(by Joel R. Beeke, https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/who-was-idelette-calvin-2020-01/)

As I was going through some reading materials to add a few more thoughts to Albert N Martin’s Christian wedding manual, I found an article written by Joel Beeke, who is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, a pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Mich., and editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books. He has written some articles about the Reformation, Mothers and Wives, and Women in Ministry. Though I have known about John Calvin through his theologies, I have not known about his wife, even her name. Joel Beeke’s article, “Who Was Idelette Calvin?” is really interesting to read. Obviously, Idelette was his wife’s name. Read what Beeke has to say about her and her marriage with John Calvin.

John Calvin was devoted to Scripture and to the church. He emphasized God’s sovereignty and Christian living in his preaching and writing, and he was surrounded by many loyal Christian friends. Not surprisingly, he also had a very happy marriage. Yet finding a suitable marriage partner had proved to be a daunting task for Calvin. Many of his well-meaning friends and family members had attempted to play matchmaker for him, and each time Calvin had been disappointed. Eventually he nearly resigned himself to celibacy (John Calvin, Tracts and Letters, repr., Edinburgh, Scotland: Banner of Truth Trust, 2009, 4:191). When Calvin’s friend William Farel wrote to tell of yet another possible life mate, Calvin responded: “I do not belong to that foolish group of lovers, who are willing to cover even the shortcomings of a woman with kisses, as soon as they have fallen for her external appearance. The only beauty that charms me is that she is virtuous, obedient, not arrogant, thrifty, and patient, and that I can expect her to care for my health” (Machiel A. van den Berg, Friends of Calvin, trans. Reinder Bruinsma, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2009, 125; cf. Tracts and Letters, 4:141).

When Calvin finally married Idelette van Buren, he found the one thing needful for which he was looking: a sincere and obedient heart of piety toward God. For Calvin and Idelette, such piety was key to braving the difficulties and challenges of married life. While we know little of Calvin and Idelette’s home life, from all indications it was serene and godly despite its many tragedies and hardships…. In Idelette we see what can be called the blueprint for Christian marriage. It is the pattern of holy living that Colossians 3:12-13 says includes “kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another.” 

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Calvin’s duties as a pastor and Reformer were too much for his health. He contracted so many diseases under his heavy load that his friends persuaded him that he needed a helpmate to relieve some of the burdens of domestic life. Calvin had several students living with him, a few retirees (pensioners), and a surly housekeeper and her son. Calvin’s good friend William Farel attempted twice to find Calvin a spouse who would match his biblical ideal. Eventually Martin Bucer suggested the widow Idelette van Buren as a suitable candidate. After contemplating Bucer’s suggestion, however, Calvin realized that Idelette indeed appeared to have the character that he sought. 

Idelette was a young widow with two young children. Her former husband, Jean Stordeur, a cabinet maker from Liège … contracted the plague in 1540 a little more than a year after Calvin’s arrival there and died within a few days. The Stordeurs lived in Strasburg, which was a refuge for Christians fleeing Roman persecution. They were Anabaptists, who were rejected by Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and the Reformers alike. It is possible that Idelette was the daughter of a famous Anabaptist, Lambert van Buren, who in 1533 was convicted of heresy, had his property confiscated, and was banished from Liege (D’Aubigné, History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, 6:508; cf. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, repr., Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1985, 8:415).

In addition to not believing in infant baptism, the Anabaptists embraced several teachings that differed from those of the Reformed faith. For example, the Anabaptists believed they should not participate in government or fight in wars. They also believed they should never swear an oath, even in court. In some cases, Anabaptists tried to separate themselves from the world by establishing their own communities. Though Jean and Idelette did not belong to the radical wing of the Anabaptists, generally speaking, the Anabaptists were radical in comparison to movements in the Magisterial Reformation (Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and the Reformed). Some Anabaptists stressed spiritual life at the expense of Scripture and sound doctrine. Others took radical measures to promote their beliefs, even to the point of violence. Interestingly, Calvin helped suppress Anabaptism by his writings and by supporting the imprisonment and banishment of some of its more radical members. 

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When Calvin and Farel were expelled from Geneva in 1538, Calvin began preaching in the French church in Strasburg, where Jean and Idelette attended services. How curious they must have been to hear Calvin, who was already well known for writing the Institutes of the Christian Religion. Convinced of the Reformed truth, Jean and Idelette soon left the Anabaptists and joined Calvin’s church. There they acquired a love for Scripture and its central place in worship. They also enjoyed the clear preaching, pastoral care, and warm friendship of their leader. At this time, Idelette was already exhibiting a strong commitment to Christ and a teachable spirit. Instead of resenting Calvin’s stern policy against the Anabaptists, she read the Institutesand learned to appreciate Calvin’s devotion to the Word of God. She and her husband attended many of Calvin’s daily Bible lectures. They were also very hospitable to Calvin. Calvin enjoyed their friendship and considered them, as they called themselves, his disciples. He admired “the simplicity and sanctity of their lives.” Jean Stordeur’s death was a profound blow to Idelette. Not only did she miss her dear husband, but she had no way to support herself and her children as a widow. However, shortly after Stordeur’s death, Bucer asked Calvin, “What about the gentle Idelette?” Though Calvin had formerly thought of Idelette as a dear sister in Christ, he now began to reconsider that relationship.

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