John Calvin (1509-1564), called the father of Presbyterianism, converted to Protestantism in 1533. He interpreted the Bible as the revelation of God, and emphasized theology, worship, education, thrift, ethical behavior and a representative form of government for his followers.

Born July 10 in Noyon, France, John Calvin was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family. He received early training in theology and law. By 1532 Calvin had finished his law studies and also published his first book, a commentary on De Clementia by the Roman philosopher, Seneca. In 1533 Calvin fled Paris because he maintained contacts with individuals who, through lectures and writings, opposed the Roman Catholic Church. It is believed that in 1533 Calvin experienced the sudden and unexpected conversion that he wrote about in his foreword to his commentary on the Psalms. By 1536 Calvin had disassociated himself with the Roman Catholic Church and settled in Geneva, from which many of his ideas spread throughout Europe.

John Calvin is widely considered to have been the greatest systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation. Best known for his Instruction in the Christian Religion (commonly called the Institutes of the Christian Religion), which went through four major revisions during his lifetime, Calvin's commentaries on scripture are still highly regarded for their insight and scholarship. The Scottish Protestant John Knox studied with Calvin in Geneva. Knox returned in 1559 to establish Presbyterianism in Scotland. John Calvin died in Geneva on May 27, 1564.