Calvin Synod Herald, 1986 (86. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1986 / 5-6. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

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REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

i he 4DUth anniversary 01 the Keiormation in Geneva began on May 21,1986 and will continue through November of this year. For the Genevese the anniversary is much more than a religious event, much more than a celebration of a city’s cultural heritage. The “450th”, as it was called by those living in Geneva, integrates a political, theological and social resurrection of a people’s values and how they practice them in today’s world. To quote from an article written by Armand Lombard, President of the Foundation of the “450th” in “La Suisse”, a Genevese newspaper:

“The French have 1789, the Swiss have 1291. The Genevese, 1536!... Four hundred and fifty years after, we wish to remember. Oh no, not to glorify ourselves, not in order to celebrate ostentatiously our ancestors, no! Four hundred and fifty years after, we want to gather together a mosaic of people, a diverse people of many languages and different customs... Together we wish to celebrate this particular vocation of the city, inspired by a spirit of reformation and of humanity nearly two thousand years old... Together we wish to relive that past and resurrect the spirit of Geneva. ”

The Wall of Stone Men

In the old city of Geneva stands a wall which commemorates a spirit of resistance and hope: resistance to tyranny of body and mind and hope for a future under the Lordship of Christ, with compassion and justice. On that wall are hewn figures of major leaders of the Reformation. In keeping with the spirit of Geneva, a spirit of pluralism of diversity and democracy, most of the figures are neither Genevese nor Swiss, and some never set foot in the city but took its spirit elsewhere to Europe and transported it to the new world. Below are brief sketches of some of those men of stone, taken from “La Suisse”:

Frederic Guillaume (1620—1688)

On the 17th October 1685, Louis XIV, King of France revoked the Edict of Nantes, abolishing rights given to Protestants. Twelve days later, on the 20th October, Frédéric Guillaume, great elector of Brandenbourg, Duke of Prussia, published the Edict of Potsdam offering French Huguenots in exile “a secure and free retreat in all territories and provinces” he governed. Protector of persecuted Protestants, Frédéric Guillaume had married Louise- Henriette of Nassau, who was the granddaughter of the Admiral of Coligny and of Guillaume the Taciturn, two other great figures on the Reformation wall.

The Spirit of Geneva, the Spirit of Reform

Gaspard de Coligny (1517—1572)

A man of conviction and peace, Coligny was a great captain in the service of the King of France. Chief of the Huguenots, he employed himself in defending them against the royal court and the dukes of Guises. He was the first victim of the Saint Bartholemew massacre on the 24th August 1572, in Paris. “He died” cried M ontesquieu, “having in his heart only the glory of the State”.

Guillaume of Nassau (1533—1584)

Guillaume of Orange, Prince of Orange, called the Taciturn, is the father of the Dutch nation. Vassal of the Spanish king Philip II, he freed his people by becoming reformed to Calvinistic obedience. Through many perils — his head was for sale by Philip II — he was able to achieve his goal before being assissinated. His famous motto “It is not necessary to hope to undertake, nor to succeed to persevere” is typical of the Protestant spirit. A chapel in the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Geneva is named Nassau because a daughter and a granddaughter of Guillaume are buried there.

Guillaume Farel (1489—1566)

Reformer of Geneva and Neuchatel, Farel was a native of Gap in the Dauphiné of France. When he arrived in Geneva he found a group reading the Bible, working toward the reform of the Church. It is due to his initiative that on May 21st 1536, the Edicts of the Reformation were adopted by the General Council of Geneva, bringing compulsory public education for all children of the city. It was Farel who, some months later, persuaded a young scholar, Jean Calvin, to remain in Geneva.

Jean Calvin (1509—1564)

This young lawyer from Noyon in Picardie, France, was 27 when he passed through Geneva, two months after the adoption of the Edict of the Reformation. He was already a known figure. He had just finished the masterpiece of his life, the “Institutes of the Christian Religion”, written in Basel in Latin and in French, which he would rewrite all his life. He had no intention to stay in Geneva, but Farel did not hesitate: he convinced Calvin to consecrate his life to the Geneva Reformation. Calvin remained and made Geneva the city “par excellence” of the Reformation. He worked unceasingly until he established the “Academy” in 1559, in order to train youth as well as to prepare the ministry of civil government. Theologian and lawyer, he gave to the Reformed Church its unique

structure the Synod (consistoire) and the Campagnie des pasteurs.

Theodore de Beze (1519—1605)

A nobleman from Bourguignon in France, brilliant and mundane, this poet, after a serious illness and a reorientation of his life, was to become Calvin’s principal collaborator and his successor. He became the first rector of the Academy, founded by Calvin, in 1559.

The Reform, by then, was established in Geneva. But external peril threatened: The surrounding Savoy wanted to take over the town and to bring it back under the obedience of Rome.

During the night of the “Escalade” attack of 1602, Beze, in his eighties, did not hear anything, and woke up as surprised about the attempted invasion as he was grateful for the town’s victory against the aggressor.

John Knox (1505-1572)

Refugee in Geneva from 1555 to 1559, where he became the disciple and friend of Calvin, Knox the Scotsman returned to his country and made it the first state to adopt Calvinist reform.

Roger Williams (1604—1683)

Less famous then the four “great” of the wall, the figure of Williams is however not the least important. Londonian, of Calvinist conviction, Williams chose to emigrate in order to remain faithful. He established in the new world the colony of Rhode Island and the town of Providence. He is the first statesman to write “Soul liberty” into a political constitution and is thus one of the founders of the United States and one of the first promoters of Human Rights.

Oliver Cromwell (1599—1658)

A Calvinist statesman, Cromwell had made England a Republic, a republic for only ten years, but one which changed the English nation and its laws: the reestablished royalty became a constitutional monarchy with a declaration of the Bill of Rights.

Promoted “Protector” of the Republic, Cromwell not only defended England but also the Waldensians of the Piedmont and worked for reform on the Continent.

Etienne Bocskay (1556—1606)

Hero of the first revolt of reformed Hungary against the Habsburgs of Austria, Bocskay was proclaimed Prince of Hungary by a national diet. He renounced this title in spite of his victory over the imperial troups, which gave him the power to sign