Johannis Calvini, Magni Theologi, Institvtionvm christianae religionis libri quatuor. Editio postrema, innumeris mendis, quibus priores omnes hactenus scatuere, repurgata ac genuino nitori restituta. Cum Indicibus, longe quam ante, auctioribus, accuratioribus. Praemissa est Vita ejusdem Calvini, Athore Theodoro Beza. Leiden (Lugdunum Batavorum), Ex Officina Francisci Hackii, 1654, Folio, full parchment binding with ribbed spine and gold tooling, prize binding (prijsband, Zieirkzee), [38]+544+54 pp. The parchment is smudshed, the corners show some damage, the closure ribbons are lost, there are some cracks and a hole in the parchment on the spine, on the back a different piece of parchment (previously used as binding of another book) has been added to make a repair, the bookblock has red coloured edges, the handsewn headbands are damaged but still present, the bookblock is still very solid, there are some waterstains, (especcially on the titlepage plus the preface) but overall the book has very clean pages, printed in two columns. With an engraved printer's mark on the titlepage depicting a bird flying above a city skyline (Movendo). With lovely decorative elements like initials, and head- and tail pieces. Opposite the titlepage there is handwritten dedication praising Georgius van Borrendam ("Georgium a Borrendam", 1641-1715) and his studies, dated to 1660, Zierikzee. Borrendam would become a clergyman. The binding reflects this praise with the traditional decoration of a "prijsband", in this case depicting the city crest of Zierikzee. On the flyleaf there is an ownership signature dating to 30-05-'32 with a pasted in ex libris poem written in a mix of Latin and German. The Institutes of the Christian Religion (Latin: Institutio Christianae Religionis) is John Calvin's magnum opus on theology. It was first published in Latin in 1536 and in his native French language in 1541. Many editions followed, including this one. The Institutes is a core reference for the system of doctrine adopted by the Reformed churches, usually called Calvinism.