John Calvin. “The Pope of Geneva The Pope of Geneva was called that because

Reformation figure, founder of Calvinism. Since 1541, the de facto dictator of Geneva, which became the center of the Reformation. He was distinguished by extreme religious intolerance.

Among the figures of the Reformation, the most politicized was John Calvin, about whom Voltaire said: “Calvin opened the doors of the monasteries not in order to drive out the monks, but in order to drive the whole world in.” It was his ideas that formed the basis for the activities of a huge number of Christian sects, which to this day successfully operate in the world and attract a huge number of parishioners.

The youngest and third "father" of the Reformation after Luther and Zwingli was born on July 10, 1509 in Noyon, a small Picardy town in northern France. His father, Gerard Covin (later, according to the customs of scientists of that time, the founder of Calvinism Latinized his surname), was a wealthy official and worked in the judicial and church fields. At the same time, he held the positions of prosecutor and syndic of the cathedral chapter, and then became the bishop's secretary. From an early age, Jean was distinguished by his extraordinary ability to learn, and his father, wanting to open the way for his son to honor and wealth, strongly supported his desire for education. At the age of 14, the boy was sent to study first in Bourges, and then in Orleans and Paris.

From the very first days of his apprenticeship, the future reformer was sharply different from his comrades. He was extremely diligent, quickly learned subjects, was able to excellently present what he had learned, but had a gloomy disposition, isolation, touchiness and irritability. Avoiding noisy games and entertainment, the boy sat in the library all day long. Young Calvin noticed the slightest offenses of his comrades and constantly brought down a hail of accusations on them, even for insignificant reasons. The good-natured students first tried to protest, and then simply stopped paying attention to the antics of the self-proclaimed prosecutor and tried not to give him a reason to be irritated. They nicknamed him "Accusativus", that is, the accusative case.

Already in these young years, human feelings and affections had no meaning for Calvin. When his father died in 1531, the heir did not go to the funeral. After all, his future was already secured. A letter arrived from the Noyon notary informing him that Gerard's property and savings had been bequeathed to his son. You could control your destiny as you wish.

Over time, Calvin began to understand that he would most likely be able to advance in the field of Protestantism, which gradually became the banner of the era. But he did not want to be just a follower of Luther. Calvin began to develop his own doctrine, avoiding risky public appearances and dangerous speeches. He shared his thoughts only with a few people in whom he had complete confidence.

At this time, persecution of all opponents of the Catholic Church intensified in France. In 1534, at the behest of King Francis, many Protestants were thrown into prison. Many left the country. Calvin, thirsting for public appearances and fame, decided to follow their example and eventually settled in Basel. Here he completed and published his main work, begun in Paris. The book was called “Instruction in the Christian Faith” and became the sum of all the dogmatic and ecclesiastical teachings of Calvin, which appealed to the taste of the emerging bourgeoisie.

Calvin taught that every person, even before the creation of the world, was predestined by God to salvation or destruction. An expression of God's favor is success in business, so citizens who become rich are God's chosen ones. But no one knows the will of God. Therefore, if the poor man works tirelessly; he can get rich. If this does not happen, he will still be rewarded for his obedience and diligence in the afterlife. The sacred duty of everyone became money-grubbing, hoarding, and for the common people - strict obedience to their masters, adherence to strict Protestant morality, blind obedience to the leaders of the new church.

Calvin soon gained a reputation as one of the greatest theologians and was invited to Geneva to give lectures. In this city the reformer found fertile ground for himself. Well-to-do Genevan clothiers, furriers, and shoemakers, well-known throughout Europe, warmly supported the new ideas. The city magistrate accepted the project of church structure created by Calvin, however, it was not possible to swear in all citizens.

Gradually the city began to change its appearance. The magnificent church decoration has disappeared. Townspeople in black and brown clothes listened to long and boring sermons of pastors - this is how the priests of the new church began to be called. All folk and even church holidays abandoned by other reform churches were prohibited - Christmas, Circumcision, Annunciation and Ascension. Only Sundays were left for people to rest, but all townspeople were obliged to spend these days in church. The houses of Genevans were searched from time to time, and woe to that family where a lace collar, an embroidered cap, an ornament, or, God forbid, was found. Those who disobeyed were fined, publicly punished, or even expelled from the city. At nine o'clock in the evening everyone was locked in their houses, and no one had the right to appear on the street without special permission from the city authorities. Everyone had to go to bed to start work early in the morning.

In Europe, Geneva acquired a reputation as a “holy city”, and Calvin began to be called the “Pope of Geneva.” Just as in Rome, admirers and disciples of the father of Calvinism, who was distinguished by great intolerance towards the opinions of others, began to flock here. However, in the city itself, Calvin’s affairs were not at all so prosperous. Gradually, the opposition began to intensify, and by 1538 it gained a majority in the city government. Calvin's supporters were removed from the magistrate, and Calvin himself was expelled from the city. The reformer headed to Strasbourg, already familiar to him, where he became the head of the community of French emigrants and also introduced strict moral discipline.

If Calvin had only been a theologian, even a very famous one, his career would have been over. But in addition to talent, he undoubtedly also possessed the qualities of a major political figure and, while in exile, began to actively participate in numerous religious meetings, conferences and diets. His position on them was characterized by extreme intransigence in relation to Catholics, which gave him the reputation of an irreconcilable fighter against Catholicism. At the same time, Calvin began to pay attention to the spread of Calvinism in other countries. That is why, over time, his teaching, unlike Lutheranism, acquired international significance, while Luther’s brainchild remained a local confession and gradually stopped the fight against Catholicism altogether.

Do not let the reformer out of sight of Geneva, maintaining constant contact with his supporters. By the fall of 1540, they again gained the upper hand in the magistrate and sent a letter to their idol inviting him to return. Calvin accepted the offer and arrived in Geneva in September. After some time, a consistory was created in the city, consisting of 12 elders, and 8 pastors were identified, who were equated with prophets and apostles, which made them almost omnipotent. They examined the most important offenses of citizens against the faith, constantly made house-to-house visits, knew everything about the private lives of their fellow citizens, and passed judgments.

Calvin turned into a real dictator. He knew everything about everyone in the city. He held in his hands all the threads of city government, appointed and dismissed pastors, as well as the rectors of the newly formed college. He conducted diplomatic correspondence and edited the political, judicial and police legislation of Geneva at his discretion.

The strict rules in the city could not but cause opposition. Gradually, the opposition began to strengthen again. By 1547, a strong opposition party, the “Perrinists,” appeared in the city, striving to reduce Calvin’s personal influence. Pastors and emigrants began to be publicly insulted on the streets, and all sorts of prohibitions were defiantly violated; Calvin's own reports and complaints were often left without consequences. In 1553, the Perrinists gained an advantage in the city government, and perhaps Calvin would have had a hard time, but an opportunity helped, which the despot did not fail to take advantage of.

A longtime opponent of the father of Calvinism, the Spanish philosopher, theologian and scientist Michael Servetus, to whom humanity owes the discovery of the circulatory system in the human body, arrived in Geneva. Once he published a theological work that refuted the main tenets of Calvinism. According to the denunciation of the “Geneva Pope,” he had to flee France to Italy. On the way, he decided to visit Geneva to listen to his opponent. Servetus did not imagine how far he could go in his hatred. The Genevan dictator decided to use the arrival of Servetus for his own political purposes. The scientist was captured, and the magistrate wanted to expel him from the city. But their religious teacher declared that he had arrived in the city to outrage the people against sacred private property. The rich were frightened and, despite protests from the reformist camp of Europe, which accused Calvin of unacceptable cruelty, the scientist was burned. He became the first in a series of numerous victims of Protestants, who over time learned to burn dissenters with the same zeal as Catholics. It is worth noting that Calvin himself recorded fifty victims burned during the last four years of his reign.

These events, as Calvin predicted, forced many of the oppositionists to return under his wing. And when the Perrinists rebelled, they were defeated in a night battle. The defeat of the opposition ended an extremely biased political process that cost the lives of the most implacable opponents of the “Geneva pope” and the expulsion of the survivors.

In 1559, the despot accepted Genevan citizenship, but his goals lay outside Geneva. Having transferred the internal affairs of the city-republic into the hands of his henchmen, the reformer took up foreign policy problems. Many printing houses and shops were founded in the city, the main task of which was to distribute the Bible in France. In 1559, the Geneva College was transformed into an academy for Protestant priests, who were then sent to the Romanesque lands. Fans of Calvinism from all over Europe continued to flock to the city. Calvin established correspondence with the leader of the French Huguenots, Admiral Coligny, the kings of Navarre, Sweden, Denmark, and established close relations with England, the Netherlands, the German lands, Hungary, and Poland. Later, his teaching, together with the colonists who fled from religious persecution, came to America and flourished there.

Calvin's personal life was unfavorable. He had no friends. His wife, Idelette de Bure, the widow of one of his followers, whom he married in 1540 in Strasbourg, died nine years later. Their children died a few months after birth. Weak by nature, the reformer completely upset his health with excessive work and at the end of his life he experienced constant ailments, lived alone and withdrawn, without joy and love, and died on May 27, 1564 in Geneva.

In his mental make-up, the “Pope of Geneva” was very different from other famous reformers - mystics, humanists, dreamers and preachers. He did not like people and did not seek to communicate with them. According to the German psychiatrist and psychologist E. Koechmer, Calvin was a pronounced type of schizothymic personality, that is, prone to schizophrenia. One of the most striking characteristics of Calvin belongs to the same scientist: “The schizothymic creativity of insignificant people is transitory, meanwhile the religious teaching of Calvin, like a stone monument of the great schizothymic mind, only gradually penetrated the minds of people and lasted for centuries: with a strict organization in construction, cold, systematic, full of moralizing and fanatical power of conviction, intolerant - pure thought and pure word - without image, without laughter, without soul, without humor, without reconciliation.”

The founder of the strictest movement in Protestantism, John Calvin became famous for his brutal rule in Geneva. Was this cruelty justified: the eradication of drunkenness and prostitution, the execution of heretics, the strict regulation of the lifestyle of the burghers? It turns out that often the reason for this was not Calvin’s theological views, but a vital necessity - first of all, for the Genevans themselves.

Voltaire said about the founder of Calvinism that he opened the doors of monasteries not to let monks out, but to drive the whole world there. Life in Swiss Geneva under Calvin truly resembled a monastery: by the end of the 1550s, not a single theater or even a mirror remained in the city, and demonstrations of wealth were prohibited. However, throughout Calvin’s reign, democracy was preserved in Geneva, and even the most cruel theological ideas of the preacher were adopted democratically - through voting by the “General Assembly of Citizens.”

Evangelical pastor Gleb Spivakov in his article “The Reformer of Geneva”, published in the collection “Materials of the IV annual conference “Reformation vs Revolution” (publishing house “Local religious organization of Evangelical Christian Baptists “In Rus'”, 2014) describes why Calvin often resorted to cruelty, based on the fact that he simply had no other choice.

Calvin in the context of 16th century Europe

Calvin, like most historically significant figures, is a controversial figure. Among the numerous descriptions of his life and work, one can find both very positive (even laudatory) and extremely negative (like the German writer Stefan Zweig, who saw in Calvin almost a prototype of Hitler). But I think that when it comes to people who left such a bright mark on history, firstly, one-sided assessments are impossible, and secondly, each of us has the right to have such an image of a reformer and such an understanding of his historical role, which would be refracted through our own interests and values.

I highlight for myself as the most interesting and important thing in the figure of Calvin his connection with a specific city - Geneva, namely, the influence that he had on this city and which spread far beyond its borders. The ideas of the Reformation, proclaimed by Luther, were picked up by Calvin and “landed” in the territory of a particular city, introducing biblical principles into public life, thanks to which Geneva became the European center of the Reformation. And although now, almost 500 years later, we do not find the same elements of city life as under Calvin, the consequences of the influence of this great reformer can be found in various areas of life not only in Geneva, but also in Switzerland as a whole.

This encourages us to constantly keep in mind the temporal context: Europe of the 16th century is by no means our contemporary Europe with its democratic ideals. The magnitude of the transformations carried out in Geneva under the leadership of Calvin forced Europe to speak of Geneva as the “Protestant Rome”, and to call Calvin the “Pope of Geneva”, attributing to him the characteristics of a dictator and tyrant in the city. However, I draw attention to the fact that both times Calvin ends up in Geneva not at all because he is eager to satisfy his lust for power. As a young French theologian and lawyer who loved solitude and office work, he was passing through Geneva for the first time in 1536. He remains in the city only at the persistent admonition of his future friend Guillaume Farel, at that time the leader of the Reformation in this part of the country.

“I offer my heart as a sincere sacrifice to God”

Farel by that time was in desperate need of support, and Calvin, already famous for his Manual of the Christian Faith, saw him as an ideal partner in the religious renewal of Geneva. When both friends were expelled from the city for being too zealous, in the opinion of the city council, attempts to cleanse morals, Calvin, who had settled well in calm Strasbourg, was not at all eager to return to Geneva, but on the contrary, the residents of the city called him for a long time and urgently, because they were convinced that without it it is impossible to maintain order either in church or in city life. Again he tells friends that he “would prefer not to go to Geneva,” adding: “But since I know that I do not belong to myself, I offer my heart as a sincere sacrifice to God.”

These words became the motto of Calvin’s entire life, and his emblem depicts an outstretched hand to God with the words “sincerely and willingly.” In both cases, Calvin agreed to stay in the city he had glorified solely because he saw God’s command in it. It was precisely this zeal for Scripture that prompted the reformer to establish laws and regulations, the purpose of which was to make Geneva the prototype of the “City of God.” It is written in the Bible that one should not strive for elegance in clothes and adornment of oneself through hairstyles - this means that it is necessary to regulate the order in both. Ridiculousness is pointed out as an unworthy activity - it is necessary to prescribe guidelines for citizens in this regard as well. For Calvin there was no boundary between church and civil life.

Cleansing of Geneva

Hence all the proposals to introduce judicial punishment for violations of the order of God, as he understood it: for dancing, playing cards on Sundays, constantly spending time in taverns, for foul language and curses, divination and fortune telling, etc. The ban on theatrical performances, of which Genevans were great fans, was also quite logically placed in a series of changes in city life.

How could one ignore the taverns - “the most vile breeding grounds of uncleanness” in the city? The city drinking establishments that opened instead were supposed to satisfy the citizens' need for communication, but at the same time not contribute to anything that would be at odds with the appearance of a Christian. This would be very difficult without a clear list of what is permissible (and approved) when visiting establishments and what is not: instead of oaths, pats on the shoulder, dirty jokes, dancing, indecent addresses to ladies, singing obscene songs - spiritual conversations and lying Nearby is the Bible. If it’s a card game, then no more than an hour, prayer is required before eating and drinking, and to form the right habits - waiters, who were charged with monitoring compliance with the rules and making comments to violators. For such a rest, it was considered enough time until nine in the evening, after which it was supposed to go home (in a completely sober state) and go to bed.

Regulation of what is right and wrong, should and indecent can be considered petty. But what was Geneva like on the eve of Calvin's arrival? The city, which has more than 10 thousand residents who come from all over Europe, is quite rich. The downside of wealth is the love of entertainment, which is not always harmless; drunken brawls are a common occurrence. In one of the districts, every third house was a tavern. And one of the orders of the city council prohibited priests and monks from visiting the red light district. What was the morality of most of the wards of such priests?

And it must be no coincidence that the city council came to recognize the need for the measures proposed by Calvin even in the first period of his life in Geneva, and, having made efforts to return the exiled reformer, went to implement them into city life. Also this time, it was decided to accept as a requirement for the residents of the city a public confession of their allegiance to the Gospel and Christ, with the consequence of expulsion for those who refuse.

It is clear that not all residents were delighted that their habits had to change so radically, and their loyalty to Christian ideals was so harshly tested. Was this harshness of the measures taken justified, or was it simply a violation of freedom from the position of clerical power? Here it is appropriate to remember the context of time. Europe is far from calm and peaceful. The fires of the Inquisition are burning everywhere. The spread of the ideas of the Reformation is impossible without great effort and sacrifice. Would it have been possible without radical measures to protect and strengthen its ideals and norms? Is it possible to answer this question from the perspective of our time?

Execution of Servetus

One of the most furious accusations of the “Pope of Geneva” is the story of Servetus. Let me remind you that we are talking about a Europe in which the death penalty was a widespread practice. From 1542 to 1546, 58 people were executed in Geneva. The plague that swept through Europe in the 1540s required special measures to prevent the spread of infection, and 34 people were executed on charges of conspiracy and witchcraft (the victim of the belief that the epidemic was linked to contamination of door handles).

The execution of Servetus, a Spanish theologian and scientist who contributed to the science of the pulmonary circulation, had nothing to do with the epidemic. He is portrayed as a martyr of science, and Calvin is presented as a fanatic who mercilessly cracked down on dissent, thus bringing the Reformation to a “moral impasse.” But what is rarely mentioned is the fact that Servetus was one of the most famous heretics in Europe, who, even before appearing in Geneva, was sentenced to death by the Catholic Inquisition. Servetus's speeches against the Divine Trinity were the utmost heresy and blasphemy for that time.

He already had a meaningful dispute with Calvin, the result of which could hardly have been anything other than securing the status of a heretic for Servetus. Why, having come to his Geneva friends, the so-called “freethinkers”, ardent opponents of Calvin, did he come to the service conducted by Calvin? No matter what he thought to himself, the parishioners did not miss such a challenge and detained the troublemaker, and the City Council sentenced him to death by burning. Before his execution, Calvin met with Servetus, who asked for leniency in punishment, and invited him to renounce his views. The subsequent refusal led to a logical result - the burning took place.

Calvin saw the achievement of the material well-being of the city in the development of entrepreneurship, the Protestant work ethic and banking. A bright teacher and strong preacher developed simple and understandable rules of work ethics, which he actively preached among his parishioners. The main postulate: everything belongs to God - work, property, life. For a believer, God must be at the center of everything, so laziness in work is a sign of disrespect for Him. Lending money at interest is an example of good management, but the opposite is wastefulness. At the same time, while properly managing property and striving to generate income, one should be restrained in expenses, avoiding excess.

A reflection of Calvin's personal asceticism can be seen many centuries later in the approach to business of the modern Swiss. Well, in general, looking at modern Switzerland, we see what fruits Calvin’s teachings led to.

Final test on general history in 7th grade

Topic: “The world in modern times. 1500 – 1800.”

Option 1.

Level "3"

I . :

Received the nickname "Pope of Geneva"

A) M. Luther B) I. Loyola C) T. Munzer D) J. Calvin

3. The name “coup of 9 Thermidor” means:

A) the adoption of a new revolutionary calendar B) the establishment of the power of Napoleon Bonoparte I) the overthrow of the Jacobin dictatorship D) the restoration of absolutism

II .

III .

“A constitutional monarchy is a system of government in which power ___________ is limited __________. Legislative power belongs to ________________, and executive power belongs to the council of ministers, that is, “the king reigns, but does not rule.”

Level "4"

Age of Enlightenment or Renaissance?

The Great French Revolution or the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus?

The Thirty Years' War or the beginning of the industrial revolution in England?

II.

Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt van Rijn, Albrecht Durer;

Bombard, cannon, musket, carbine;

Lutherans, Calvinists, Puritans, Huguenots;

Danton, Marat, Robespierre.

III

1) The ethical and legal foundations of Chinese society were formed on the basis of the teachings of ____________.

2) The form of government of Japan by large feudal lords, in which the emperor would be deprived of real power, was called _________.

Reformation –

Absolutism –

An accomplished coup -

Level "5"

Crusades

Discovery of America

The struggle to rebuild the church

Separation of crafts from agriculture

The emergence of manufactories

Hundred Years' War

A) Anglicans B) Jesuits C) Calvinists D) Lutherans

A) Columbus B) Magellan C) James Watt D) Vasco da Gama

A) Jacobins B) Thermidorians C) Gueuzes D) Girondins

A) bourgeoisie B) Huguenots C) wage workers D) nobles

III

1) EVENT DATES

A) Reformation 1) XV-XVI centuries.

B) High Renaissance 2) XVI century.

C) Industrial Revolution 3) XVII century.

D) The rise of absolutism 4) XVIII century.

2) CONCEPT DEFINITION

A) Puritans 1) defenders of the interests of the Church of England

B) samurai 2) supporters of the Reformation in England

B) Luddites 3) military class

4) “machine destroyers”

Highlight the common causes of revolutions in European countries at the endXVI– beginningXVIIIcenturies

Option 2.

I . Solve the test (1 point for each correct answer) :

1. The founder of the Mughal state was the Shah (1 point): A) Babur B) Akbar C) Jahan C) Aurangzeb

2. The transition from manual labor to machine labor, from manufactory to factory

A) Reformation B) Industrial Revolution C) Neolithic Revolution D) Glorious Revolution

3 Supporters of the Reformation in France were called:

1) Puritans 3) Papists

2) Huguenots 4) Jesuits

II . Match (4 points)

D) Spanish traveler who destroyed the Inca state

III . Fill in the missing words (3 points)

“Utopian socialism is the doctrine of ideal ____________, based on community of property, compulsory labor and fair distribution of its results

The word ___________ comes from the name of a fictional island from the work _________"

Level "4"

I. What happened before, write down the answer (1 point for each correct answer):

Revolution in the English colonies in North America or the beginning of the Reformation?

Revolution in the Netherlands or in France?

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen or the US Declaration of Independence?

II. On what principle is the series formed, write down the answer (1 point for each correct answer):

William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes, Francois Rabelais;

Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Munzer;

Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus;

Uniform laws, administrative structure, tax system, religion and church, systems of weight and measure, management.

III . Complete the sentence (2 points for each correct answer)

1) The continent discovered as a result of an error is ____________.

2) Reforms under the slogan “Peace for all” were carried out by ______________.

IV . Define the concepts (2 points for each correct answer)

Conreformation –

Agrarian revolution -

Parliamentary monarchy –

Level "5"

I . What events/processes took place during the New Age. Please indicate several correct answers (1 point per correct answer)

The beginning of feudal fragmentation

Great Geographical Discoveries

The emergence of Christianity

Beginning of religious wars

Secularization of consciousness

War of the Scarlet and White Roses

II Identify the extra word and explain why you think so (2 points for each correct answer)

1. A) stock exchange B) bank C) natural economy D) capital

2. A) Watteau B) Schiller C) Chardin D) W. Hogarth

3. A) Washington B) Jefferson C) Robespierre D) Franklin

4. A) Buddhist B) Shinto C) sans-culotte D) Hindu

III . Match dates and concepts (1 point for each)

1) EVENT DATES

A) Industrial Revolution 1) XV-XVI centuries.

B) Great Geographical discoveries 2) XVI century.

C) Thirty Years' War 3) XVII century.

D) The beginning of the revolution in the Netherlands 4) XVIII century.

2) CONCEPT DEFINITION

A) Huguenots 1) supporters of universal suffrage

B) Guez 2) opponents of Spanish rule in the Netherlands

B) Levellers 3) supporters of the Reformation in France

4) mercenary soldiers

IV . Give a complete and reasonable answer to the question (6 points):

Highlight the general consequences of revolutions in European countries at the endXVI– beginningXVIIIcenturies

Evaluation criteria:

“2” - 1- 9 points

“3” - 10 -16 points

“4” - 17 - 19 points

“5” - 20-22 points

Answers:

Option 1

Level 3

I. 1-g,2-b,3-c

II. 1-d,2-a,3-b,4-c

III. Monarch, constitution, parliament

Level 4

I. 1. Renaissance 2. discovery of the New World 3. Thirty Years' War

II.1. Renaissance artists 2. weapons 3. Protestants 4. Jacobins

III1. Confucius 2. Shogunate

Level 5

I 2, 3,4,6

II 1. b, 2 c, 3 c, 4 b

III1) A- 2, B- 3 C – 4, D – 1 2) A- 1, B- 3, C- 4

After the military defeat of Zurich, the center of the reform movement in Switzerland moved to the southwestern part of the country, to the city of Geneva. At the beginning of the 16th century, progressive burgher circles were in power in Geneva. Geneva occupied a special position in the Swiss Union:
1) this is a French city, many immigrants from France lived here;
2) for several centuries Geneva was an imperial city;
3) in the 16th century, imperial freedoms were reduced - Geneva came under the influence of the bishop;
4) in the second third of the 16th century it became the center of Calvinism.
Who is John Calvin (1509-1564)?
John Calvin is a Latinized name from the French surname Covin. He was born in Picardy (Northern France) in the family of a lawyer. My father served as a lawyer for the local bishop in Noyon. The future reformer graduated from the University of Bourges and knew many languages (including Latin and Greek). T.N. Granovsky believed that few people of “strict, inexorable dialectics” emerged from Picardy (including the leaders of the French bourgeois revolution of the late 18th century). The national character of the Picardy is well shown in the novel by A. Dumas “The Three Musketeers”; the cunning Planchet, de Artagnan’s servant, was from Picardy.
Researchers believe that Calvin converted to Protestantism in 1534, although this date is in a certain sense arbitrary. The fact is that already in 1529, while listening to lectures in Paris on the history of law and theology, he attracted attention to the careless boldness with which he preached Protestant doctrine in Paris (at the university he received the nickname accusatives - “accusatory” case). After some time, Calvin was forced to flee Paris and visited many places. He spent some time in Ferrara (Northern Italy), and later met with many representatives of the French ruling house. Even “the king’s (Franz I) sister Margaret of Navarre did not refuse him her participation,” we read in Granovsky’s lectures.
In 1536, John Calvin arrived in Switzerland, and his main theological and philosophical work, “Instruction in the Christian Faith,” was published in Basel. In the same year, having gone to stay at the suggestion of his friend Farel in Geneva for one day, Calvin remains there for the rest of his life, although there were breaks.
In the early years (1536-1537) the city of Geneva was turbulent. Reformers were in power in Geneva at that time, but Geneva became the arena of political struggle between supporters of moderate burgher reform, a mixed Lutheran-Zwinglian persuasion, on the one hand, and Anabaptists, on the other. Calvin, in his capacity as “lecturer of the Holy Scriptures,” intervened in the struggle on the side of the former. But he was not understood!
The Genevan burghers were dissatisfied with Calvin's theocratic ideas and expelled the restless Frenchman. In 1538-41. John Calvin spent in exile in Strasbourg, in 1541 he was returned to Geneva in triumph and finally led the new Protestant faith - Calvinism. Under pressure from Calvin, the Genevan magistrate approved a new church organization. The methods by which Calvinism was propagated were in the spirit of the Inquisition; the main method of the “Pope of Geneva” (Calvin’s nickname) was violence. Calvin achieved petty and captious supervision over citizens. All opponents of his teaching were subjected to expulsion, punishment, even the death penalty. In 1547, Protestants set a bad example for Catholics; J. Gruet was executed for heresy (he called Calvin a comedian who wants to take the place of the pope). 6 years later, in 1553, the Spanish doctor Miguel Servet was burned at the stake. This act of Calvin cannot be justified. In 1559, in order to export his teachings abroad, Calvin created a special academy in Geneva for the training of Calvinist priests.
In general, the activities of Calvin and his supporters contributed to the spread of Calvinism in France, England, the Netherlands, parts of Germany, Hungary, and Poland. Subsequently, Calvinism became the banner of the early bourgeois revolutions in the Netherlands and England.
What was the new creed? It was already noted above that Luther is primarily a theologian, Zwingli is a humanist. Calvin combines theology with politics. Some Russian historians believe that Calvin is a theocrat, and in his main work, “Instruction in the Christian Faith,” he did not put forward fundamentally new ideas, but only systematized the ideas of Luther, Zwingli and other reformers.
One can agree with the generally accepted position of Russian historiography that Calvinism, from the moment of its inception, most fully expressed the needs of the burghers in a cheap church. At the same time, he was deprived of the birthmarks of Lutheranism - moderation and compromise, as well as Zwingli's tolerance and general humanistic orientation. Calvinist communities are not only houses of worship, but also political clubs where the young, energetic bourgeoisie developed their political demands. In the future, they will be written on the banners of the first bourgeois revolutions.
Calvinism is based on two dogmas: the dogma of absolute predestination and the dogma of Divine non-interference in the laws of the world. Calvin's “absolute predestination” was based on Luther's “justification by faith” thesis and Zwinglian “I believe in order to know.” Both the famous Saxon and the Zurich resident developed the concept of Divine Providence. The absolute predestination of John Calvin is built on the basis of this concept. What was this dogma? According to absolute predestination, God predestined people even before the creation of the world: some to salvation, others to destruction; some - to heavenly bliss, others - to the eternal torment of hell. And this verdict of God is absolutely unchangeable. But! The most interesting! People do not know the will of God. Since no one knows where he will go after death, everyone is obliged to work patiently in order to prove worthy of their possible salvation, if it occurs.
However, here Calvin makes the first reservation: although a person does not know about his fate after death, but by certain signs, he can guess about it. Calvin says that luck in life is a sure sign that a person is predestined by God to salvation. A loser is a person from whom God has abandoned. Thus, with the dogma of predestination, Calvin concludes: “All wealth is good. You must work for God to get rich.” Thus, the young religion sanctified the affairs and aspirations of the no less young bourgeoisie.
According to the Bible, for centuries an indisputable truth has been preached that suits ordinary people: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Because of her, medieval moneybags, fearing death, bequeathed to the church everything they had accumulated during their lives. But! This happened earlier. With his first thesis, Calvin managed to drag a camel through the eye of a needle, and a rich man into the kingdom of heaven, i.e. paradise. Entrepreneurs and merchants willingly believed Calvin, because they felt themselves chosen by God. However, this teaching might not please the poor and unfortunate. Here the Genevan reformer makes a second reservation: the same road along which the rich walk is open to the poor man. If a poor man works not out of fear, but out of conscience, then he himself will prosper and become rich. If he cannot become rich and God does not mark him in this worldly life, then he will reward him at least a little in the afterlife. This clause was intended to increase the zeal and obedience of the suffering. And she turned out to be much more durable than Calvin himself.

In the spirit of the first dogma, Calvin preached “secular asceticism,” extreme frugality bordering on hoarding, and a reduction in the number of religious holidays and weekends. Catholics were forbidden to work 120 days a year, which is how many religious holidays and Sundays were occupied. Calvin, besides Sundays, has only six holidays a year. During the period of primitive accumulation, when the size of capital was relatively small, and the main income depended on the speed of profit turnover, was it before the holidays? Maximum capitalization of surplus value and minimum personal expenses in the spirit of early capitalism. And the proverb “live poor, but die rich” is in the spirit of Calvin and Calvinism.
The second thesis is about “divine non-interference in the laws of the world”, i.e. into earthly life. What does it mean? This meant that the life of society follows earthly laws and God does not directly and directly interfere in this life, so a person can decide, do, create a lot himself. Man is a creator, although he is not free of divine predestination. As we see, this position is very contradictory. The second thesis complemented and clarified the first rather than being independent. So, Calvin wrote, a merchant, his life, his work is a worldly calling (and not a divine one), it is a worldly duty. But if he refuses his worldly duty and does not take advantage of his opportunities to get rich, then he commits a sin. (There are already reservations here). In the light of the principles of Calvinism, nobility of origin, nobility, titles - everything lost its meaning. The main thing remained one person’s wealth - his actions, his work to increase his fortune, and whether he was a prince or a slave - it did not matter.
Thus, the young bourgeoisie received justification for its rights to a leading economic and political position in society. And not only the bourgeoisie. Let us not follow a rigid Marxist scheme. God pleases any person who works. You need to treat your work, your profession, as a calling. Max Weber believed that this position of the Protestant work ethic was already found in Luther, but Calvin complements and clarifies it.
Calvin is not only an ideologist, but also a politician. Since 1541, in Geneva, under his leadership, the entire life and way of life of the townspeople has been rebuilt. The rule of life for Genevans was the call: “pray and work.” Calvin's followers declared war on the theater, holidays, fiction, and art. They wore dark clothes and avoided jewelry. One of the English Puritan Calvinists wrote that “singing and dancing is a step on the path to the abyss of hell.”
All the prescriptions of Calvinism were vigilantly followed by the church created by the reformer. What kind of church is John Calvin? At first, the Genevan reformer did not want to create a special church organization, but the fight against the Catholic opposition, as well as the fear of the Anabaptists, forced Calvin to create a church. At the same time, the great reformer sought to deprive the common man, the ordinary person, of any right to his own opinion. “Better is the ignorance of a believer than the insolence of a wise man,” the great reformer believed.
Formally, the church created by Calvin was built on republican principles and had certain features of “democratic centralism.” Let's see what its structure looked like?
According to the “Church Establishments”, preachers, teachers, elders (elders) and deacons were supposed to manage church affairs. The deacons were in charge of the charitable part. The main role in church administration belonged to preachers. They were to “proclaim the word of God, teach, exhort the people, distribute the sacrament, and, together with the elders, inflict church punishments.” The preacher was represented to the city council by the college of preachers (congregation) and was a person of clergy. The council had the right to approve or reject the choice of clergy. Further, the church community could (in theory) disagree with one or another candidate, but in practice it all came down to simple approval. Calvin simply would not have allowed it to be any other way.
The most important part of Calvin's institutions was the consistory, or college of elders. It was an institution both secular and spiritual, something between an inquisitorial tribunal and a judicial body, vividly embodying Calvin's theory of the close connection between church and state. It included preachers and elders (12 people). The elders were secular people and were elected from among the members of the small city council. If any misunderstandings arose regarding the dogmas of Calvinism, then preachers gathered at their congresses and meetings. These congresses were first called congregations, later synods, and consultations on the dogmatics of Calvinism were held here. Such a church organization had one advantage - it was really cheap. The “republican principle” and the so-called “democratic centralism” evolved into the formal right to freely choose a pastor and the most severe discipline and unquestioning subordination of lower church structures to higher ones. The great Voltaire spoke about this with ridicule: “Calvin opened the doors of the monasteries not in order to drive the monks out of there, but in order to drive the whole world in.” Geneva in Calvin's time truly resembled a monastery ruled by a despotic reformer. It was not for nothing that the French nicknamed Calvin the “Pope of Geneva.” Just like the Pope, Calvin did not recognize the views of others and was intolerant of dissent. Hence, his reformist teaching had many counter-reformation consequences.
This was reflected in the political views of the Genevan. How did he imagine the optimal political system? Calvin believed that “the state is as necessary to man as air.” What forms of state did Western Europe know during the Reformation? There are few of them: monarchy and republic. For a long time, Calvin, a Frenchman by nationality, hoped that the French king would support the Huguenots (French Calvinists) against the Catholics. When his hopes were not justified, Calvin condemns the monarchy, calling it tyranny. He even believed that the tyrant and his government would be punished by God, which contradicted his second thesis about divine non-interference in earthly affairs. The choice is small; the republican system remains. But a republic presupposes the presence of democratic bodies. John Calvin had a negative attitude towards democracy: an ignorant crowd is not capable of intelligently governing the state. Therefore, it is best to entrust management to a small group of selected and enlightened people. Who were they chosen by? Probably the aristocracy. This means that Calvin gives preference to a republic, an aristocratic republic. Actually, political power in Geneva was built on these principles.

Calvin Jean

(Born 1509 – died 1564)

Reformation figure, founder of Calvinism. Since 1541, the de facto dictator of Geneva, which became the center of the Reformation. He was distinguished by extreme religious intolerance.

Calvin taught that every person, even before the creation of the world, was predestined by God to salvation or destruction. An expression of God's favor is success in business, so citizens who become rich are God's chosen ones. But no one knows the will of God. Therefore, if a poor man works tirelessly, he can become rich. If this does not happen, he will still be rewarded for his obedience and diligence in the afterlife. The sacred duty of everyone became money-grubbing, hoarding, and for the common people - obedience to the masters, strict adherence to strict Protestant morality, blind obedience to the leaders of the new church.

Calvin soon gained a reputation as one of the greatest theologians, and he was invited to Geneva to give lectures. In this city the reformer found fertile ground for himself. Well-to-do Genevan clothiers, furriers, and shoemakers, well-known throughout Europe, warmly supported the new ideas. The city magistrate accepted the project of church structure created by Calvin, however, it was not possible to swear in all citizens.

Gradually the city began to change its appearance. The magnificent church decoration has disappeared. Townspeople in black and brown clothes listened to long and boring sermons of pastors - that’s what the priests of the new church began to be called. All folk and even church holidays abandoned by other reform churches were prohibited - Christmas, Circumcision, Annunciation and Ascension. Only Sundays were left for people to rest, but all townspeople were obliged to spend these days in church. The houses of Genevans were searched from time to time, and woe to the family where a lace collar, an embroidered cap, jewelry or, God forbid, a book was found. Those who disobeyed were fined, publicly punished, or even expelled from the city. At nine o'clock in the evening everyone was locked in their houses, and no one had the right to appear on the street without special permission from the city authorities. Everyone had to go to bed to start work early in the morning.

The reformer did not let Geneva out of his sight, maintaining constant contacts with his supporters. By the fall of 1540, they again gained the upper hand in the magistrate and sent a letter to their idol inviting him to return. Calvin accepted the offer and arrived in Geneva in September. After some time, a consistory was created in the city, consisting of 12 elders, and 8 pastors were identified, who were equated with prophets and apostles, which made them almost omnipotent. They examined the most important offenses of citizens against the faith, constantly made house-to-house visits, knew everything about the private lives of their fellow citizens, and passed judgments.

A longtime opponent of the father of Calvinism, the Spanish philosopher, theologian and scientist Michael Servetus, to whom humanity owes the discovery of the circulatory system in the human body, arrived in Geneva. Once he published a theological work that refuted the main tenets of Calvinism. Because of the denunciation of the “Geneva Pope,” he had to flee France to Italy. On the way, he decided to visit Geneva to listen to his opponent. Servetus did not imagine how far Calvin could go in his hatred. The Genevan dictator decided to use the arrival of Servetus for his own political purposes. The scientist was captured, and the magistrate wanted to expel him from the city. But their religious teacher declared that he had arrived in the city to outrage the people against sacred private property. The rich were afraid, and, despite protests from the reformist camp of Europe, which accused Calvin of unacceptable cruelty, the scientist was burned. He became the first in a series of numerous victims of Protestants, who over time learned to burn dissenters with the same zeal as Catholics. It is worth noting that Calvin himself recorded fifty victims burned during the last four years of his reign.

E. Kechmer, Calvin was a pronounced type of schizothymic personality, that is, prone to schizophrenia. One of the most striking characteristics of Calvin belongs to the same scientist: “The schizothymic creativity of insignificant people is transitory, meanwhile the religious teaching of Calvin, like a stone monument of the great schizothymic mind, only gradually penetrated the minds of people and lasted for centuries: with a strict organization in construction, cold, systematic, full of moralizing and fanatical power of conviction, intolerant - pure thought and pure word - without image, without laughter, without soul, without humor, without reconciliation.”

Lion

Calvin in the context of 16th century Europe

“I offer my heart as a sincere sacrifice to God”

Cleansing of Geneva

Execution of Servetus

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