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= Institutes_of_the_Christian_Religion =
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Introduction
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'Institutes of the Christian Religion' () is John Calvin's seminal
work of systematic theology. Regarded as one of the most influential
works of Protestant theology, it was published in Latin in 1536 at the
same time as Henry VIII of England's Dissolution of the Monasteries
and in his native French language in 1541. The definitive editions
appeared in 1559 in Latin and in 1560 in French.
The book was written as an introductory textbook on the Protestant
creed for those with some previous knowledge of theology and covered a
broad range of theological topics from the doctrines of church and
sacraments to justification by faith alone and Christian liberty. It
vigorously attacked the teachings of those Calvin considered
unorthodox, particularly Roman Catholicism, to which Calvin says he
had been "strongly devoted" before his conversion to Protestantism.
The 'Institutes' is a core reference for the system of doctrine
adopted by the Reformed churches, usually called Calvinism.
Background
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John Calvin was a student of law and then classics at the University
of Paris. Around 1533 he became involved in religious controversies
and converted to Protestantism, a new Christian reform movement which
was persecuted by the Catholic Church in France, forcing him to go
into hiding. He moved to Basel, Switzerland for safety in 1535, and
around this time he must have begun writing a summary of theology
which would become the 'Institutes'. His Catholic opponents sought to
tie him and his associates (known as Huguenots in France) to groups of
radical Anabaptists, some of which had been put down by persecution.
He decided to adapt the work he had been writing to the purpose of
defending Protestants suffering from persecution from false
accusations that they were espousing radical and heretical doctrines.
The work, written in Latin, was published in Basel in March 1536 with
a preface addressed to King Francis I of France, entreating him to
give the Protestants a hearing rather than continue to persecute them.
It is six chapters long, covering the basics of Christian creed using
the familiar catechetical structure of the Ten Commandments, the
Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the sacraments, as well as a
chapter on Christian liberty and political theology. Soon after
publishing it, Calvin began his ministry in Geneva, Switzerland.
The 'Institutes' proved instantly popular, with many asking for a
revised edition. In 1539, Calvin published a much larger work, with
seventeen chapters of about the same length as the six chapters of the
first edition. It includes many references to classical authors and
Church Fathers, as well as many additional references to the Bible.
Calvin's epistle to the reader indicates that the new work is intended
for theological students preparing for ministry. Four chapters were
added in a third edition in 1543, and a 1550 edition was published
with only minor changes. The fifth and final edition with which Calvin
was involved, and which is used by scholars as the authoritative text,
is 80% larger than the previous edition and was published in Geneva in
1559.
Calvin's theology did not change substantially throughout his life,
and so while he expanded and added to the 'Institutes', he did not
change their main ideas.
Title
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The Latin word "'", translated in the title as "institutes", may also
be translated "instruction", as it was in titles of German
translations of the work, and was commonly used in the titles of legal
works as well as other summary works covering a large body of
knowledge. The title of Desiderius Erasmus's 'Institutio principis
Christiani' (1516), with which Calvin would have been familiar, is
usually translated 'The Education of a Christian Prince'. The form of
the short title of the first edition of Calvin's work, published in
1536 is 'Christianae religionis institutio'. The full title of this
edition may be translated 'The Institute of the Christian Religion,
Containing almost the Whole Sum of Piety and Whatever It is Necessary
to Know in the Doctrine of Salvation. A Work Very Well Worth Reading
by All Persons Zealous for Piety, and Lately Published. A Preface to
the Most Christian King of France, in Which this Book is Presented to
Him as a Confession of Faith. Author, John Calvin, Of Noyon. Basel,
MDXXXVI.' In the 1539 edition, the title is 'Institutio Christianae
Religionis', possibly to emphasize the fact that this is a new,
considerably expanded work. This is followed by "at length truly
corresponding to its title", a play on the grandiosity of the title
and an indication that the new work better lives up to the expectation
created by such a title.
Contents
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'Institutes' in its first form was not merely an exposition of
Reformation doctrine; it proved the inspiration to a new form of
Christian life for many. It is indebted to Martin Luther in the
treatment of faith and sacraments, to Martin Bucer in what is said of
divine will and predestination, and to the later scholastics for
teaching involving unsuspected implications of freedom in the relation
of church and state.
The book is prefaced by a letter to Francis I. As this letter shows,
'Institutes' was composed, or at least completed, to meet a present
necessity, to correct an aspersion on Calvin's fellow reformers. The
French king, wishing to suppress the Reformation at home, yet
unwilling to alienate the reforming princes of Germany, had sought to
confound the teachings of the French reformers with the attacks of
Anabaptists on civil authority. "My reasons for publishing the
Institutes," Calvin wrote in 1557, "were first that I might vindicate
from unjust affront my brethren whose death was precious in the sight
of the Lord, and next that some sorrow and anxiety should move foreign
people, since the same sufferings threaten many." "The hinges on which
our controversy turns," says Calvin in his letter to the king, "are
that the Church may exist without any apparent form" and that its
marks are "pure preaching of the word of God and rightful
administration of the sacraments."
Despite the dependence on earlier writers, 'Institutes' was felt by
many to be a new voice, and within a year there was demand for a
second edition. This came in 1539, amplifying especially the treatment
of the fall of man, of election, and of reprobation, as well as that
of the authority of scripture. It showed also a more conciliatory
temper toward Luther in the section on the Lord's Supper.
To pursue an explanation of the relationship between God and man, the
edition of 1559, although Calvin claimed it to be "almost a new work",
in fact completely recast the old 'Institutes' into four sections and
80 chapters, on the basis of the Apostles' Creed, a traditional
structure of Christian instruction used in Western Christianity.
First, the knowledge of God is considered as knowledge of the Father,
the creator, provider, and sustainer. Next, it is examined how the Son
reveals the Father, since only God is able to reveal God. The third
section of the 'Institutes' describes the work of the Holy Spirit, who
raised Christ from the dead, and who comes from the Father and the Son
to affect a union in the Church through faith in Jesus Christ, with
God, forever. And finally, the fourth section speaks of the Christian
church, and how it is to live out the truths of God and Scriptures,
particularly through the sacraments. This section also describes the
functions and ministries of the church, how civil government relates
to religious matters, and includes a lengthy discussion of the
deficiencies of the papacy.
Translations
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There is some speculation that Calvin may have translated the first
edition (1536) into French soon after its publication, but the
earliest edition which has survived is Calvin's 1541 translation. It
was primarily intended for French-speaking Swiss, since very few
copies were able to be smuggled into France. Some of these were
publicly burned in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral soon after their
publication. Calvin published French editions of the 'Institutes' in
1541, 1545, 1551, and 1560. They follow the expansion and development
of the Latin editions, but they are not strictly translations, instead
being adapted for use by a lay readership, though retaining the same
doctrine.
The French translations of Calvin's 'Institutes' helped to shape the
French language for generations, not unlike the influence of the King
James Version for the English language. There are differences in
translations of one of the more famous passages. First, from Calvin's
1560 French edition, 'Institution', III, 7:
The 'Institutes' were translated into many other European languages. A
Spanish translation by Francisco de Enzinas of the 1536 Latin text was
published in 1540, before Calvin even published his first French
edition. An Italian translation of Calvin's French text was made in
1557. Later translations were of the final 1559 Latin text: Dutch
(1560), German (1572), Spanish (1597), Czech (1617), Hungarian (1624),
and Japanese (1934). Scholars speculate that the seventeenth-century
orientalist Johann Heinrich Hottinger translated it into Arabic, but
this has not been confirmed. A complete translation by H. W. Simpson
of the 1559 Latin text into Afrikaans was published in four volumes
between 1984 and 1992, following an earlier abridged translation by A.
Duvenhage in 1951.
In English, five complete translations have been published - four from
the Latin and one from the French. The first was made in Calvin's
lifetime (1561) by Thomas Norton, the son-in-law of the English
Reformer Thomas Cranmer. The Norton translation of the passage above,
'Institutes', III, 7:
We are not our owne: therefore let neither our owne reason nor our
owne will beare rule in our counselles and doinges. We are not our
owne: therefore let us not make this the ende for us to tend unto, to
seke that which may be expediét for us according to the flesh. We are
not our owne: therefore so much as we may, let us foreget our selves
and all things that our our owne. On the other side, we are God's:
therefore let us live and dye to him.
In the nineteenth century there were two translations, one by John
Allen (1813). The same passage in the Allen translation, 'Institutes',
III, 7:
We are not our own; therefore neither our reason nor our will should
predominate in our deliberations and actions. We are not our own;
therefore let us not propose it as our end, to seek what may be
expedient for us according to the flesh. We are not our own;
therefore, let us, as far as possible, forget ourselves and all things
that are ours. On the contrary, we are God's; to him, therefore, let
us live and die.
Also from the nineteenth century, the Henry Beveridge (1845)
translation, 'Institutes', III, 7:
We are not our own; therefore, neither is our own reason or will to
rule our acts and counsels. We are not our own; therefore, let us not
make it our end to seek what may be agreeable to our carnal nature. We
are not our own; therefore, as far as possible, let us forget
ourselves and the things that are ours. On the other hand, we are
God's; let us, therefore, live and die to him.
The most recent from Latin is the 1960 edition, translated by Ford
Lewis Battles and edited by John T. McNeill, currently considered the
most authoritative edition by scholars. The Battles translation of the
same passage, 'Institutes', III, 7:
Calvin's first French edition (1541) has been translated by Elsie Anne
McKee (2009) and by Robert White (2014). Due to the length of the
'Institutes', several abridged versions have been made. The most
recent is by Tony Lane and Hilary Osborne; the text is their own
alteration and abridgment of the Beveridge translation.
Legacy
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The 'Institutes' overshadowed the earlier Protestant theologies such
as Melanchthon's 'Loci Communes' and Zwingli's 'Commentary on the True
and False Religion.' According to historian Philip Schaff, it is a
classic of theology at the level of Origen's 'On First Principles',
Augustine's 'The City of God', Thomas Aquinas's 'Summa Theologica',
and Schleiermacher's 'The Christian Faith'. (Schaff himself was an
adherent of Reformed Christianity, which traces its roots to John
Calvin.)
German
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*
* 'Unterricht in der christlichen Religion - Institutio Christianae
Religionis', Institutes of the Christian Religion based on the last
(1559) edition translated and edited by Otto Weber, edited and
reissued by Matthias Freudenberg. 2nd edition, Neukirchener Verlag
(publisher) located in Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany, released in 2008.
Korean
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* 칼빈, 존(2003)[1559]. 기독교 강요: 크리스찬 다이제스트, Korea, 원광연 옮김 .
* 칼빈, 존(2020)[1559]. 기독교 강요: 생명의 말씀사, Korea, 문병호 옮김 .
Spanish
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* 'Institucion de la religion Cristiana', 1597, translation by
Cipriano de Valera.
Czech
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* 'Zpráva a vysvětlení náboženství křesťanského', ca. 1615,
translation by Jiří Strejc.
Polish
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No full translation has been made to Polish. However, four important
pieces were published:
* O 'zwierzchności świeckiej, porządne, według sznuru Pisma Świętego
opisanie. Zaraz o pożytkach i powinnościach urzędu jej. Z łacinskiego
wiernie przetłumaczone', a 1599 anonymous translation of Chapter XX of
Book IV. It was reissued in 2005.
* N'auka o sakramenciech świętych Nowego testamentu. Wzięta z
czwartych ksiąg Instytucji nabożeństwa krześcijańskiego Jana Kalwina,
y na polskie wiernie przetłumaczone' a 1626 translation by Piotr
Siestrzencewicz of Chapters XIV to XIX of Book IV. Published in Lubecz
and dedicated to Duke Janusz Radziwiłł. The edition is extremely rare
with three copies known to have survived.
* Book 4, Chapter 19, translated by Rafał Leszczyński sr, in the
volume by Rafał Marcin Leszczyński, entitled: 'Jan Kalwin. Studia nad
myślą Reformatora', ed. Jednota, Warszawa 2017, in the annex, pp.
183-219, 220-222.
* 'Istota religii chrześcijańskiej, księga 1' a 2020, by
[
https://horn.org.pl/ Towarzystwo Upowszechniania Myśli Reformowanej
HORN], Świętochłowice, translation from Latin by Janusz Kucharczyk,
Rafał Leszczyński sr, Piotr Wietrzykowski, Przemysław Gola (part of
the Letter to the King) and Alina Lotz (differences from the French
version). All books will be published.
* 'Istota religii chrześcijańskiej, księga 2' a December 2021, by
Towarzystwo Upowszechniania Myśli Reformowanej HORN, translation from
Latin by Janusz Kucharczyk and Rafał Leszczyński sr and Alina Lotz
(differences from the French version). All books will be published.
See also
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*John Calvin bibliography
* Ford Lewis Battles
Further reading
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* Battles, Ford Lewis and John Walchenbach, 'Analysis of the
"Institutes of the Christian Religion" of John Calvin' (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Baker Book House, 1980).
* Hurley, Michael. "The Church in Protestant Theology: Some
Reflections on the Fourth Book of Calvin's Institutes", in 'The
Meaning of the Church: Papers of the Maynooth Union Summer School,
1965', ed. by Donal Flanagan (Dublin, Ireland: Gill and Son, 1966),
pp. 110-143. N.B.: The author is Roman Catholic.
External links
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* [
http://calvin.reformation.nl 'The Institutes' in Latin, French,
English, Dutch, German, Afrikaans], in parallel columns
* [
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.html 'Institutes of the
Christian Religion'], translated by Henry Beveridge (1845), at the
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
* [
http://www.unige.ch/theologie/cite/calvin/institution/ 'Institution
de la religion chrestienne'], the complete text in French at the
University of Geneva
*
* [
http://calviniopera.dothome.co.kr/instxmli.php Institutes of the
Christian Religion] Latin & English sentence by sentence
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