Calvin S Ecclesiology

Many events were staged and a plethora of new books appeared to mark the quincentenary of the birth of John Calvin, in 2009. But one area received considerably less attention in that anniversary year - namely, Calvin's ecclesiology. This study explores the development and fundamental legacy of Calvin's perspectives on and relationship with the church. Contributions are included which explore the later development and 'denominational variations' of Calvin's ecclesiology, along with ecumenical discussions/responses to and implications of Calvin's understanding of the church. There are further chapters which focus on particular aspects such as Calvin's ecclesiological method, understanding of ministry, the 'sacramental' principle, the 'invisible church' etc. Contributions on the use of Calvin's ecclesiology by later and modern/contemporary ecclesiologists also feature. This is a volume that brings together leading and emerging theological voices from Europe, North America and Latino America and from across the different theological sub-disciplines. Significantly, the book has a decidedly ecumenical perspective, with writers from several different denominational traditions contributing.

In this fresh and original monograph on the ecclesiology of John Calvin, Tadataka Maruyama sifts exhaustively through the corpus of Calvin’s writings—in both Latin and French—to crystalize the French reformer’s conception of the Christian church. After elucidating Calvin’s influence from other reformers such as Jacques Lefèvre, Guillaume Farel, and Martin Bucer, Maruyama shows how Calvin’s ecclesiology evolved throughout his life while remaining firmly rooted in key principles and interests. Maruyama discerns three phases in Calvin’s ecclesiology: Catholic ecclesiology—in which Calvin saw the church as a unified and ideal institution situated both above and within history Reformed ecclesiology—in which Calvin described the concrete, historical form of the Christian church over against the Catholic Church Reformation ecclesiology—in which Calvin came to understand the Christian church as an eschatological reality situated in a broader European context, which Calvin portrayed as the “theater of God’s providence” This trajectory mirrors the way the Protestant Reformation was focused on reforming particular churches while also reimagining the Christian world as a whole. Indeed, as Maruyama thoroughly illustrates, Calvin never lost sight of his original vision of reforming the church of his French homeland even as his work grew into a much larger movement.

This study of John Calvin's ecclesiology argues that Calvin's idea of the twofold identity of the Church--its spiritual identity as the body of Christ and its functional identity as the mother of all believers--is closely related to his understanding of Christian identity and life, which are initiated and maintained by the grace of the triune God. The anthropological basis of Calvin's idea of the Church has not been examined fully, even though Calvin presents the important concepts of his ecclesiology in light of his anthropological ideas. This study offers an overall evaluation for Calvin's ecclesiology, arguing that it is ultimately his pastoral concern for the Christian and the Church under affliction that both governs his theological understanding of the Church and shapes his proposals for establishing and sustaining the life of the Church in the world.

In this fresh and original monograph on the ecclesiology of John Calvin, Tadataka Maruyama sifts exhaustively through the corpus of Calvin's writings--in both Latin and French--to crystalize the French reformer's conception of the Christian church. After elucidating Calvin's influence from other reformers such as Jacques Lefèvre, Guillaume Farel, and Martin Bucer, Maruyama shows how Calvin's ecclesiology evolved throughout his life while remaining firmly rooted in key principles and interests. Maruyama discerns three phases in Calvin's ecclesiology: Catholic ecclesiology--in which Calvin saw the church as a unified and ideal institution situated both above and within history Reformed ecclesiology--in which Calvin described the concrete, historical form of the Christian church over against the Catholic Church Reformation ecclesiology--in which Calvin came to understand the Christian church as an eschatological reality situated in a broader European context, which Calvin portrayed as the "theater of God's providence" This trajectory mirrors the way the Protestant Reformation was focused on reforming particular churches while also reimagining the Christian world as a whole. Indeed, as Maruyama thoroughly illustrates, Calvin never lost sight of his original vision of reforming the church of his French homeland even as his work grew into a much larger movement.

Frederik A.V. Harms untersucht Calvins Ekklesiologie ausgehend von dessen Kommentar zu den Kleinen Propheten von 1557–1559. Harms stellt Calvins Sicht auf die Kirche aus historisch-systematischer Sicht dar. Seine Studie über die Ekklesiologie des großen Reformers wird begleitet von zwei historischen Teilen. Zum einen bietet Harms Calvins historischen Kontext aus den Jahren 1558 bis 1559, als dieser Vorlesungen zu den Kleinen Propheten hielt. Andererseits bietet Harms einen Überblick über die Auslegungsgeschichte der Kleinen Propheten von der Zeit der Frühen Kirche bis zur ersten Generation reformierter Orthodoxie.

Many events were staged and a plethora of new books appeared to mark the quincentenary of the birth of John Calvin, in 2009. But one area received considerably less attention in that anniversary year - namely, Calvin's ecclesiology. This study explores the development and fundamental legacy of Calvin's perspectives on and relationship with the church. Contributions are included which explore the later development and 'denominational variations' of Calvin's ecclesiology, along with ecumenical discussions/responses to and implications of Calvin's understanding of the church. There are further chapters which focus on particular aspects such as Calvin's ecclesiological method, understanding of ministry, the 'sacramental' principle, the 'invisible church' etc. Contributions on the use of Calvin's ecclesiology by later and modern/contemporary ecclesiologists also feature. This is a volume that brings together leading and emerging theological voices from Europe, North America and Latino America and from across the different theological sub-disciplines. Significantly, the book has a decidedly ecumenical perspective, with writers from several different denominational traditions contributing

The coherence of this volume arises from the way in which John Calvin serves as the centering focus of various disciplines and scholarly approaches that touch on the life of the church. Its five sections convey a wide range of interests among the contributors: Calvin and his times, theology, ecclesiology, interpretation of Holy Scripture, and worship and preaching.