CALVIN (Calvinus, Cauvin, Chauvin, Calvin Jean). — The most important initiator of Protestantism in France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Among the pseudonyms used by C., we recall: Martianus Lucanius, Carolus Passelius, Charles d'Espeville.
I. The man
1. Youth and apostasy
C. was born on 10 July 1509 at Noyon (Picardy) to Catholic parents, the second of six children. His father was an official of the episcopal curia, his mother the daughter of a wealthy innkeeper of Cambrai. Destined for ecclesiastical studies, at the age of twelve John already held a prebend (of N. S. de la Gésine), and later, having sought minor orders, also the chaplaincy of St-Martin de Mertheville, which he later ceded to his younger brother. He did not, however, proceed to sacred Orders, but with the support of the Montmor family he went to study in Paris. In 1524 he began the course in philosophy at the College of Montaigu, and then that in theology. In 1528, on his father’s advice, he abandoned the study of theologyHe devoted himself to law, which he hoped would open the path to a judicial career, and went to Orléans to study under Pierre de l'Estoile. Théodore de Bèze says that his fellow students nicknamed him “accusatif,” that is, informer. He lived in seclusion, “sauvage et honteux,” a lover of quiet and study (Opp., XXXI, p. 22). In 1529 C. attended the University of Bourges, where he met the humanist Johann Wolmar, who induced him to resume theological studies with the intention of winning him over to evangelicalism.
The times were indeed alive with religious novelty. In Paris, Johann had witnessed the first skirmishes of the Lutheran struggle against the Sorbonne and had lived amid the ferment of reformist ideas, seeing the first trials and even the first executions of the new heretics. A cousin, Pierre Robert, called Olivétan, had given him heterodox writings to read, which sank deep into his mind and planted the first seeds of religious crisis (Opp., IX, p. 51). The apostasy, long in preparation, came in 1533, not without inner turmoil (ibid., V, pp. 358–416). The decisive step toward open rebellion was a discourse he composed at the request of Nicolas Cop for the inaugural lecture of the academic year in the church of the Mathurins in Paris on 1 November 1533, in which he affirmed the principle of justification in a Protestant sense and defended heretics “as those who strove purely to insinuate the Gospel into the souls of the faithful.” Forced to leave the city, he wandered through France—Angoulême, Nérac, Noyon, Poitiers, Orléans—until in 1534 he set out again for Strasbourg, by then a stronghold of the Reformers, and in 1535 for Basel. There he completed and published the *Institutio Christianae Religionis*, openly opposed to Catholic doctrine. After a journey to Ferrara in Italy at the court of Ercole II, whose wife Renée of France was his patroness, he went to Geneva in Switzerland, where the Reformer Farel persuaded him to stay and help consolidate the situation in favor of the heretics.
2. C. in Geneva (1536–38; 1541–64). — In that very year (1536) the council of Geneva, which had taken the lead in the anti-papal movement, decreed the destruction of altars throughout the Pays de Vaud, the demolition of images, and the suspension of all Catholic worship. Encouraged by this example, Farel and C. proposed the *Articuli de regimine Ecclesiae* with analogous provisions, which were accepted by the Conseil des Deux-Cents, the city’s legislative body. Other decrees reorganized worship along strictly Protestant lines, from the Eucharist to the singing of psalms, preaching, and the celebration of marriages. Growing electoral support increased their influence, but the “demonstration of faith,” a kind of creed drawn from the *Institutio Christianae Religionis* that they sought to impose on the citizenry, met with strong opposition from many Genevans who had accepted the Reformation only for political reasons of independence and not to place themselves under the yoke of preachers. Thus in the new elections of 1538 the opposition party prevailed, and the new council forbade the two leaders to preach. When they violated the order, they were expelled from the territory. C. took refuge in Bern, then in Basel, until, invited by Bucer, he went to Strasbourg. There he found other Reform leaders, including the two Sturms, Capito, and many French refugees. The three years he spent in the Alsatian city (1538–41) were among the quietest of his life. C. gave public lectures on Scripture, paid by the city, guided the French community spiritually, and could devote himself to his preferred studies. He published the second edition of his *Institutio*, a famous *Reply to Sadoleto* (1539), bishop of Carpentras, who had vainly tried to bring Geneva back to the old faith, and the *Commentarius in Epistolam ad Romanos* (1540). In the autumn of 1540 he married Idelette de Bure, a widow of an Anabaptist. In 1541 he took part in the colloquies of Hagenau, Worms, and Regensburg, while in Geneva the situation had again turned in his favor, and the three councils of the city officially invited him to return. C., a consummate politician, made them wait, delaying his acceptance to heighten their desire and citing letters from Strasbourg magistrates who claimed him. At last, under repeated pressure, he consented, but on conditions that effectively made him arbiter of the situation. On 16 September 1541 he re-entered Geneva, securing approval—with minor changes—of the *Ordonnances Ecclésiastiques de l’Église de Genève*, which organized all domestic and social life of the citizens according to Calvinist doctrine (see the text in Opp., X, p. 15 ff.) and became the fundamental law of the Genevan republic. By 1543 all laws and customs were reorganized and the civil constitution completed. C. could be satisfied: he had imposed the order he wanted and, in a sense, had become undisputed master of the city.
3. C.’s Government. — The direct contact he had had in Strasbourg with the German Reformation had shown him its critical drawbacks. It had not improved morals but had subjected spiritual power to civil authority and fostered social disorder through its excessive spirit of insubordination and independence. The Genevan Church was therefore organized by him on foundations that avoided these errors. The state was to be subordinate to the Church, having no other purpose than to enforce divine law upon its subjects. Religion was the supreme arbiter of public life. With these principles a government was constituted that, beneath a democratic appearance, was oligarchic in fact. Effective power rested in the hands of a few. The class of preachers, with its general assembly (the Congregation), was the true ruler of public life. The ordinances began by affirming that God had provided for the constitution of the primitive Church by appointing pastors, teachers, elders, and deacons; this was the “rectus ordo” alone acceptable to Him. Geneva too would henceforth be governed accordingly.
The pastors, or ministers of the Word, were the essential element of the community. They were charged with preaching the Gospel, administering the sacraments, teaching, admonishing, rebuking in public and private, examining and training future pastors. C. personally trained the first ministers, gathering them every Friday for scriptural and theological expositions, regulated preaching by establishing three parishes where sermons were held three times a week and on Sunday. Later there would be a daily sermon in every city church. His own sermons were carefully prepared, not long, so that the entire service, with singing and prayer, lasted no more than an hour. The teachers were responsible for the schools and the education of youth. The elders, twelve in number like the apostles, were charged with discipline. They were to be elected by the three councils from among men “of upright life, honest, without stain, above suspicion, and above all filled with the fear of God,” chosen so as to represent all quarters of the city. The deacons were to visit the sick, aid the poor, and assist the ministers.
The most characteristic organ of C.’s spiritual dominion was the consistory, a kind of tribunal composed of six ministers and the twelve elders, which met weekly and supervised the morals of citizens and their fulfillment of religious duties. In graver cases it handed the offender over to the council.
For punishment. Civil authority was required to enforce its decisions, and all, even magistrates, were subject to II. The consistory wielded spiritual weapons, such as admonition, and in extreme cases excommunication.
No measure aroused as much hostility as this tribunal with its methods. The citizen found it harsh and contrary to civic traditions "to be summoned before a court of ministers almost all foreigners" and "to be forced to beg for mercy from God and justice," not to mention that the consistory, by its very nature, encouraged denunciation. Many could not help comparing the despotic intransigence of the new yoke with the far milder previous ecclesiastical government of the bishops, and it seemed unreasonable that this had been overthrown only to fall into a worse situation. Hundreds of people were indeed tried and condemned. Thus, while Calvin’s establishment in Geneva in the first period (1542–46) saw the consolidation of his power, in the second (1546–54) he had to contend with violent opposition, which he only overcame through his great firmness, tenacity, and severity.
During these years Calvin, struck in his dearest affections by the death of his wife after that of his only infant son, became ever more withdrawn and gloomy. Physically, he was tormented by migraines, stomach pains, and exhaustion. Yet his activity never ceased. Religiously, he devoted himself entirely to the Reformation, not only in Geneva but by intervening through his letters in Protestant matters throughout Switzerland and also in France, Germany, and Sweden, while welcoming into his city the Huguenots persecuted by Henry II. Nor were doctrinal controversies lacking among fellow heretics; thus in 1551 with Jérôme Bolsec, who had publicly attacked his judgments on predestination. Calvin succeeded in having the opponent expelled and in securing official sanction for his own doctrine. Nor did he cease composing literary works of a theological nature. Between the years 1546 and 1555 he published his Commentaries on the Old and New Testaments.
The most salient event of this period, however, was the reformer’s struggle with Michael Servetus. This Spaniard, who as early as 1530 had published a heretical work on the Holy Trinity, scandalizing both Catholics and Protestants, and who since 1545 had been in epistolary contact with Calvin, had impugned many of his theories with an unpleasant tone of superiority. Calvin then wrote to Farel that “if Servetus came to Geneva he would not allow him to leave alive.” Now precisely in 1553, having had to flee from Vienna where he had been condemned to the stake, Servetus stopped for a night in Geneva, perhaps yielding to the irresistible temptation of seeing his opponent at close hand. Recognized, he was immediately arrested. According to Genevan law the accuser had to go to prison with the accused until the court was convinced of the guilt. Calvin therefore presented his accusation formulated in forty articles, through one of his secretaries, who was soon released. On 15 August 1553 the first of those interrogations, which became famous, began, in which Calvin himself several times took the role of accuser. From the proceedings it became clear that if one confined oneself to theological opinions the trial would drag on excessively; Calvin therefore accused Servetus of doctrines subversive not only of religion but of society, and the wretched man was condemned. The death sentence was legally illegitimate and, according to Protestant principles of free examination, a contradiction; the ordinances of 1542 recognized banishment as the only penalty. On the morning of the execution Calvin went to the prisoner, who vainly begged for mercy, and indeed Servetus, led to the Place du Molard, was burned alive. Calvin received many letters of congratulation, including one from Melanchthon (Op. p. Melanchtonis, XV, p. 268), but also severe criticism, especially from Sébastien Castellion, and in 1554 he had to write an apology for his act: Defensio orthodoxae fidei; yet this did not prevent him from being accused thenceforth of a religious intolerance worse than that he reproached in the old faith.
[Politically, however, Calvin gained an advantage over his adversaries through this episode, who had unsuccessfully sought an acquittal and saw the elections of 1555 favorable to the reformer. Then Perrin, leader of the opposition movement, attempted to foment an insurrection, which failed. His party, known as the Perrinists or Libertines, was dispersed with the expulsion of very many members, of whom only two were condemned to capital punishment, happily escaping execution.]
From then on (1555) until 1564, the year of his death, Calvin held full power. The alliance with Bern, the struggle against the Duke of Savoy, the formation of a new bourgeoisie from the French immigrant classes favorable to Calvin, and the repression of opposing elements through sentences issued by the consistory made Geneva the best-organized stronghold of Protestantism in Europe.
4. The Geneva Academy (1559)
Among the institutions founded by Calvin, deservedly noteworthy is the first true international Protestant university, both in its faculty and its students, namely the Geneva Academy, intended to spread and perpetuate his work, whose first rector was Théodore de Bèze (Leges Academiae Genevensis Promulgatio, Geneva 1559).Already in 1365 there had been talk of founding a university in Geneva, but the concession granted by Charles IV had been revoked; Pope Martin V had issued another charter,
Foundation in 1418; thus arose a college, which was later replaced in 1536 by the «Collège de Rive», known as the «Grande Eschole». CALVIN expanded it and transformed it into a true university. The first public lecturers of the new academy were Chevalier, Bérault, and Tagaut, who gave it a classical tone. Already by 1560, the first publication appeared—a Hebrew grammar by Chevalier—followed in the same year by a Latin version of Appian of Alexandria by Bérault. As for Giovanni Tagaut, he composed a Latin poem, *Protrepticum ad Hieropolin*, in honor of the holy city (Geneva), where Protestant refugees from Europe found asylum, dedicating it to the people and the senate. CALVIN enjoyed these promising beginnings for his cause. By 1456, the number of students had already risen to 1,500.
5. **Final Years and Death (1559–64).** – The last period of the reformer’s life was marked by physical and moral suffering and by exhausting activity in the spread of Protestantism. Already in 1558, CALVIN had suffered an attack of pleurisy and had begun to cough up blood.
From 1560, other ailments had been added, such as kidney stones, gout, and ulcers, so that at the beginning of 1563 he was almost continuously confined to bed, though he did not cease writing and dictating, and even, when permitted, preaching. During this time, he composed the *Commentarius in quatuor libros Mois, in formam harmonicè digestus* (1563) and commentaries on the books of Jeremiah, finally completing his exegesis with a commentary on Joshua. Having become consumptive, he no longer rose from his bed. On 2 April 1564, Easter Sunday, he was carried to the temple to receive the last supper, and on the 5th he made his will. He had not enriched himself in office, and his estate was modest, amounting to only 200 crowns. The final recommendations he made to the magistrates and pastors, circulated by his supporters, have a tone of self-justification. The innovator claimed to have taught the word of God without error and urged them to thank God for the dangers from which his actions had delivered them. He added a warning against making changes and innovations, for all changes were dangerous and often harmful (ibid., XXI, p. 100), contradicting in these words his own conduct, which had been entirely innovative with respect to the previous faith. To the magistrates, he recommended the administration of justice with equity and moderation, thanking them for having borne with him so often. The phrasing is a strange blend of humble and devout expressions with a lofty and high opinion of himself. In his last days, he prayed much and asked God’s forgiveness. On the evening of 27 May 1564, CALVIN died at the age of fifty-five. The following day, he was buried in Plain Palais, and, as he had wished, no tombstone marked the place of his burial (ibid., XXI, p. 106), so that even today his bones cannot be found. His death was not mourned. He himself, before dying, had said in his message to the Church of Bern: “They have feared me more than they have loved me!” Beza, whom he had named his successor, delivered a panegyric, saying that with his death “splendida lux nobis erpta est” (ibid., XXII, p. 168), and Colladon wrote that on that day “the greatest light of the world had been taken up into heaven” (ibid., XXII, p. 105). Yet the system of repression he employed and his “chagrin et difficile” character caused many to curse CALVIN. His enemies spread the rumor that the last moments of the innovator had been under God’s curse, that he had died in despair, and that a certain Harennius had slipped into his chamber and lifted the cloth covering his corpse, revealing signs of a shameful disease. These tales have all the traits of slanderous legend, but they reveal the mentality of the age and the animosity of not a few Genevans.
II. **His Writings.** – Of the immense labor sustained by CALVIN as teacher, preacher, and writer, more than 2,200 sermons and about a hundred works remain, not only exegetical but doctrinal, polemical, apologetical, liturgical, homiletical, and literary, to which are added his letters, opinions or responses, and even an epic poem to Christ.
The best ancient edition of CALVIN’s Latin works is that published in Amsterdam in 1671 in 9 volumes; but another, in 7 volumes, had already circulated, edited in Geneva between 1617 and subsequent years. A large part of these works was translated into French and English. Among these editions is the well-known collection *Oeuvres en français de J. Calvin*, first gathered together, preceded by his life by Théodore de Bèze and a bibliographical notice by P. L. Jacob, bibliophile (Paris 1842), and the translations by the “Calvin Translation Society,” edited by Henry Beveridge (Edinburgh 1845–51).
A good critical edition is found in the *Corpus Reformatorum* under the title *Ioannis Calvinii opera quae supersunt omnia* (59 volumes, Brunswick and Berlin 1863–1900), begun by J. W. Baum, E. Cunitz, and E. Reuss, and completed by L. Lobstein and Erichson. The list of CALVIN’s principal writings can be read in the *Cyclopaedia Bibliographica* by J. Darling (London 1854, cols. 554–56). The most recent French translation of the *Institutio* is that edited in 4 volumes by J. Pannier (Paris 1936).
III. **His Doctrine.** – The term “Calvinism” serves to denote the whole of the heterodox theological doctrine proper to the Reformed Churches that draw their inspiration from CALVIN’s school. This doctrine centers on a particular interpretation of divine predestination, a distinctive conception of moral and social life, and a corresponding form of worship and political system.
Chronologically, Calvinism appears after Lutheranism and Zwinglianism and, dialectically, tends to surpass them, though without excluding their directives, which it seeks to fuse into a higher unity, giving it a character of its own and originality. Calvinism and Lutheranism converge and are nearly identical in the doctrine of gratuitous justification, the imputation of Christ’s merits, and in fiducial faith, as well as in the denial of the real transubstantiation, the sacrificial character of the Eucharist, and the seven Sacraments, reduced to only two. They differ, however, in particular interpretations, especially regarding the Sacraments, where Calvinism draws on Zwinglian doctrine, though surpassing II.
All three systems uphold the uniqueness of the Bible as the norm of faith. Holy Scripture, inspired by God, would be the sole infallible criterion, the foundation and norm of what is to be believed and done. Yet while Lutheranism and Zwinglianism allow for private interpretation of Scripture under the influence of the Spirit, CALVIN is more rigid and does not admit of free examination. The objectivity of Revelation, having God as its direct inspirer of the Bible, presupposes the truth already contained in it; this must be discovered beneath the letter (cf. *Inst.*, ch. I, 20–21). Only the predestined are able to grasp its deeper meaning, for it is suggested to them, through the Holy Spirit, by conscience. Nevertheless, Calvinism aligns once more with the other two systems when it rejects the living Magisterium of the Church, the supremacy of the Pope, the value of Tradition and Councils, and when it denies the Catholic Church the authority to interpret and judge the true sense of Holy Scripture (*Inst.*, ch. I, 21–35).
The chief points of doctrine most particularly proper to Calvinism can be drawn from the work *Institutio Christianae Religionis*, published by CALVIN in Basel in
In 1536 he set forth his principles in the *Institutio Christianae Religionis*. In the years that followed these were not subjected to further development, but rather to touches, deepenings, and clarifications. Little disposition was ever shown to correct or revise his ideas, and from the very beginning of his apostasy his system was already completed in almost all its details.
Indeed, the *Institutio* became the foundation of the religious belief of Geneva and later of Calvinism, and was regarded by the Genevans almost as a second Bible. The Consistory proclaimed its doctrine “holy,” forbidding anyone to speak against II. Calvin himself said that it was more the work of God than of man. And truly, this work, in so far as it preserves elements of revealed truth, that is, of the ancient faith in the formulation of certain points of Catholic religion combined with errors, has aspects of profound spirituality and lofty piety, which are precisely those that attract souls and minds, unfortunately then led astray into heretical conclusions by Calvin’s additions, interpretations, or denials.
The topics treated may be inferred from the twenty-one chapters of the work (in the present exposition reference is made to the 1553 edition edited by R. S. Oliva). In the first two chapters Calvin treats of the knowledge of God and the knowledge of man, the foundation of religion (chaps. I–II). In the third and fourth, of the law and vows (chaps. III–IV). Then of faith and the Apostles’ Creed (chaps. V–VIII), of penance (chap. IX), of justification by faith and the merit of good works (chap. X), of the similarities and differences between the Old and New Testaments (chap. XI), of Christian liberty (chap. XII), of human traditions (chap. XIII), of predestination and God’s providence (chap. XIV), of prayer (chap. XV), of the Sacraments in general (chap. XVI), of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (chaps. XVII–XVIII), of the other five Sacraments which he calls false (chap. XIX), of the Christian civil life (chap. XX), concluding with rules for a Christian life (chap. XXI). The same themes recur more concisely in the *Catechismus Ecclesiae Genevensis*, that is, in the formula for instructing children, which the Reformer impressed upon his ministers, even those abroad, to bring his followers into the unity of the faith.
From these sources the keystones of Calvinist doctrine emerge clearly.
5. The absolute sovereignty of God, justification, and predestination
Every true wisdom, says Calvin, consists in the knowledge of God and of ourselves. God can be known first of all from the spectacle of creation in its manifestations and from the providence that governs II. Secondly, from Sacred Scripture, and finally from the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit. The knowledge thus gained of God must lead man to the fear and reverence of God and to make him understand that in Him alone must every good be sought and to Him alone every gratitude be given. This knowledge not only makes known to him the love, patience, and clemency of God toward men, but also the rigor of His vengeance against sinners, and therefore man must be induced to serve God and honor Him with an innocent life and sincere obedience, and to repose entirely in His goodness (cf. *Inst.*, chaps. I, 1–7). This knowledge must lead him to humility, because human nature, created in the image and likeness of God in Adam, is through original sin totally vitiated and corrupted, so that original sin, which is transmitted from father to son, is not merely the deprivation of all goods, but a contamination that has rendered human nature fertile in every kind of evil. Free will itself is corrupted, so that, practically, if not regenerated by God, men choose only between evils. In short, the corruption is such that man of himself is totally incapable of any good and inclined to complete evil. To this weakness of human will God offers help with His grace; and the will to do good comes from grace. God promotes in man obedience to the law, and there is nothing good in man. Salvation is entirely God’s work alone. God is the Absolute, an intelligence and will incomprehensible, inaccessible, legislative, sovereign, omnipotent, on whom man is totally dependent, because the finite world from the beginning is contained in the infinite, which also contains its freedom. Calvin speaks with theological equivocation and has already made assertions contrary to the revealed truth transmitted by the Catholic Church. In the logic of error Calvin proceeds. God’s “absolute autonomy” is a living God; He acts, rejects and accepts, condemns and saves; and seeks His own glory, disposing of men with absolute freedom, in the double predestination to faith, grace, and beatitude, or to unfaith and damnation. Salvation comes from God and is attained through faith, with the application of the redemption of Jesus Christ. This faith is a complete trust in God, by which the predestined does not place his trust in the observance of the Law or in his own justice, for then no one can be considered just, “but setting aside every thought of works,” which however he must observe, he turns to embrace and only the mercy of God, and turning his gaze away from himself, he directs it to Christ alone” (*Inst.*, chap. XII, 2).The law indeed has as its office “to teach, stimulate, and exhort to good,” which in fact man never accomplishes completely, so that the true question is not “how we are just, but how, though unjust and unworthy, we are considered just” (ibid.). The remedy is in Christ, in whom God has liberally placed “all happiness for our misery, and all riches for our poverty; in whom He opens His heavenly treasures, so that all our faith must look to Him, from Him every expectation must depend, in Him every hope must be fixed and repose” (*Inst.*, chap. XV, 1). The sinner must pass from faith to penance, which has two parts: “mortification and vivification” (ibid., chap. IX, 2): the first is “the sorrow and terror of the soul conceived from the knowledge of sin and the sense of God’s judgment.” “When one is led to a true knowledge of sin, then he truly begins to hate and to be sin; he sincerely displeases himself; he confesses himself wretched and lost, and desires to be different. If with this he is touched by some sense of God’s judgment, then he lies stricken and dismayed, trembles humbled and cast down, is discouraged and despairs. This is the first part of penance...; vivification is the consolation that arises from faith, when, that is, man, prostrated by the consciousness of sin and struck by the fear of God, turning to the goodness of God, to His mercy, grace, salvation, which is through Christ, rises, breathes again, takes heart, and as it were returns from death to life” (ibid., chap. IX, 2). Calvin, setting forth this doctrine, sums it up in these words: “penance is the true conversion of our life to God, arising from a sincere and serious fear of God, which consists in the mortification of our flesh and of the old man, and in the vivification of the spirit” (ibid., chap. IX, 4); through it the predestined lays aside evil actions, mortifies his passions, and tends to true justice, while with trust in God’s mercy, intimate and personal, he has the certainty that the promises of mercy made by the Lord are fulfilled in him, and this assurance gives him peace. God considers him just, imputing to him not his sins but the merits of Christ. Only faith saves and not works (ibid., chap. X, 2). This faith does not originate from man, but is the work of the Spirit, and is a gratuitous gift given by God to His elect. The election to have this saving faith, which characterizes the elect, depends solely on
God, who brings it about independently of any prescription of human merits (ibid., ch. XIV, 6); all salvation depends exclusively on God. He predetermines by an absolute decree what He wishes to be done with every person, so that for some eternal life is preordained, for others eternal damnation: saved or lost, independently of anything other than the sovereign will of God. History will be nothing more than the unfolding of a divinely preordained plan, immutable in itself, in which man will act to manifest the glory of God.
C. corrupts the meaning of Pauline texts (Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:12; 1 Tim. 1:9; Rom. 9:11, and others) to support his horrible doctrine of predestination to damnation, and he impugns the teaching of Ambrose, Origen, Jerome, and the whole Catholic tradition which teaches otherwise (ibid., ch. XIV, 5-14).
This “antecedent” predestination of some to eternal damnation is one of the most characteristic points of Calvinist errors. He himself is aware of its harshness, yet repeatedly affirms it: “alii ad salutem, alii ad damnationem praedestinantur” (ibid., ch. XIV, 1). And though he recalls that it is “audacity and impiety” to pry into the secrets of God, which are “a labyrinth from which no one will find an exit” (ibid.), he still claims that this doctrine has been revealed by God in His Word (ibid.). He immediately senses the difficulty that arises in many minds: that then it is not worth striving to do good works, because “if God has fixed life or death by an eternal and immutable decree... and if one can do nothing by his own works to change his fate” (ibid., ch. XIV, 22). He calls those who reason thus “because with these impure blasphemies they defile the doctrine of predestination” (ibid., ch. XIV, 22). Yet it is certain that the erroneous way in which he presents the sublime mystery of predestination, corrupting its entire content, leads logically to despair and the most reckless consequences.
Moreover, C. evidently cannot give any reason why God is merciful to His elect except that it pleases Him to be so, and likewise regarding the reprobation of others, for which he finds no other explanation than God’s will to illustrate “His glory in their damnation.” He who has thus abusively formed this false concept of predestination is led to confess it as a *decretum horribile* (Comm. Ep. ad Rom., IX, 14) and inexplicable. Yet he does not shrink from even more horrible explanations, saying that in order that the reprobate may fall into their destiny, God deprives them of the opportunity to hear the sacred word or hardens them through the very preaching, making them blind and deaf. But whatever God wills must be considered just. In this way, C. opposes the gentle doctrine revealed by God and taught by the Catholic Church, namely that God wills the salvation of all men, even after original sin, having given His beloved Son for the salvation of all (cf. John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:15; 1 Tim. 2:1-6), and that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:8), so that he who sows in the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows in the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. No one is reprobated except he who, freely sinning, has rejected the means of salvation offered by divine goodness; for salvation depends not only on the effect of grace but also on the exercise of man’s free cooperation. C., however—as do heretics in general—abandoning the teaching of the Church, to which alone Jesus Christ promised the infallible assistance of the Holy Spirit, forgets the definitions of the Councils, particularly those of Orange (A.D. 529) and Valence (A.D. 855), and the teaching of the Fathers, according to which “no one is predestined to evil” (Denz.-U., 160, 200, 300, 316, 321, etc.), but just as “no one is saved against his will,” so too “he who perishes is damned by his own iniquity” (ibid., 200, 316, 318). The will of God, though sovereign, is also holy, just, and loving, and cannot damn anyone without his own desert” (St. Augustine, *Contra Iulianum*, III, 35). The Council of Trent (1545–63) took up the question again, clarifying Catholic doctrine on justification and predestination, and condemning as heresies the errors of the innovators and those of C. (Sess. VI, chs. 1–16; Denz.-U., pp. 793–810) with the relevant canons, ibid., pp. 811–843).
The reaction to Calvinist doctrine was not, however, only from Catholics but also from Protestants themselves, among them Jerome Bolsec; and later Arminius, who sought to vindicate human freedom and responsibility, teaching that inherited concupiscence did not destroy free will, and that God aids all with “prevenient grace.” The Arminians sought to draw near to Catholic doctrine while remaining in error, and in fact fought Calvinist theories on predestination so vigorously that every sect following their example and not adhering to C.’s theories on this point is today called Arminian. Other Arminians maintain that divine reprobation was only in view of original sin (*postlapsarian*), while the journalists declared it absolute and antecedent to the foreseen sin (*antelapsarian*). C. then completed his theory with the doctrine of “irresistible grace” for the elect, which infallibly produces salutary acts by its intrinsic power and to which one cannot resist, and with the certainty the elect must have of their perseverance. He also taught that sins do not remove predestination.
6. The Sacraments
According to C., the Sacraments are mere outward signs instituted by Jesus Christ to strengthen weak faith, by which the faithful in turn bear witness before others to their piety toward God. In other words, they are symbols by which the Lord confirms to human conscience the promises of His benevolence (Inst., ch. XVI, 1). They are not effective signs of grace, as the Papists teach, nor is there any difference between those of the Old and New Law (ibid., ch. XVI, 22). According as they are received with faith, they preserve, foster, and increase the knowledge of Christ and enable one to possess and taste more deeply His riches (Inst., ch. XVI, 16). C. is very vague and departs far from Catholic theology, according to which the Sacraments truly confer grace upon whoever receives them duly (Council of Trent, Sess. VII). C. admits only two Sacraments: Baptism and the Supper. Baptism serves to strengthen and increase faith; it is a badge of Christians and “a kind of diploma which assures that sins are blotted out so that they are no longer remembered or imputed in the sight of God” (Inst., ch. XVII, 1). It is conferred only once, but its efficacy extends not only to the past but to the whole of life. Indeed, the Baptism received is a testimony that the redemption of Christ has already been applied, and therefore, whenever one does not fall into sin, he must remember his Baptism and thereby be confirmed in the faith, by which he is always certain and assured of the remission of sins: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved,” says C., applying in this sense the words of Mark (16:16) and thereby denying any further Sacrament of Penance or Confession (ibid., ch. XVII, 4).As for the Baptism of John, it was the same ministry as that later entrusted to the Apostles, and there is no difference between the two rites (ibid., ch. XVII, 7). Nor is the value of Baptism to be judged by the hand of the minister but by the hand of God, from whom it proceeds (ibid., ch. XVII, 16). Circumcision differed from Baptism only as a ceremony but was of the same inward efficacy (ibid., ch. XVII, 22), and like it must be given even to infants (ibid., ch. XVII, 23–51). The Supper, instead, is “the spiritual banquet, in which Christ is said to be the living bread, and by which souls are born to blessed immortality.” The signs are bread and wine, which are sanctified.
they are made into the body and blood of Christ, by which they represent His invisible communion" (ibid., ch. XVIII, 1). C. denies transubstantiation (loc. cit., 6) and the real presence of Christ, but admits a spiritual and dynamic (virtual) presence; it is "as if Christ Himself were present and allowed Himself to be touched by us" (ibid., ch. XVIII, 3). All the words spoken by Christ in the institution or promise of the Eucharist are interpreted by C. in a tropic and symbolic sense (ibid., ch. XVIII, 7 ff.). C. does not admit the Eucharistic Sacrifice, but declares the Lord's Supper useful, under both kinds, as a memorial of Christ, a symbol of Him who comes to increase faith and the bond of charity among the faithful, and so that they may receive "through faith" the power and benefits of the Sacrifice of the Cross. Thus it is fitting to receive Communion frequently and not only once a year (ibid., ch. XVIII, 41-43), and under both kinds (loc. cit., 45-49). C. then denies the other five Sacraments—Confirmation, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony—seeking polemically against the papists, whom he often mocks, to demonstrate that these either originated purely from ecclesiastical practice or were instituted by Christ in a sense different from that attributed to them by the Church (ibid., ch. XIX).
In this part too, the mixture of error and truth stems from the fact that C., like the other innovators, relied too much on his own sense in interpreting Sacred Scripture, departing from and abandoning the traditional teaching of the Church.
Rightly therefore, the celebrated Dominican Father Ambrogio Caterino, at the beginning of the Third Session of the Council of Trent (4 Feb. 1546), in the discourse he delivered, explicitly alluded to the necessity of union with the Pope, of looking to Peter, who according to the Lord's word confirms His brethren (Concilium Tridentinum, ed. Goerresiana, Freiburg in Br. [sigla CT], IV, 585). The Council of Trent, in its action against heresies—which was one of the principal aims for which it was convoked (CT, IV, 548)—did not fail to promulgate two preliminary decrees, *De canonicis Scripturis* and *circa abusus ex Scripturis provenientes*, which aimed at establishing the truth denied by C., namely that the rule, norm, and criterion for directing one's life, as it appeared from Sacred Scripture, was not Scripture alone, but the judgment of the Church, through both Scripture and apostolic traditions. Indeed, Jesus Christ, in constituting His Church before ascending into heaven, told the Apostles to go forth into all the world to preach the Gospel (Mt. 28:19), using preaching: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature... And indeed the Apostles went forth to preach everywhere, with the Lord's assistance, who confirmed their word with miracles..." (Mk. 16:15-20). Thus the first announcement of the Gospel was not made in writing, but by word. And the Apostles, many of whom wrote nothing, and their successors, were zealous guardians of the truth and vigilant to prevent errors from creeping into the teaching of the deposit of Sacred Revelation, as is evident from the resistance of the apostolic Fathers and apologists wherever attempts were made to introduce changes. Therefore Sacred Scripture was not the sole criterion of truth; Jesus promised His unfailing assistance and that of the Holy Spirit to the teaching Church, so that it—and not the private interpretation of individuals—should remain "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15), and in entrusting to St. Peter "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" and charging him to feed His sheep and lambs (Jn. 21:15), He promised that upon him He would build His Church, against which the gates of hell would not prevail (Mt. 16:18). All these promises assure that the truth of the divine message would be preserved incorrupt in the Church with its visible head.
Therefore, to curb the presumption of those who, trusting in their own sense, interpreted Sacred Scripture according to their own fancy, making it say even what was pure imagination, the Council recalled this truth, reaffirming that with regard to the sense and true interpretation of Sacred Scripture, "the only legitimate interpreter was the Church alone, as she to whom Christ had entrusted the teaching and transmission of the truth incorrupt 'unto the end of the ages,' and consequently private interpretation of Scripture that went against the unanimous sense of the Holy Fathers was condemned" (CT, V, 91-92).
In the subsequent sessions, after long deliberations, the dogmatic decrees were approved which clearly defined the doctrine of the seven Sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ in the genuine sense handed down by apostolic tradition; namely, of Baptism and Confirmation (Sess. VII: CT, V, 994 ff.), of the Eucharist as a sacrament (Sess. XIII, XXI) and as a sacrifice (Sess. XXII: CT, VIII, 959-62); of Penance and Extreme Unction (Sess. XIV: Denz.-U., 894-906, 907-10); of Holy Orders (Sess. XXIII: CT, IX, 620-22), and of Matrimony (Sess. XXIV: CT, IX, 965-68). In their splendid enunciation and exact formulation, they became the most objective and clear condemnation of Calvinist sacramental doctrine.
3. **Morals, Church, and Worship.** — C. rightly distinguishes between the morality of a mere philosopher and that of a Christian, and in conformity with Catholic teaching inculcates love of true justice. To this man is not inclined by nature, but is repeatedly summoned by God in Scripture, because God is holy, and union with Him presupposes sanctification; God cannot unite Himself with those who live in iniquity and filth (Inst., ch. XXI, 1-2). Moreover, God the Father has set forth Christ as an exemplar, according to which men must fashion themselves. They are called to be children of God, have been purified in Baptism, and it would be ingratitude and impropriety on their part not to strive for purity of life, especially since they are temples of God and called to eternal glory (ibid., ch. XXI, 3-4). In this C. coincides with the traditional teaching of the Church and has very beautiful pages, especially where he demonstrates that to attain this end God has given His law of the Ten Commandments, which directs man in virtue, and that according to this law man must act to give glory to God, remembering that he does not belong to himself but is God's possession (ibid., ch. XXI, 6). The law of the Lord leads to the subduing of vices and passions, to the exercise of disinterested charity toward one's neighbor, loving him according to God and the precepts of the Apostle (1 Cor. 13:4), and all the other virtues that Christ taught; which does not happen without mortification and self-denial (Inst., ch. XXI, 9-13). Self-denial must also lead to complete abandonment and resignation to God in all that He wills concerning the life of each, and to the patient acceptance of the crosses that true disciples of Christ must bear, whose ends C. illustrates with great wisdom (ibid., ch. XXI, 14-17). One must be ready to fight for the defense of justice, to endure ignominy and calamity for its sake, always aiming at Christian patience and not at earthly things, but at the blessed eternity (ibid., ch. XXI, 27).
Nevertheless, even this earthly life, despite its many miseries, is to be considered by the elect among the blessings of God, and man must render thanks to the Lord. For earthly life is filled with God's benefits which demonstrate His infinite goodness and kindle in the soul the desire to taste God more fully in the life to come (ibid., ch. XXI, 28-29). Therefore one must not fear death too much, especially since with the resurrection the predestined will enjoy eternal bliss. As for the use of earthly goods, moderation must be the rule, detaching the heart from them and using them for good. C. also admits
Vocations in men, to which each must correspond, knowing that they have been established by God for the common good and that of each individual, so that everyone, in fulfilling their own task, not only pleases God but also finds peace (ibid., ch. XXI, 30-36). This body of doctrine is substantially common to every Christian confession. Calvinism, however, adds to it, here and there, some erroneous assertions; thus it affirms that concupiscence is in itself already sin; that all actions, even those of the just, are tainted by fault; that man, as long as he is not reborn through the work of the Holy Spirit, cannot do anything but sin; that the Christian must scrupulously observe the law of God to render himself acceptable to Him, but without expecting any merit from the good works he performs, since they possess none; that there is no difference between mortal and venial sins, all being equally transgressions of the will of God; and that the law of the Old Testament continues to exist, abolished by Christ only in its ceremonial part. Calvin also makes erroneous comments on the tenor of the individual Commandments, as, for example, in the second, regarding the veneration of sacred images, in which he distorts Catholic doctrine. Let us not forget the fundamental error of irresistible grace for the elect, which, since it is not available to others, stifles the impulse toward good in those who think they are not numbered among them.
As for the society of the predestined, it constitutes the invisible Church and the communion of saints. To it belong those who have faith understood in the Calvinist sense and only they. This Church is one, holy, and catholic (Catech. Eccl. Genev.: *Fide*). There also exists a visible Church, composed of individual local churches in which the word of God is preached and the Sacraments are administered in conformity with it (Inst., ch. VIII, 8). Where the word of God is violated and the administration of the Sacraments is corrupted, the visible Church ceases to be. Calvin combats the Roman Church and the Papacy. The Pope is neither a bishop, nor the vicar of Christ, nor the successor of Peter, nor the head of the Church (ibid., ch. VIII, 129); he does admit, however, a hierarchy with ministers of divine institution, but not in the Catholic sense, since the ancient priesthood has been transferred solely to Christ (ibid., ch. XXIX); he also admits a universal priesthood of all the faithful, whose sacrifice is the praise of God (ibid., ch. VII, 5).
The individual churches are governed by ministers or pastors, assisted by doctors, elders, and deacons (laymen); the ministers are all equal among themselves (ibid., ch. IV, 9). At all times the divine word must be preached and worship must be exercised, which consists above all in the Lord’s Supper, sacred song, and prayer. In the second edition of the *Institutio*, Calvin treats prayer at length and is influenced by Catholic thought. The official ritual that organizes the liturgy in Calvinist temples is titled: *Prontuario di Preghiere e di Canti Ecclesiastici, col modo di amministrare i Sacramenti e di consacrare il Matrimonio secondo l'usanza dell'Antica Chiesa* (Geneva 1542). Calvin drew inspiration from the models adopted by Luther and Zwingli, and from the Strasbourg ordinance of 1539, which he had used during his stay in that city; he did not omit some forms of Catholic liturgy, such as the confession of sins in the manner of the *Confiteor* before Communion, the recitation of the *Credo* or Symbol after the sermon, and the final blessing.
The result was a liturgical practice that the reformer sought to render ever more worthy. In its definitive form, the singing of the Psalms with magnificent chorales was also incorporated into the office. Calvin had a sense of art and music and understood their importance in touching human hearts and transporting them to God when used appropriately.
As regards the Calvinist conception of the political system and its relationship with the Church, it rests on these principles: the State is necessary and of divine institution; its task is the temporal prosperity of citizens in subordination to their spiritual good and thus dependent on the Church. It must therefore cultivate and maintain the external worship of God, defend the religion and constitution of the Church. It is the duty of magistrates to protect the sacred ministry and thus remove every idolatry and false worship, to destroy the kingdom of the Antichrist and to promote that of Christ. The Calvinist State is the secular arm of the Reformed Church. The two powers are conceived in Calvinist theocracy in the relationship of the "supreme power" of the Church and the "duty of dependence" of the State (Inst., ch. VIII, 170; ch. XX, 4-28). This conception favored the rise of national churches or state churches in opposition to the supranational character proper to Catholicism.
Calvinist doctrines spread from Geneva with incredible speed. First in Switzerland, where the *Catechismus Genevensis* (1541), the *Consensus Tigurinus* (Zurich 1549), and the *Consensus Genevensis* (1552) were published and subscribed to; in France, where they gave rise to the Huguenots, to the secession from the Church, and to the religious wars (*Confessio Fidei Gallicana*, 1559); in Scotland, where the *Confessio Scotiana prior* (1560) and *posterior* (1561) were subscribed to; in the Netherlands, the *Confessio Belgica* (1561); in the Palatinate, the *Catechesis Palatina seu Heidelbergensis* (1563); and after Calvin’s death, his creed and distinctive dogmas were adopted by part of the Hungarians with the *Confessio Czengerina* (1570), by the Poles with the *Consensus Poloniae* (1570-86), and spread to Prussia with the *Articoli di Lambeth* (1594) and to England with the *Confessions Marchicae* (1613-45), the *Confessio monasteriensis*, and the *Catechismus maior et minor Westmonasteriensis* (1619-47).
Calvin’s success was due to a rare combination of circumstances dependent in part on the man and in part on the environment and the era. As an innovator, he possessed, in addition to the qualities of a capable, resolute, and energetic leader, the ability to dominate with the force of a system more logical and rigorous than Luther’s; he then provided the reformers with a theology that more easily presented some sign of unity. Moreover, he nurtured a high and spiritual morality and was one of the most distinguished writers of the new French literature, with classical and literary qualities superior to those of the other reformers—qualities that were appreciated in the centuries of humanism. His pulpit, moreover, was located at the center of Europe, at the crossroads and meeting point of all the movements of the time and of the most powerful nations destined to shape history, and he had collaborators of various nationalities whom he succeeded in transforming into convinced and ardent propagandists. Finally, the era was one of ignorance and religious disorientation, of heated controversies, of political upheavals, seething with anti-papal apostasy. It is no wonder that the sects detached from the unity of the Roman Church gravitated toward him. But like all movements and ideologies that separate and are not founded on the chair of truth established by Christ in the Pope, the shepherd of shepherds, Calvinism, after its initial successes, has withered away, giving rise to new disgregations.
Today there is no sect known by the name of “Calvinist” alone. The two main groups that draw inspiration from Calvinist doctrines are called “Presbyterians” (v. PRESBYTERIANS).
BIBL.:
in its Relations to Scripture and Reason, Glasgow 1896; E. Giran, Sébastien Castellion et la réforme calviniste, ibid. 1914; A. Menzies, A Study of Calvin and other Papers, London 1918; H. Clavier, Études sur le Calvinisme, Paris 1936; P. Chiminelli, Il Calvinismo, Milan 1948. For the iconography of C. cf. E. Doumergue, Iconographie calvinienne, Lausanne 1909.
On Calvinian doctrine in particular: on justification and predestination: L. Goumar, La doctrine du salut d'après les Commentaires de J. Calvin, Lausanne 1917; H. Bauke, Die Probleme der Theologie Calvins, Leipzig 1922; M. Bendiscioli, Il problema della giustificazione nel suo sviluppo storico, Brescia 1941. On the Sacraments and on morality: J. Beckmann, Vom Sacramente bei Calvin, Tübingen 1926; J. J. Majal, Étude comparée des deux morales luthérienne et réformée, Paris 1901; A. Hunter, Teaching of Calvin, Glasgow 1920. On Church and State: A. Roget, L'Église et l'État à Genève du vivant de Calvin, Geneva 1867; F. Crue, L'action politique de Calvin hors de Genève, ibid. 1909; K. Frohlich, Die Reichgottesidee Calvins, Munich 1922; M. E. Chenevrière, La pensée politique de Calvin, Geneva 1937. On worship: E. Stern, La théorie du Culte d'après Calvin, Strasbourg 1869; R. Will, Le Culte, ibid. 1923; R. Freschi, G. C., la vita, il pensiero, il riformatore, 2 vols., Milan 1934; M. Thurian, Voie du Ciel sur la terre. Introduction à la vie liturgique, Geneva 1946.
Summary articles: J. Dedicu, Calvin et Calvinisme, in DSp. I, cols. 23-30; A. Baudrillard, Calvinisme, in DThC, II, cols. 1398-1422; A. Lanz, L'attività dogmatica del Concilio di Trento nel primo, secondo e terzo periodo della sua convocazione (1543-49; 1551-52; 1562-63), in Veneranda Compagnia di S. Paolo, quad. 2, Turin 1944, pp. 11-31; quad. 3, ibid. 1945, pp. 3-39. For bibliography, cf. Questioni di Storia moderna, ed. E. Rota, Milan 1948, pp. 172-77; Y. Congar, s.V. in Catholicisme, II (1949), cols. 403-24. Arnaldo Lanz