Calvin and the Calvinists

The Calvin v. Calvinists debate has rocked back and forth. Perhaps it could be better resolved by focusing less on doctrinal shifts and more on liturgical ones. In his The Worship of the English Puritans (Puritanism) , Horton Davies highlights the movement of English Puritans away from Calvin:

“Calvin desired a weekly celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper; the Puritans celebrated at monthly intervals. Calvin approved the use of a liturgy; the earliest Puritans produced their own prayer-books; but, gradually, objections to a particular liturgy, the Book of Common Prayer, became objections to any liturgy, as extemporary prayers ousted pre-composed forms. Calvin included the Apostles’ Creed in his service; the Puritans, probably under pressure from the Independents, left it out of their services, with the exception of a few Presbyterians. Calvin included a Scriptural form of Absolution in his order of service, but the Puritans omitted it from theirs. Calvin approved of Confirmation and of Confession; the Puritans jettisoned both.”

Davies attributes this to the Puritan “fear and detestation of the Roman Church” that led them to ignore “the customs of the primitive Church” and even of “the Reformed Church on the Continent.”