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 very unclear. Calvin was set upon the renewal of clerical control in the city which he was to make clear in the twenty one Articles on the organisation of the Church and its worship at Geneva. Although the articles were accepted with little modification there was a strong disregard for the renewal of clerical control considering that the city had only very recently staged a major revolution against the clergy governing it. The inhabitants of he city were seen to be decadent and “particularly unspiritual”; much remained to be done in the field of public morals. This helps enforce the notion that Calvin did not have much chance of surviving in Geneva for long, as the Genevans did not seem to be very enthusiastic about reformation and the Church, Infact “few had much understanding of what the Reformation really meant”Calvin had a strict code of conduct, and the compulsory confession of faith that he would later implement would never have been popular with the Genevan people who were unwilling to abandon their old ways.
The most active reformer in Geneva at that time was the fiery French preacher Guillaume Farel. Under the influence of Farel Geneva had declared allegiance to Protestantism only a few months prior to Calvin’s arrival, after Frael persuaded the authorities to suspend mass. However, Farel had by no means triumphed completely, By 1536 Calvin was ready to publish institutes of the Christian religion, this was to be the “religious handbook of all Calvinists”, outlining all of his religious beliefs. “When Guillaume Farel, discovered the author of the Institutes was in the city he asked him to stay”. Calvin himself had no intention of remaining in Geneva he was merely “diverted by troop movements from his original route to Strassbourg where he intended to study” When Calvin refused to remain in the troubled city Farel accused him of refusing the task that God had decreed for him, so he reluctantly agreed to stay in Geneva and help Farel reform the city. The fact that Calvin didn’t particularly want to be in Geneva and was practically forced to stay there by Farel reduced his chances of survival there, as he would not have been so determined to stay, according to Lotherington, indees Calvin “was never to feel much affection for Geneva”. if problems and oppositionwere to arise Calvin would not have had much drive to resolve them if he did not particularly want to reamin in Geneva.The fact that Calvin was hesitant about remaining in the city also suggests that he was doubtful about the success of the reformation in Geneva.
Neither Calvin or Farel had any political sense and neither believed in compromise. This would have strong implications in their success in Geneva especially with the Government in the state that it was. The power in the city was shared widely, making it difficult to bring about change, and the only way to secure any change was to win over a very large number of individuals. Considering that a lot of Genevan’s were either anti-French or anti-reformation, or in fact both, this would have been very hard for Calvin and Farel. The Government was split into three councils and four chief magistrates, the Syndics, but they were still split into factions, There was fierce rivalry between the political factions in Geneva, “they were unprepared to agree about anything”. Before Calvin had even arrived in Geneva, Farel had already gained a reputation of being very unorganised and was much opposed by a particular faction of the Government, the articulants, who rejected any religious regulation by the protestant clergy aswell as being anti French. Another faction existing in Geneva at the time was the Pro-French faction who thought the King of France would make a suitable Protector of Geneva against the Duke of Savoy who threatened to regain control of the city. People of Geneva linked this pro French faction with French exiles, such as Calvin and therefore those who opposed the alliance with France would also oppose Calvin, A lot of Genevans were simply brought up to despise the French, so the mere fact that Calvin was a French exile in Geneva would mean that he would have opposition diminishing his chances of survival in the city. Most of the power lay with the Little council, and unfortunately for Calvin and Farel it was dominated by Articulants. Leading citizens were elected to the Little council from the Council of Two Hundred, the next bost important body. When the Little council disagreed the Council of Two Hundred became of great importance meaning that there were a larhge number of political decision makers that Calvin had to influence to gain support. The Syndics were also very influential authoritative groups in Geneva, who were not easily challenged, so Calvin would need theoir active support if he were to be successful in bringing about change.
In conclusion “When Calvin arrived in Geneva he did not have much chance of surviving there for very long”, even though he was an outstanding scholar, with a strong determined character. The Genevan population were unwilling to alter their unspiritual ways so Calvin’s strict reformation plans would not have been popular. Geneva had only recently experienced a revolution which lead to the abolition of the clergy governing the city, Calvin had plans to renew clerical power which would have had harboured hostility with the Government and population alike. The fact that John Calvin was a French exile in Geneva meant that he had opposition, not only from the Articulant faction of the Government but also from much of the Genevan population who had been brought up to be anti-French, meant that Calvin would have a lot of resistance in the city. Calvin was basically bribed to stay in Geneva by Farel, which meant that he was not there because he wanted to reduce his chances of survival there. The state of Geneva would have been a major factor in the chances of Calvins survival in the city, it was newly independent and chaotic state Calvinism required total commitment which few were willing to give at the time. The Government was riddled with Articulants who opposed all that Calvin stood for, and considering that Calvin and Farel had very little political sense and were unwilling to compromise persuading the Government to take the drastic action that they considered necessary would be very difficult, this would ultimately play a major part in the pair’s survival in Geneva. Calvin faired well considering all that against him, his Articles on the organisation of the Church and its worship at Geneva were accepted with liomited modification. However, when the Confession of Faith was put forward many refused to sign, many were reluctant to take orders from foreign reformers, and rumours spread that Calvin and Farel were infact French agents seeking political advantage. The reformers became impatient and in 1538 tried to excommunicate all those that wold not sign the confession. The General council, now increasingly dominated by Articulants, became hostile towards Calvin and Farel nad the Little council proposed that Calvin and Farel should leave Geneva. Calvin managed to survive in Geneva for little more than two years, showing that he never had much chance of surviving in the city for very long.