Institutes Of Christian Religion 1536

John Calvin was just twenty-seven years old when the first edition of his Institutes was published in Basel in 1536. Building on the work of Erasmus and Luther, Calvin wrote with brilliance and passion of the many ways the church and its theology had been "deformed," and he presented a case for restoring the church and theology to its pristine purity.

Intended both for readers who wish to gain a better understanding of this earliest expression of Calvin's theology and for scholars who may wish to pursue further research, this edition contains extensive notes and references. The book's four appendices include a new translation of Calvin's Preface to Olivétan's Bible (1535); the five indices include an index of biblical references and a comparative table of the 1536 and 1559 Institutes. The numerous citations in the endnotes from the writings of Calvin's predecessors and contemporaries illuminate the significance of the text in its historical context.