John+Calvin

 His reforms began in Geneva, where he was the first person to directly address issues that were neglected previously by early Protestant reformers. Calvin was invited to Geneva to help rebuild the new reformed church that was being built. He organized the church's central governing system and social system of the city itself. The organization he established was based on biblical principles, leading him to be the first major political leader to base his principles on biblical ideas.

However, he was sent out of Geneva after setting up strict moral codes on the people in working with a man named Guillaume Farel. After being sent out, he worked on "The Institutes of the Christian Church" - a large protestant doctrine. It was through this that Calvinism emerged. In "The Institutes of the Christian Church," Calvin explained several biblical stores, events, and passages throughly.

In 1540, he was invited back to Geneva by a group of new city officials. Through his reforms and doctrines, he helped Geneva become a more Calvinist city. Through Calvin's ideas, the church was divided into four different levels - pastors, teachers, Elders and deacons. The pastors included five men who had authority over any religious matter taking place in Geneva. The teachers taught doctrine to the population, and were more numerous in size. There were twelve Elders, whom the municipal council chose, to oversee the city and everything everyone did. And the deacons cared for the sick, elderly, poor, and widowed. There were seven deacons.

It was through Calvin that predestination emerged. The idea that salvation was pre-determined became the basis of Calvin's church. The idea that humans were elected by God to have salvation became known as the "doctrine of the elect."

[|Reformation: John Calvin]