Calvin's abiding desire for true and lasting unity in the Church of Christ.

"Anyone who sees in Calvin the author of all modern centrifugal tendencies in church life shows that he has not read a single line of him." - Wilhelm Niesel

No one who has ever seriously studied Calvin's doctrine of the Church can accuse him of being schismatic. He passionately worked for the unity of the Church throughout the entirety of his life. In 1544, Calvin wrote to the Emperor Charles V on "The Necessity of Reforming the Church." In that wonderful defense of the Reformation, Calvin wrote, "In like manner, the unity of the Church, such as Paul describes it, we protest we hold sacred, and we denounce anathema against all who in any way violate it." In his commentary on Ephesians 6:4, Calvin reveals the duty of ecclesiastical unity.