John Calvin

====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>