Introduction
For anyone who has studied the Protestant Reformation, it is nearly a given to put Martin Luther at the helm of this monumentally significant movement. However, while Luther was instrumental in rallying against Church abuses and aggressively pushing for reforms, he had also opened the door for a wide array of competing views on how exactly to define Christian theology and ecclesiology. One of the 16th key figures to oppose Luther on a number of theological and ecclesial matters was John Calvin.
This paper will analyze John Calvin’s role in the Reformation, including how his views on ecclesial authority, Christian theology, and the sacraments were not only a major departure from Catholic teachings, but they also strikingly stood out from the reforms that Calvin’s contemporaries, such as Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, enacted.
Overview of The Reformation
As a Church that had already endured the tragedies involving the Avignon Papacy, the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Churches, and the Black Plague, the Church was further marred by frequent bouts of simony, nepotism, financial schemes, and other corrupt practices throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Era (Tkacik 85; McBrien 80).
After having posted his 95 Theses in 1517, Martin Luther launched theological and ecclesiastical reforms that became the foundation for all other reform movements. In radical fashion, and because of his disdain for Aristotelian philosophy, Luther essentially reworked many of Catholicism’s teachings, which had largely relied on scholastic theology to explain the nature of sin, salvation, the process for living a sacramental life, and the Eucharist’s role in the Liturgy. These reconstructed beliefs would eventually lead to the doctrines of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide (Tkacik Module 5 AVP).
Other reformers soon latched on to Luther’s core beliefs, as they too had all out rejected the Catholic Church’s role as a visible mediator in the rule of faith, as well as its understanding of the magisterium, sacraments, priesthood, and the authority of tradition. Then, the reformers replaced the Church’s ecclesiology with a dualistic idea that the true Church was invisible representation of the saints, and that the visible institution was anything but true (McBrien 80, 81).
Calvin’s Views on Ecclesiology, Theology, and Sacraments
In the latter part of the sixteenth century, John Calvin, following on the heels of Ulrich Zwingli, furthered the Reformation in Switzerland. By drawing on first generation Reformation ideas, Calvin held to the increasingly widespread belief that Scripture was the only authority for the Church, and that the Catholic view on the Church was no longer correct (McBrien 82).
Additionally, and by referring to the mention of apostles, evangelists, and prophets in Ephesians 4:11 (Tkacik Module 5 Slide 8), Calvin molded a new brand of ecclesiology into a few key components: 1.) Individuals cannot be trusted; therefore, the Church must have representative assemblies. 2.) Along with empowering believers to elect ministers, the Church would not impose a strict hierarchy, and instead would use four orders – pastor, doctor, elder/presbyter, and deacon — though these terms were often interchangeable. 4.) The Church supersedes the state (McBrien 82).
Expanding on his brand of ecclesiology, Calvin did not see ministry as God needing it to function to enact His will. Rather, because God dictates his will, He chooses to what extent ministry is necessary. Still, Calvin acknowledged that ministry had an important role in the Church and was based in Scripture (Tkacik Module 5 Slide 8). And rather ironically, Calvin modeled his ecclesiology after institutional Catholicism, which consequently caused a “virtual theocracy” in Geneva (Tkacik Module 5 slide 6).
As Calvin’s approach to ecclesiology challenged Luther’s and other first generation Reformers’ ecclesial practices, his take on Christian theology also intensified the differences between the various Reformation movements. For example, while Luther had a Christocentric view on achieving salvation, Calvin pioneered the concept of predestination: In brief, Calvin believed that Christ sanctifies and justifies the people He elects for salvation. As such, Calvin also focused on the glorification of God (instead of Luther’s explanation of personal salvation) and the relationship between sanctification and “living out one’s call in the world” (Tkacik Module 5 AVP).
Calvin’s contributions to Christian ecclesiology not only grew out of the Reformation’s need to rebel against Catholicism and work through unfavorable views on celibacy and monasticism, but also to claim that all believers entered into the priesthood through baptism. Then, once fully brought into the Church, believers could partake in the sacramental life and even administer the sacraments when called upon by the congregation to do so (Tkacik 85).
Yet, as with other theological and ecclesiastical differences between Calvin’s work and other Reformation movements, Calvin also had his own thoughts on the sacraments. The Eucharist was particularly a key point of contention between the various Reform movements: Contrary to Zwingli’s spiritualist interpretation and Luther’s doctrine of consubstantiation, Calvin understood the Eucharist as having nothing more than the means to strengthen faith in God, and with no connection to salvation. He especially abhorred Catholic Church’s teaching on transubstantiation, calling it a form of idolatry (Module 5 Slide 11).
Calvin concluded that because the Eucharist was a supper to be eaten at Liturgy, participating in the meal was purely a means for believers to acknowledge the gift of salvation that they had already received; it was how believers were spiritually united with Christ’s soul and body. And through the Holy Spirit, believers would spiritually ascend to heaven, all while reflecting on Jesus’ death and resurrection. This belief blatantly contrasted the “descending” view of the Eucharist that Catholics and Lutherans held, and which they continue to hold to this day (Tkacik Module 5 Slide 11).
Conclusion
When considering the wide variety of theological and ecclesiastical differences proposed and perpetuated throughout the Reformation, John Calvin’s work alone shows the deeply existential struggles that Reformers battled through to create new understandings of Christian theology and ecclesiology. And while Calvin disagreed with other Reformers on a number of major topics, he too used the doctrines of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide to construct his ecclesiological model.
From this model, Calvin created a Protestant version of Rome, with its own systems of worship, morals, education, and authority. Sadly, though, Calvin hypocritically abused power as well, mostly by persecuting the Anabaptist movement and wielding his own forms of oppression via his virtual theocracy. Yet as Tkacik rightly points out, “there is no room for finger-pointing among the various Christian traditions, for each and all share the responsibility of ecclesial disunity (Module 5 AVP).
Works Cited
McBrien, Richard P. The Church. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008.
Tkacik, Michael J., and Thomas M. McGonigle, O.P. Pneumatic Correctives: What is the Spirit Saying to the Church of the 21st Century? Lanham: University Press of America, 2007.
Tkacik, Michael J. Lecture Slides. THY-565. Saint Leo University, 2023.