John Calvin-Life,Legacy and Theology

JOHN CALVIN : LIFE, LEGACY AND THEOLOGY -
PROF. M. M. NINAN
The surname Calvin or Cauvin is in origin a diminutive of French chauve (Picard calve, from Latin
calvus) meaning "bald".
In 1509, year of birth of Jean Calvin, Noyon is a small Picardie town which is at the same time a
spiritual city and an agricultural center. With his mother, he went to the abbey of Ourscamp to kiss the
relics of Saint Anne, a practice that he later criticized.
The Cistercian Abbey of Ourscamp was founded in the 12th century. Buildings of the eighteenth
century voluntarily mask the Gothic church of the thirteenth century, now in ruins. The abbey was a
place of pilgrimage dedicated to St. Anne. The pious mother of John Calvin took his children there.
The reformer alludes to this in his Treatise on Relics. While he draws up an exhaustive and unrealistic
list of relics, here is what he writes:
"Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, has one of her bodies at Apt in Provence, the other at
Notre-Dame. Dame-de-l'Ile, in Lyon. Besides that, she has a head in Treves, the other in
Düren-en-Juliers, the other in Thuringia in a town named after her. I leave the rooms that are in
more than a hundred places; and, among other things, I remember that I kissed some of it in the
Abbey of Ourscamp near Noyon, which is a great feast. "
His elementary studies were done in the College des Capettes which was essentially a school for the
aristocrats of the city. Thus right from his early life he was associated with the aristocracy and his
friends were of that class. Especially he was friendly with one aristocratic family known as
Mommor (noble family of Hangest de Montmor) who treated him equally. This probably gave him the
courage and confidence which he showed in times of debates.
1520-1521 Publication of Clementia
His father planned a career in the church for his son. Hence Calvin began his work in the church at
the age of twelve, intending—at his father’s request—to train for the priesthood. Jean becomes
chaplain of the chapel of Gésine ( la Gfoine, in the cathedral church of Noyon) at the age of 12 and
employed by the bishop as a clerk and received the tonsure, cutting his hair to symbolize his
dedication to the Church. In May 1521 he was appointed to a chaplaincy in the cathedral of Noyon.
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