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Calvinism: A Brief History

© Michelle Powell-Smith

The previous article briefly discussed the core beliefs of Calvinism; however, it is also important to consider the history of Calvinism. French Calvinism has been discussed in prior articles on the Huguenots, so this article will focus on the early history of Swiss Calvinism.

The early history of Calvinism is a history of persecution. The center of Calvinism in these early years was Geneva, Switzerland, largely under Calvin's control as a preacher and reformer. Geneva sent reformers and evangelists throughout Europe to spread the word of Calvinism, and so they did. Calvinism soon spread through not only Switzerland, becoming the Reformed Church of Switzerland, but into France as the Huguenot movement, England as Puritanism, Scotland and Germany. By the seventeenth century, Calvinism was the predominant from of protestantism in Europe.

Calvinism is the brainchild of John Calvin, who first began to preach as a young protestant in Paris. He fled persecution and finally settled in Geneva in 1536, accepting a position as pastor of the Evangelical Church of Geneva. He was younger by a quarter of a century than the first generation of reformers, and saw himself as building upon the foundation that they laid. A well educated young man, Calvin, regardless of one's thoughts on Calvinism, must be acknowledged as one of the foremost theologians of Christianity. While Switzerland was generally a safe refuge for Calvinists, the same was not true of the rest of Europe. The French massacres have been discussed in prior articles; however, widespread killing of Calvinists and other protestants occurred elsewhere as well.

The Calvinists of the Netherlands were particularly at risk. While the Netherlands were independent provinces, they were under the protection of the Holy Roman Emporer Charles V and later, his son, Phillip II. Both men were staunch Catholics and sought to exterminate the protestants of the Netherlands. Phillip was responsible for the intensification of the inquisition in the Netherlands, beginning with a sentence passed in 1568 declaring all in the Netherlands guilty of treason before God.

Calvinism continued to grow and change, occasionally facing persecution and occasionally serving as the persecutors. Various sects sprang off of the Calvinist tree, including Armininianism, which will be discussed in a future article.