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John Calvin
John Calvin (l. 1509-1564) was a French Reformer, pastor, and theologian considered among the greatest of the Protestant Reformation along with Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) and Huldrych Zwingli (l. 1484-1531). Calvin synthesized the differing...
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Scripture, Faith, the Sacraments, and the Holy Spirit in Calvin’s Institutes
The Protestant Reformation was a period of religious history marked by a great defining, debating, and divergence on what it meant to be an orthodox, faithful Christian. To this end, many theologians offered their own explanations of the...
Definition
Marie Dentière
Marie Dentière (l. c. 1495-1561) was a French theologian, writer, and street preacher who advanced the cause of the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland. Her written works were controversial primarily because she was a woman and...
Definition
John Knox
John Knox (l. c. 1514-1572) was a Scottish theologian and reformer famous for his work in advancing the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, his contentious relationship with Mary, Queen of Scots (l. 1542-1587), and establishing the Presbyterian...
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Marie Dentière's A Very Useful Epistle
A Very Useful Epistle (Epistre tres utile, 1539) is an open letter by the female reformer Marie Dentière (l. c. 1495-1561) to Marguerite of Navarre (l. 1492-1549) advocating for a greater role for women in the work of the Protestant Reformation...
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The Printing Press & the Protestant Reformation
The printing press, credited to the German inventor and printer Johannes Gutenberg (l. c. 1398-1468) in the 1450s, became the single most important factor in the success of the Protestant Reformation by providing the means for widespread...
Definition
Heinrich Bullinger
Heinrich Bullinger (l. 1504-1575) was a Swiss reformer, minister, and historian who succeeded Huldrych Zwingli (l. 1484-1531) as leader of the Reformed Church in Switzerland and became the theological bridge between Zwingli's work and that...
Definition
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation (1517-1648) refers to the widespread religious, cultural, and social upheaval of 16th-century Europe that broke the hold of the medieval Church, allowing for the development of personal interpretations of the Christian...
Definition
Marguerite de Navarre
Marguerite de Navarre (l. 1492-1549) was a writer, philosopher, diplomat, and Queen of Navarre, sister of King Francois I (Francis I of France, r. 1515-1547), mother of Jeanne d’Albret (l. 1528-1572) and grandmother of Henry IV of France...
Definition
Puritans
The Puritans were English Protestant Christians, primarily active in the 16th-18th centuries CE, who claimed the Anglican Church had not distanced itself sufficiently from Catholicism and sought to 'purify' it of Catholic practices. The term...