Calvin, a religious reformer. Geneva, a well-known city in Switzerland, was the headquarters of the "League of Nations" after World War I. The headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Health Organization are also located here. How will the two be related?
Night view of Geneva
Calvin was a quiet child from an early age.
When Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Principles in 1517, John Calvin was only 8 years old.
Growing up, he studied law and philosophy at the University of Paris.
From an early age, he lived in a Catholic atmosphere and was gradually influenced by Lutheranism
But Calvin soon grew into a reformer with greater influence than Luther.
Calvin statue
When King François I ordered the arrest of the Protestants, he fled. After several twists and turns, he settled in Geneva.
Geneva, one of the main cities of the Present-day Swiss Confederation, is a beautiful city on the lake, bordering France on three sides.
Geneva was not so beautiful, chaotic, and poorly secure.
In 1531, at the invitation of the Protestants in Geneva, Calvin came to Geneva and became the leader of their city.
In 1536, Calvin published The Essentials of Christianity, a book that expounded ideas about God, salvation, human nature, and more. This is a summary of a Protestant doctrine. Calvin believed that human nature is sinful.
The Essentials of Christianity
Based on Luther's belief that it was impossible for man to win salvation, Calvin believed that God had chosen only a part of the people to save. Calvin called this segment of the population the "electorate."
His belief that God knew from the outset who could be saved was called "predestination." Factions based on Calvinist thought are also known as "Calvinism".
Because Calvin and his followers enforced strict moral codes, Calvin attention is often described as strict and uninteresting.
But in fact, he also encouraged everyone to enjoy God's gift. He once wrote that people should not be "forbidden to laugh, or enjoy food, or own new property."
Calvin believed that the ideal government should be "theocracy", where government was controlled by religious leaders.
In 1531, the Protestants in Switzerland and Geneva invited Calvin to become the leader of their city.
At that time, Geneva was an autonomous city-state of twenty thousand people.
Geneva during the Calvin period
Calvin and his own followers began to run the city according to strict rules:
Everyone takes religious classes, no brightly colored clothes are allowed, and no cards are allowed to gamble.
If violated, they may be detained, expelled, or deported.
If there are people who preach other dogmas, they will be burned on stakes, such as the far-reaching Selvet burning.
Many of the ordinances now seem authoritarian and cruel, but at the time they were welcomed by the people of Geneva.
Calvin's Geneva was seen as a modern city of highly moralized inhabitants and became a holy place for many Protestants.
Calvin's Geneva was seen as a secluded presence in turbulent sixteenth-century Europe, and many of his admirers came here and brought Calvin's ideas back to their own countries.
For example, Knox, a Scottish missionary, brought Calvin's ideas back to Scotland and established the Presbyterian Church. He overthrew Queen Mary and had her child James succeed to the throne, later James I.
Mary Queen of Scots
In France, Calvin's followers were called Huguenots. There was constant conflict between Huguenots and Catholics, and on the catholic anniversary of Bardoromay, Catholics massacred Huguenots, and more than 12,000 are believed to have been killed.
In short, Calvin's reign in Geneva was special, and such a strict rule was not based on the status of the law, but more because of his powerful personal prestige.