Reformation Heritage Books

John Calvin (1509–1564) originally wrote his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion in Latin. Beginning with the second edition of his work published in 1541, Calvin translated each new version into French, simultaneously adapting the text to suit lay audiences, shaping it subtly but clearly to teach, exhort, and encourage them. Besides reflecting a more pastoral bent on Calvin's part, this 1541 Institutes is also notable as one of the founding documents of the modern French language.

Elsie Anne McKee's masterful translation of the 1541 French Edition — the first-ever English version — offers full access to the brilliant mind of John Calvin as he considered what common Christian people should all know and practice.

Author   John Calvin (1509-1564) One of the most influential reformers, his work was of significance throughout Europe and beyond.John Calvin was born in Noyon, France on July 10, 1509. His father was the secretary and attorney for the bishopric of Noyon. Calvin was a brilliant scholar and studied law in Paris, Orleans and Bourges. After what he called a "sudden conversion" at the age of 23, Calvin became a fervent Christian and scholar of the Scripture. Calvin did not immediately break with the Roman Catholic Church, but rather worked toward its reform. His pleas for reform soon brought upon him the hatred of the Catholic Church, and in time he was banished from Paris. Calvin fled to Switzerland, broke with the Catholic Church, and joined with the reformers. In 1536 he published his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion, which was a systematic presentation of the Protestant position.In 1559 he founded what later became the University of Geneva. Here he taught his beliefs to thousands of students who in turn carried "Calvinism" back to their homelands throughout Europe.John Calvin died in Geneva, Switzerland on May 27, 1564.

Endorsements

"Any who wish to encounter Calvin’s systematic theology at its most pastoral, freest from controversial preoccupations, and mediated through superlative translation, should devour this rendering of the Reformer’s own French version of the second edition of his Institutes. This volume should win Calvin many new friends." - J. I. Packer, Regent College