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John Calvin

Type Figure Region France Time 1509–1564 Also known as John Calvin、Jean Calvin、Iohannes Calvinus

John Calvin (1509–1564) was a French-born theologian and religious reformer, founder of Calvinism.…

Timeline

  1. 1509–1532Noyon · FranceBorn in Noyon, France, he studied theology at the University of Paris, then turned to law, completing legal training at Orléans and Bourges, and came into contact with humanist thought. In 1532 he published his first work, a commentary on Seneca's De Clementia.
  2. 1533–1536Paris / Basel · SwitzerlandExperienced a sudden religious conversion around 1533, turning to Protestantism. After Protestants were persecuted in 1534, he left France, exiling to Basel, Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of his foundational work, Institutes of the Christian Religion, systematically expounding Protestant theology.
  3. 1536–1564Geneva · SwitzerlandPersuaded by Guillaume Farel to remain in Geneva in 1536 to lead the reformation; expelled in 1538 after conflict with the city council, he went to Strasbourg; invited back in 1541, he continued to lead Geneva's religious, social, and educational reforms until his death in 1564, shaping Geneva into "the Protestant Rome."

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