Calvin in Geneva

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“When Calvin arrived in Geneva he did not

have much chance of surviving there for very long.”

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        When Calvin first arrived in Geneva in August 1536 his chances of survival in the city appeared to be slim. There were many factors affecting John Calvin’s survival after he arrived in Geneva after being expelled from his native France, along with his friend Nicholas Cop. The mere fact that he was a French exile would have strong implications in the city, although Calvin was highly intellectual with an extensive education, which would have worked in his favour. Geneva was a newly independent chaotic state which had just experienced the Reformation when Calvin arrived, however the future of the Church was still not clear, and not everyone was in favour of a Protestant reformation in Geneva.The Government in Geneva was split into factions and gaining favour with them would have been difficult, Calvin was very set upon the renewal of clerical control in the city however the Government at the time were not so eager. Th fact that Calvin did not particularly want to be Geneva would have also played a major role in his survival there.

,         John Calvin was a highly intelligent man, a strong, determined character and an outstanding scholar. He was born in Noyon, a French cathedral town and studied theology before turning to law at the request of his father. Calvin became convinced that he was chosen by God to proclaim the truth and in 1534 Calvin had fully embraced Protestantism. After he “most probably composed the Protestant address delivered by his friend, Nicolas Cop” he was forced to leave France along with Cop.Such views were very unwelcome in France at such a time when the persecution of the heretics was well under way. Between 154 and 1536 Calvin travelled to Basel, Strassburg and Ferrara before finally reaching Geneva. “His choice of Basel, in Switzerland, was not accidental… it was the centre of moderate opposition to the Church”. This is significant as Calvin was not an extremist and did not wish to be perceived as one, this meant that Calvinism would be more appealing and identify with more people. This would work in Calvin’s favour when he eventually reached Geneva in August 1536.

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        At the time of Calvin’s arrival Geneva was a newly independent state, having recently declared it’s political independence from the Holy Roman Empire, with the help of it’s Swiss neighbours, particularly the canton of Bern. Geneva had previously been under the rule of the House of Savoy, but the Genevans had allied themselved with Bern and successfully driven off their ineffective Bishop and abolished the old church. However, the new Church was far from organised,The Genevans themselves did very little in the way of reform beyond overthrowing the power of the clergy making the future of the Church in Geneva ...

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