Topic Archives: Reformer Biography

Luther stood before church and emperor at Worms and his words cannot be forgotten: ‘Here I stand; I can do no other; God help me.’ Calvin invited an infuriated mob to shed his blood. John Knox rebuffed the queen and her court in Scotland. Courageous actions by courageous men — for courage is one of […]

Jacques Lefevre has been variously called ‘The Pioneer of the Reformation in France’, ‘The Patriarch of the Reformers in France’ and ‘The Founder of the French Reformation’. Why then is so little written and known about a man to whom such titles are given by historians? There are two probable reasons. Firstly, the dreadful persecutions […]

The arrival of the Autumn season, with the month of October in particular, ushers in a host of events, decorations, recipes—even scents—for occupants in the Northern hemisphere. Many prepare their homes both outside and in, eager for what the season will entail, while reflecting on what past Autumns have brought. This is especially true for […]

Today (June 10 2018) is the 509th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth. He was a French theologian and pastor of Geneva, as well as one of the principal 16th-century Reformers. * * * Let us notice three things about the Genevan Reformer particularly today, July 10, the anniversary of his birth. First, Calvin was a humble […]

Tomorrow, on the 31st October 2017, we commemorate what was the beginning of the Reformation under Martin Luther. One of the features of his life and work was the central place that the Scriptures played in the spiritual revival that brought about the Reformation. Luther did not think of himself as a Reformer; the reformation […]

As we celebrate the 499th anniversary of the Reformation, the Banner is offering some great prices on Reformation themed books through Oct 31st. Note: Some customers have experienced difficulties in adding multiple products to their cart from this page. If you experience that issue, simply click through this page to the individual product pages for […]

Of all the major Reformers, John Knox is the one about whose early life we know the least – a fact that may come as a surprise since he wrote a History of the Reformation in Scotland.1 We cannot even be certain of the year in which he was born; it was either 1514 or […]

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses for public debate to the church door at Wittenberg on the 31st of October 1517, the Protestant Reformation officially began its long journey.1 Luther was not the sole pioneer of Protestantism, as he had already been influenced in his theology by the life of Jan Hus (1369-1415) and […]

The Reformation of the Church stands out in our minds as having started on 31 October, 1517. On that day Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the chapel door at Wittenberg in Germany. That will be 500 years ago in two years’ time. However, the roots of the Reformation were already alive and well […]

REFORMATION DAY 2014 The date that marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation is October 31, 1517. No one could have known it then, but what happened that day set in motion an earthquake whose aftershocks are still being felt in the western churches today. That earthquake had three epicentres, one in Wittenberg with Martin […]

Protestantism can be an embarrassing concept at times . . . For the first twenty years of my life the term was identified with the Troubles which raged around my generation, and the ugly notion of taking aggravated and hostile sides against ‘the other sort’. As school life at a Protestant boys’ school gave way […]

Introduction In all the extant biographies of England’s worthies, we rarely hear of one who was ‘more devout and godly’ than the writer ever knew, who not only led ‘a heavenly life himself’, but also ‘very earnestly and heartily’ laboured ‘to persuade others’ to do the same. Yet such a man was John Bradford1 – […]

INTRODUCTION I have betrayed John Calvin1. We all have. We betray Calvin every time we talk about him, because Calvin did a lot to stop people talking about him. He once commented, ‘I am unwilling to speak of myself, but since you do not permit me to be altogether silent, I will say what I […]

During this the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin I would like to express three ways in which John Calvin is an inspiration to me. First he is an inspiration as a pastor/preacher. John Calvin was a pastor for 27 years. First he served at St Peter’s Church in Geneva from 1536 to […]

A calm and impartial view of this sad subject has been reserved for this place, and for a chapter1 of its own. The immense advantage of having been able to consult and to weigh the evidence of the principal writers – certainly not fewer than forty – about the case of Servetus, besides several biographies […]