Jean Calvin, 1509-1564

Institutio Christianae religionis (Institutes of Christian religion). Geneva: Robert Estienne, 1559.

This is the definitive and fourth edition of Calvin’s compendium of reformed theology; the first edition was published in 1536. Calvin wrote the Institutes as an introductory textbook on the Protestant religion, revising the work several times over his lifetime. Calvin originally based this work on Luther’s On the Babylonian captivity of the church and On Christian liberty.

• Call number: Vault Collection Quarto 094.2 Es86d 1559 no.3

An abridgement of the Institution of Christian Religion. Edinburgh: Thomas Vautrollier, 1585.

The Institutes were first translated into English in 1561 by Thomas Norton. Over the centuries, several abridgements of Calvin’s text have appeared due to the length of the original. This 1585 Scottish edition is one such abridgement.

• Call number: Vault Collection 284.201 C13ia 1585

Recueil des opuscules (Collection of shorter works). Geneva: Jean-Baptiste Pinereul, 1566.

This French-language book is the first edition of Calvin’s collected minor works. It includes Calvin’s Psychopannichia and scriptural commentaries among many other texts.

• Call number: Vault Collection Quarto 284.2 C139r 1566

Heidelberger Katechismus (Heidelberg Catechism). Geneva: Samuel Crespin, 1616.

The Heidelberg Catechism was written in 1563 for the use of Reformed (Calvinist) congregations, taking its name from the city in which it was first printed. It explains Calvinist beliefs and the differences between Reformed theology and that of the Catholic and Lutheran faiths.

• Call number: Rare Book Collection BX 9410 .U78 1616