he would come to Geneva, "Espeville" (Calvin) wrote a letter to Farel on 13 February 1546 noting that if Servetus were to come, he would not assure him safe conduct: "for if he came, as far as my authority goes, I would not let him leave alive."<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=216–217}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=147–148}}; Levy, Leonard W. (1995), ''Blasphemy: Verbal offense Against the Sacred from Moses to Salman Rushdie'', p. 65, {{ISBN|978-0-8078-4515-8}}.</ref>

In 1553 Servetus published ''[[Christianismi Restitutio]]'' (English: The Restoration of Christianity), in which he rejected the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the concept of predestination. In the same year, Calvin's representative, Guillaume de Trie, sent letters alerting the French Inquisition to Servetus.<ref>See the letters in John Calvin, ''Opera Quae Supersunt Omnia'', Book VIII, First Appendix, IV & VII.</ref> Calling him a "Spanish-Portuguese", suspecting and accusing him<ref>''Calvin and the Judaism: Influence and Actions and Obsessions''. Revoeder Hebrew Press. Levi Lancaster 200, p. 106.</ref> of his recently proved Jewish [[converso]] origin.<ref>Gonzalez Echeverría, "Andrés Laguna and Michael Servetus: two converted humanist doctors of the XVI century" in: Andrés Laguna International Congress. Humanism, Science and Politics in the Renaissance Europe, García Hourcade y Moreno Yuste, coord., Junta de Castilla y León, Valladolid,1999, pp.&nbsp;377–389</ref><ref>González Echeverría "Michael Servetus belonged to the famous converted Jewish family The Zaporta", Pliegos de Bibliofilia, no. 7, Madrid pp.&nbsp;33–42. 1999</ref><ref>González Echeverría" On the Jewish origin of Michael Servetus" Raíces. Jewish Magazine of Culture, Madrid, nº 40, pp.&nbsp;67–69. 1999</ref> De Trie wrote down that "his proper name is Michael Servetus, but he currently calls himself Villeneuve, practicing medicine. He stayed for some time in Lyon, and now he is living in Vienne."<ref>Inconsistencies of John Calvin, A.C. Williams, Artiviche Ed, Pressore, 2012, pp.&nbsp;34–39.</ref> When the inquisitor-general of France learned that Servetus was hiding in [[Vienne, Isère|Vienne]], according to Calvin under an assumed name, he contacted Cardinal [[François de Tournon]], the secretary of the archbishop of Lyon, to take up the matter. Servetus was arrested and taken in for questioning. His letters to Calvin were presented as evidence of heresy, but he denied having written them, and later said he was not sure it was his handwriting. He said, after swearing before the holy gospel, that "he was Michel De Villeneuve Doctor in Medicine about 42 years old, native of [[Tudela, Navarre|Tudela]] of the kingdom of [[Kingdom of Navarre#Spanish conquest|Navarre]], a city under the obedience to the Emperor".<ref>1749 First questioning. Judgement of Vienne in Dauphiné against Servet. D'artigny Nouveaux mémoires d'histoire Tome Seconde. pp.&nbsp;55–154.</ref> The following day he said: "..although he was not Servetus he assumed the person of Servet for debating with Calvin".<ref>1749 Second questioning. Judgement of Vienne in Dauphiné against Servet.D'artigny Nouveaux mémoires d'histoire Tome Seconde pp. 55–154)</ref> He managed to escape from prison, and the Catholic authorities sentenced him ''in absentia'' to death by slow burning.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=149–150}}</ref>

On his way to Italy, Servetus stopped in Geneva to visit "''d'Espeville''", where he was recognized and arrested. Calvin's secretary, Nicholas de la Fontaine, composed a list of accusations that was submitted before the court. The prosecutor was [[Philibert Berthelier (Son of Geneva patriot)|Philibert Berthelier]], a member of a libertine family and son of a famous [[Philibert Berthelier (Geneva patriot)|Geneva patriot]], and the sessions were led by Pierre Tissot, Perrin's brother-in-law. The libertines allowed the trial to drag on in an attempt to harass Calvin. The difficulty in using Servetus as a weapon against Calvin was that the heretical reputation of Servetus was widespread and most of the cities in Europe were observing and awaiting the outcome of the trial. This posed a dilemma for the libertines, so on 21 August the council decided to write to other Swiss cities for their opinions, thus mitigating their own responsibility for the final decision.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|1975|p=122}}</ref> While waiting for the responses, the council also asked Servetus if he preferred to be judged in Vienne or in Geneva. He begged to stay in Geneva. On 20 October the replies from Zurich, Basel, Bern, and [[Schaffhausen]] were read and the council condemned Servetus as a heretic. The following day he was sentenced to burning at the stake, the same sentence as in Vienne. Some scholars claim that Calvin and other ministers asked that he be beheaded instead of burnt, knowing that burning at the stake was the only legal recourse.<ref>Verdict and Sentence for Michael Servetus (1533) in A Reformation Reader eds. Denis R. Janz; pp. 268–270</ref> This plea was refused and on 27 October, Servetus was burnt alive at the Plateau of [[Champel]] at the edge of Geneva.<ref>{{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=118–120}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=222–225}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=150–152}}</ref>

===Securing the Protestant Reformation (1553–1555)===
After the death of Servetus, Calvin was acclaimed a defender of Christianity, but his ultimate triumph over the libertines was still two years away. He had always insisted that the Consistory retain the power of excommunication, despite the council's past decision to take it away. During Servetus's trial, Philibert Berthelier asked the council for permission to take communion, as he had been excommunicated the previous year for insulting a minister. Calvin protested that the council did not have the legal authority to overturn Berthelier's excommunication. Unsure of how the council would rule, he hinted in a sermon on 3 September 1553 that he might be dismissed by the authorities. The council decided to re-examine the ''Ordonnances'' and on 18 September it voted in support of Calvin—excommunication was within the jurisdiction of the Consistory. Berthelier applied for reinstatement to another Genevan administrative assembly, the ''Deux Cents'' (Two Hundred), in November. This body reversed the council's decision and stated that the final arbiter concerning excommunication should be the council. The ministers continued to protest, and as in the case of Servetus, the opinions of the Swiss churches were sought. The affair dragged on through 1554. Finally, on 22 January 1555, the council announced the decision of the Swiss churches: the original ''Ordonnances'' were to be kept and the Consistory was to regain its official powers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=195–198}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=154–156}}</ref>

The libertines' downfall began with the February 1555 elections. By then, many of the French refugees had been granted citizenship and with their support, Calvin's partisans elected the majority of the syndics and the councilors. On 16 May the libertines took to the streets in a drunken protest and attempted to burn down a house that was supposedly full of Frenchmen. The syndic Henri Aulbert tried to intervene, carrying with him the [[Sceptre|baton of office]] that symbolized his power. Perrin seized the baton and waved it over the crowd, which gave the appearance that he was taking power and initiating a ''coup d'état''. The insurrection was soon over when another syndic appeared and ordered Perrin to go with him to the town hall. Perrin and other leaders were forced to flee the city. With the approval of Calvin, the other plotters who remained in the city were found and executed. The opposition to Calvin's [[church polity]] came to an end.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=198–200}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=156–157}}; {{Harvnb|Manetsch|2013|p=187}}</ref>

===Final years (1555–1564)===
[[File:Calvin 1562.jpg|thumb|right|John Calvin at 53 years old in an engraving by [[René Boyvin]].]]

Calvin's authority was practically uncontested during his final years, and he enjoyed an international reputation as a reformer distinct from Martin Luther.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|p=235}}</ref> Initially, Luther and Calvin had mutual respect for each other. A doctrinal conflict had developed between Luther and Zurich reformer [[Huldrych Zwingli]] on the interpretation of the eucharist. Calvin's opinion on the issue forced Luther to place him in Zwingli's camp. Calvin actively participated in the polemics that were exchanged between the [[Lutheran]] and [[Reformed churches|Reformed]] branches of the Reformation movement.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|1975|pp=162–163}}</ref> At the same time, Calvin was dismayed by the lack of unity among the reformers. He took steps toward rapprochement with Bullinger by signing the ''[[Consensus Tigurinus]]'', a [[concordat]] between the Zurich and Geneva churches. He reached out to England when [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] [[Thomas Cranmer]] called for an [[ecumenical]] synod of all the evangelical churches. Calvin praised the idea, but ultimately Cranmer was unable to bring it to fruition.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|1975|pp=164–165}}</ref>

Calvin sheltered [[Marian exiles]] (those who fled the reign of Catholic [[Mary I of England|Mary Tudor]] in England) in Geneva starting in 1555. Under the city's protection, they were able to form their own reformed church under [[John Knox]] and [[William Whittingham]] and eventually carried Calvin's ideas on doctrine and polity back to England and Scotland.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=170–172}}</ref>

[[File:Bâtiment sud du Collège Calvin 2006-08-16.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Collège Calvin]] is now a college preparatory school for the Swiss ''[[Matura|Maturité]]''.|272x272px]]

Within Geneva, Calvin's main concern was the creation of a ''collège'', an institute for the education of children. A site for the school was selected on 25 March 1558 and it opened the following year on 5 June 1559. Although the school was a single institution, it was divided into two parts: a grammar school called the ''collège'' or ''schola privata'' and an advanced school called the ''académie'' or ''schola publica''. Calvin tried to recruit two professors for the institute, Mathurin Cordier, his old friend and Latin scholar who was now based in [[Lausanne]], and [[Emmanuel Tremellius]], the former [[Regius Professor of Hebrew (Cambridge)|Regius professor of Hebrew]] in Cambridge. Neither was available, but he succeeded in obtaining Theodore Beza as rector. Within five years there were 1,200 students in the grammar school and 300 in the advanced school. The ''collège'' eventually became the [[Collège Calvin]], one of the college preparatory schools of Geneva; the ''académie'' became the [[University of Geneva]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Olsen|2004|pp=158–159}}; {{Harvnb|Ganoczy|2004|pp=19–20}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=256–259}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=157–160}}</ref>

====Impact on France====
Calvin was deeply committed to reforming his homeland, France. The Protestant movement had been energetic, but lacked central organizational direction. With financial support from the church in Geneva, Calvin turned his enormous energies toward uplifting the French Protestant cause. As one historian explains:

<blockquote>He supplied the dogma, the liturgy, and the moral ideas of the new religion, and he also created ecclesiastical, political, and social institutions in harmony with it. A born leader, he followed up his work with personal appeals. His vast correspondence with French Protestants shows not only much zeal but infinite pains and considerable tact and driving home the lessons of his printed treatises.<ref>{{cite book|author=Preserved Smith|title=The Age of the Reformation|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.226293|year=1920|publisher=H. Holt|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.226293/page/n207 201]}}</ref> Between 1555 and 1562, more than 100 ministers were sent to France. Nevertheless French King [[Henry II of France|Henry II]] severely persecuted Protestants under the [[Edict of Chateaubriand]] and when the French authorities complained about the missionary activities, the city fathers of Geneva disclaimed official responsibility.<ref>{{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=182–184}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=178–180}}</ref></blockquote>

===Last illness===
[[File:La revolución religiosa, 1880 "Últimos momentos de Calvino". (4133283856).jpg|thumb|The last moments of Calvin (Barcelona: Montaner y Simón, 1880–1883)]]
[[File:Tombe Calvin.jpg|right|thumb|Traditional grave of Calvin in the [[Cimetière des Rois|Cimetière de Plainpalais]] in Geneva; the exact location of his grave is unknown.]]

In late 1558, Calvin became ill with a fever. Since he was afraid that he might die before completing the final revision of the ''Institutes'', he forced himself to work. The final edition was greatly expanded to the extent that Calvin referred to it as a new work. The expansion from the 21 chapters of the previous edition to 80 was due to the extended treatment of existing material rather than the addition of new topics.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=161–164}}</ref> Shortly after he recovered, he strained his voice while preaching, which brought on a violent fit of coughing. He burst a blood-vessel in his lungs, and his health steadily declined. He preached his final sermon in St. Pierre on 6 February 1564. On 25 April, he made his will, in which he left small sums to his family and to the ''collège''. A few days later, the ministers of the church came to visit him, and he bade his final farewell, which was recorded in ''Discours d'adieu aux ministres''. He recounted his life in Geneva, sometimes recalling bitterly some of the hardships he had suffered. Calvin died on 27 May 1564 aged 54. At first his body lay in state, but since so many people came to see it, the reformers were afraid that they would be accused of fostering a new saint's cult. On the following day, he was buried in an unmarked grave in the [[Cimetière des Rois]].<ref>{{Harvnb|McGrath|1990|pp=195–196}}; {{Harvnb|Cottret|2000|pp=259–262}}; {{Harvnb|Parker|2006|pp=185–191}}</ref> The exact location of the grave is unknown; a stone was added in the 19th century to mark a grave traditionally thought to be Calvin's.<ref>{{Citation | last = Rossel | first=Patrice | title =Une visite du cimetière de Plainpalais | publisher=Les Iles futures | year=1994}}; {{citation| last=Palfi|first=Véronique|title=Le Cimetière des Rois, De l'hôpital des pestiférés au cimetière de Plainpalais, Cinq siècle d'histoire, étude historique pour la Conservation architecturale de la Ville de Genève|year=2003}}</ref>