Institutes of the Christian Religion
by John Calvin · 1734 pages · English
John Calvin's foundational systematic exposition of Reformed doctrine, covering the knowledge of God, the fall, redemption in Christ, and the life of the church. The definitive work of Reformation theology.
Calvin published the first edition of this work in 1536, at age twenty-six, as a defense of the evangelical faith addressed to King Francis I of France. He expanded it over nearly twenty-five years into the definitive 1559 edition, organized into four books that follow the structure of the Apostles' Creed.
Alongside the works of Augustine and Aquinas, it stands as one of the most influential theological summas in the history of the Western church, and the literary foundation of the entire Reformed tradition that followed.
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John Calvin
French Reformer (1509–1564), pastor in Geneva and author of the 'Institutes of the Christian Religion', a foundational work of Reformed theology.
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