Calvin's legal historic achievement through the Institutio

Abstract

In order to give a sense of the novelty of Calvin’s thought, it is necessary to present the historical antecedents in relation to the doctrine of the constitution of the Church.

I have examined the great second-generation figure of the Reformation, Calvin, Calvin’s law and its impact not only in terms of general principles and their application, but also in terms of its actual direct impact on Western European countries. In this study, I do not examine the direct impact on a country-by-country basis, but rather attempt to show how the Institutio, as a church constitution, could have influenced the development of later civil governments and how it contributed to the emergence of democratic ideas and revolutionary struggles for freedom.

Thanks to Calvin and his followers, and later with the help of Calvinism, the organisation of states, the state’s relations with the Church and the political positions associated with them were changed. His legal thought, which transcended his time, initiated many movements and revolutions and reorganised the political order and legal systems, and transformed ecclesiastical law and constitutional law and their relationship.