John Calvin During The Reformation Analysis

John Calvin is known to be one of the most influential figures during the time of the Catholic Reformation. Calvin’s “Draft ecclesiastical Ordinances”, contains the standards to which he believe that the leaders and followers of the Catholic Church are to be held. The text also reveals insight as to the conditions Calvin identifies as undergoing development during the reformation. John Calvin’s composed ordinances and regulations demonstrate his desire for organization and unity within the church. The key features of these ordinances are Calvin’s desire for virtuous members of authority that adhere to an organized hierarchy, Calvin declares the way in which he believes that the various sacraments are to be specifically performed and Calvin …show more content…
The way in which the church is to be governed is affirmed by Calvin in terms of reverence for the Lord. Calvin states that there “are four orders of office instituted by our Lord for the government of his Church. First pastors; then doctors; next elders; and fourth deacons” (Calvin, 58). Calvin recognizes all members of office as an important piece of the entirety of the church. Each order of office is assigned specific responsibilities that are all orchestrated in order to maintain unity. To illustrate, Calvin states that the first order of pastors are called to “proclaim the World of God, instruct, admonish, exhort and censure, both in public and private, to administer the sacraments and to enjoin brotherly corrections along with the elders and colleagues” (58). The pastors are, in a sense, the intermediary for God and his people. Therefore, it is their duty to deliver the messages of the Lord in order to lead the congregation justly. In like manner, Calvin asserts that the second order consists of the doctors and their obligations pertain to “instruction of the faithful in true doctrine, in order that the purity of the gospel be not corrupted either by ignorance or by evil opinions” (62). Additionally, the doctors are to teach the children and thus “a college should be instituted for instructing children to prepare them for the ministry as well as for civil government” (62-63). Furthermore, the doctors are required to administer theological teachings of both the New and Old Testament. In essence, the doctors’ responsibility is an important one as they instruct the new generations who will be expected to preserve the many traditions of the church. In third order, the elders are required, according to Calvin, to have an “oversight of the life of everyone, to admonish amicably those whom they see to be erring