Today’s Readings Podcast Description

How are the offices of the Church actually filled and performed under the Papacy? In these sections of the Institutes, Calvin exposes the widespread practice of simony, the scandal of one man holding multiple churches for their income alone, the confusion of monastic and clerical callings, and the host of idle canons, deans, and chaplains who claim the name of presbyter while discharging none of its duties. What remains, he argues, is not the pastoral office instituted by Christ but a system of benefices, ceremonies, and private gain that has emptied the ministry of its true substance.

Readings:

John Calvin — Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter 5, Sections 6–10

Explore the Project:

Through t ...