The situation would not remain peaceful though. That very same year Calvin’s views on closed communion and on the liturgy were brought up before the The Council of 200, who instructed the church in Geneva to practice open communion; that is to open the Lord’s Table to all that would come, and to adopt the Bernese liturgy. Calvin, not opposed to the liturgical changes, was opposed to the idea that the state could dictate such changes to the church. The ensuing debate and social strife resulted in the expulsion of both Calvin and Farel from Geneva. Calvin ended up in Straussberg where, under the tutelage of Martin Bucer, he not only ministered to several hundred refugees but was appointed to the faculty of the University.  It is said that his three years in Straussberg were among the happiest in his life. He lived, taught and wrote and even married. Idelette de Bure was the widow of an Anabaptist who Calvin had converted to the faith. She was a poor and sickly woman with several children, all of whom Calvin took charge of. They had one child together which died in infancy. The marriage bond was severed by the death of Idelette after nine years and Calvin would never remarry.

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Geneva and Beyond

It was not long before the Council of 200 had reason to regret the expulsion of Calvin and Farel for almost immediately the city returned to the moral decay and superstition that had typified it under Romanism. By A.D. 1541 Calvin was officially asked to return to Geneva and while he (and the city of Straussberg) was reluctant to comply, Calvin felt that it was indeed the hand of Divine Providence that was at work.

Detractors of Calvin often point to the execution of Michael Servetus as proof of a mean and vindictive nature. However, while it is true that Calvin both denounced Servetus as a heretic and played a role in his being turned over to the Council, and so his subsequent execution, his actions upon his return to Geneva point in a different direction. Calvin’s true nature can be seen in how he returned to the pulpit of Saint Pierre. Surrounded by a mixed crowd, some of which anxiously awaited a smug “I told you so”, Calvin simply opened the text to passage he had left off at years before.  The pastor had returned to his pulpit.

While Calvin struggled for many years with detractors in Geneva, the years (A.D. 1543-1546) saw his authority largely uncontested.  It was during this time that Calvin also rose to prominence as an international theologian, something other reformers were unable to do. It was because of his standing in the international community, and the fame of Geneva as a “hub” of reformed theology and thinking, that the Marian exiles[ii] were drawn there. It was by this community and their pastors John Knox and William Whittingham that Calvin’s brand of Reformed Theology made it back to England and Scotland and beyond.

In the autumn of 1558 Calvin became ill with a fever. Fearing that his end was near he worked to complete the final edition of his Institutes. The work of course took an even greater toll on his health.

On February 6 A.D. 1564 John Calvin mounted the pulpit at St. Pierre for the last time. On April 25 of that same year he made out his last will and testament and on May 27 he went to be with his Lord. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Cimetiere de Plainpalais in Geneva. The exact location of his grave remains unknown to this day.

Calvin’s legacy continues in many branches of the Church today. Calvinistic soteriology is held widely, and churches and denominations of all sorts nominate themselves as “Calvinist”. He is well known for his teaching on the sovereignty of God in salvation and for his contributions to Covenant Theology. Indeed none have been able to answer his defense of infant baptism. Calvins’ legacy, however, goes beyond his views on soteriology and baptism.

Calvin’s is probably best known for his ability to apply scripture to life, ethics, and society in a logical and systematic fashion. This is his legacy and it is one that extends well beyond the Reformed, Presbyterian and Evangelical traditions. It can be said that Calvin not only systematized the doctrine of the reformers, but also has given us the basis for a consistently Christian, and so Scriptural, life and society; one that is both covenantal and Christ centered. In adopting the name Calvin the presbyters of Calvin Presbytery seek to recognize not only the great debt that all Christians owe to him, but to also express our solidarity with him. Piety, doctrine and love for Christ make us one.