The Reformation came to Geneva through the preaching of William Farel, an heir of the French nobility. Because of his radical tendencies, he was not permitted to preach in France, and he went to Basle, where he became active in religious discussion. There he organized a church of French Protestant refugees, but he was too restless to remain long in one place. He ultimately went to Geneva, the gateway from Switzerland into France. In 1504 a political revolt had given the city independence from its Catholic bishop and Luther’s books had set the stage for religious changes when Farel came to the city. He became a recognized Protestant leader, but he did not possess the ability to organize the movement. Realizing his limitations, he seized an opportunity to enlist John Calvin, a French refugee who was in the city temporarily. Quite unexpectedly Calvin found himself drafted to lead an enterprise that became as widely known and as influential as the German movement of Luther. A French Reformer and theologian, Calvin was the son of a lawyer who planned for him to become a priest. In 1523 he began studies at the University of Paris until his father changed his mind and sent him to the University of Orleans to study law. After his father’s death in 1531, he abandoned law and went to Paris to study humanities. Here he had a “sudden conversion,” as he would later describe it, and left the Catholic Church to become a Protestant leader and preacher. His outspokenness and brilliant mind got him in trouble in Paris so he and a companion, Nicholas Cop, left the city; eventually ending up in Strasbourg. Here, in 1536, he published Institutes of the Christian Religion, which stressed the sovereignty of God, a limited atonement, predestination, and irresistible grace. His travels took him to Geneva, Switzerland where he eventually, after a series of conflicts with the Catholic leadership and others, established the city as the “Rome of Protestantism.” He ran the city with strict authority and engaged in organizing nearly every aspect of its civic affairs. He remained here until his death.
Impact: Calvin’s influence can be seen to this day in the various denominations that embrace his theology, including Presbyterian and Reformed churches.