A Presbyterian church convening diverse nationalities in Geneva
A Presbyterian church convening diverse nationalities in Geneva
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Our latest Newsletter Christmas 21
Music and organ playing are an important contribution to our weekly worship. Should you wish to join our choir please do make yourself known to any choir member
Children are an important part of the Church community. We offer a crèche and classes for all ages up to youth
The church has two main mission partnerships, one in Malawi and one in Nepal. Through our personal connections, these are real partnerships and not just donor-recipient relationships
John Calvin (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer who was persuaded by William Farel to lead the Protestant Reformation in Geneva. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism, aspects of which include the doctrines of predestination and of the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation, in which doctrines Calvin was influenced by and elaborated upon the Augustinian and other Christian traditions. His writings and teachings underpin the many Congregational, Reformed and Presbyterian Churches around the world.
William Farel (1489 – 13 September 1565), was a French evangelist, Protestant reformer and a founder of the Reformed Church in the Principality of Neuchâtel, in the Republic of Geneva, and in Switzerland in the Canton of Bern and the (then occupied by Bern) Canton of Vaud. He is most often remembered for having persuaded John Calvin to remain in Geneva in 1536, and for persuading him to return there in 1541, after their expulsion in 1538. They influenced the government of Geneva to the point that it became the “Protestant Rome”, where Protestants took refuge and non-Protestants were driven out. Together with Calvin, Farel worked to train missionary preachers who spread the Protestant cause to other countries, and especially to France.
Theodore Beza was born at Vézelay, in Burgundy, France. His father, Pierre de Beze, royal governor of Vézelay, descended from a Burgundian family of distinction; his mother, Marie Bourdelot, was known for her generosity. Beza’s father had two brothers; Nicholas, who was member of Parliament at Paris; and Claude, who was abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Froimont in the diocese of Beauvais. Nicholas, who was unmarried, during a visit to Vézelay was so pleased with Theodore that, with the permission of his parents, he took him to Paris to educate him there. From Paris, Theodore was sent to Orléans in December 1528 to receive instruction from the famous German teacher Melchior Wolmar. He was received into Wolmar’s house, and the day on which this took place was afterward celebrated as a second birthday. Together with Farel and Calvin, he established the Collège de Genève, which is now the high school and city's university.
John Knox (1510 – 1572) was a passionate Scotsman who played a significant role in the life of Calvin's Geneva, where he was Pastor to the congregation in the Auditoire between 1556-1559. He went on to play an even more significant part in the reformation in Scotland. Born in Haddington around 1510, Knox graduated from St Andrews University and was ordained a priest. Little is known about his conversion to the protestant cause, but it took place around 1543. Caught up in controversial events which led to the death of Cardinal Beaton in 1546, Knox was eventually taken prisoner by the French and forced to work as a galley slave. Nineteen months later he was released and exiled in England. There he worked in the Church of England where he became a Chaplain to King Edward VI and had a large influence on the writing of the Book of Common Prayer. Ten years later, when Edward was succeeded by his Catholic sister Mary, Knox was charged with heresy and had to leave England for continental Europe. He was first appointed Pastor of an English speaking church in Frankfurt, but disputes about the form of worship there forced him to move on. His next stop was in Geneva where Calvin gave him the job of Pastor to the English speaking Church. Knox played a leading role in making the Geneva Bible known. He returned to Scotland in 1559, and in 1560 the Reformation was established in Scotland. He presented the Scots Confession to the Edinburgh Parliament in August 1560, followed by the Book of Discipline (or organisation of the Church) in 1561.
Click on any of the Reformers to learn about their history
