Portrait of John Calvin by Ary Scheffer. The great Protestant Reformer and theologian was born Jean Cauvin in the town of Noyon in Picardy, France, in 1509. In addition to his magnum opus, ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion,’ he wrote commentaries on most of the books of the Bible as well as theological treatises. Calvin’s thinking is believed to have contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy.
