Institutes of the Christian Religion, Volume 1

About this book

John Calvin's Institutes is the most important work of the Protestant Reformation's theology. Calvin sets out the Christian faith systematically: the knowledge of God and of ourselves, which he says are bound together; God as creator and ruler of the world through his providence; the fall of humankind and the depth of human sin; and God as redeemer through Christ. Writing with clarity and force, he bases every argument on scripture and on the early Church Fathers, especially Augustine. This is the first of two volumes.

Context and significance

Calvin (1509–1564), a French theologian who led the Reformation in Geneva, first published the book in 1536 and expanded it until the final edition of 1559; it shaped Reformed churches in Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Scotland and America. This translation, of 1813, is by John Allen. Calvin's great teacher was Augustine, whose City of God is also in the library.

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