Church of Scotland Geneva

A Presbyterian church convening diverse nationalities in Geneva

Coronavirus Notice

The very long list of requirements that must be in place, added to the advice that people over a certain age, or with particular vulnerabilities should not attend church gatherings, combined with the fact that our French members and friends have no final absolute information about border openings has led the Kirk Session to conclude that we continue with our on-line worship until such times as there is a clearer picture of how we can manage a return to the Auditoire for something approaching a normal church service.

If you would like to take part in our online Sunday worship, please use our contact form to send us your email address and other details. From 15 April, mid week online worship will also be held on Wednesdays at 12h30.

Sunday 7 June 2020, 11h00

Sunday on line service, please use the contact form for details on how to join.

ORDER OF SERVICE
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Ministry

Our international congregation is part of the Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian Church with a long and rich history of involvement with the wider world. We exist here in Geneva to minister to English speaking people who want to worship in the Reformed tradition, and to encourage them in the Christian faith. We aim to be self-supporting financially, and increasingly look to offer support to worthwhile projects, both in Geneva and other parts of the world.

History

In the mid-sixteenth century, at the time of the Reformation, John Knox studied with Calvin and led worship for the English-speaking refugees. After a gap of over 300 years, the Church of Scotland reappeared in Geneva and has held regular worship since 1867.

Built on a site that has had churches since the 3rd century, the Auditoire is steeped in history. It was previously known as Notre-Dame-La-Neuve before Calvin started giving lectures in 1555. Udo Zembok created the nine beautiful stained glass windows, which were installed in the Auditoire in 2007.

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John Calvin

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

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

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

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.