The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Institutes of the Christian Religion is John Calvin's systematic exposition of Protestant theology. It has had an enormous influence on the Western world and is required reading for students of theology in many parts of the world. First published in Latin in 1536, it appeared in Calvin's native French in 1541 and reached its final form in the Latin edition of 1559 and the French edition of 1560; the final Latin edition runs to eighty chapters.