Christian History Home > Issue 12 > Idelette: John Calvin's Search for the Right Wife
Idelette: John Calvin's Search for the Right Wife
You don't look to the life of John Calvin for humor, but Calvin's quest for a wife would make grist for a twentieth-century situation comedy.
William J. Petersen is senior acquisitions editor at Revell Books. | posted 10/01/1986 12:00AM
It is hard to say when the quest began. Until he turned 29 and took the pastorate of the French refugee church in Strasbourg, he hadn’t much time to think about marriage. Besides that, he once wrote, “I shall not belong to those who are accused of attacking Rome, like the Greeks fought Troy, only to be able to take a wife.” So he was in no hurry.
But Strasbourg was a bit of a refuge for Calvin. Shortly after he had arrived in the city, he moved in with Martin and Elizabeth Bucer. Martin was the warm-hearted pastor of the church of St. Thomas in the city. Elizabeth was as hospitable as he. Their home was known as “the inn of righteousness.”
John Calvin had never seen such a happy marriage. Bucer was so pleased that he urged marriage for all his ministerial colleagues. “You ought to have a wife, Calvin,” Martin had said more than once. Philip Melanchthon once noted that John Calvin seemed uncharacteristically silent and absent-minded at the end of a day-long conference. “Well, well,” said ... To view this item, you must be a member of ChristianHistory.net.
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