Athanase Laurent Charles Coquerel (7 August 17951868) was a French

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, elected deputy of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

after the revolution of February 1848.

Life

He received his early education from his aunt, Helen Maria Williams, an Englishwoman, who at the close of the 18th century gained a reputation by various translations and by her ''Letters from France''. He completed his theological studies at the

seminary of

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, ...

, and in 1816 was ordained minister. In 1817 he was invited to become pastor of the chapel of St Paul at

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, but he declined, being unwilling to subscribe to the ''

Thirty-nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...

'' of the

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. During the following twelve years he resided in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and preached before Calvinistic congregations at

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, and

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. In 1830, at the suggestion of Baron Georges Cuvier, then minister of Protestant worship, Coquerel was called to Paris as a pastor of

l'Oratoire du Louvre The Temple protestant de l'Oratoire du Louvre, also Église réformée de l'Oratoire du Louvre, is a historic Protestant church located at 145 rue Saint-Honoré – 160 rue de Rivoli in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, across the street from the L ...

. He succeeded Paul-Henri Marron as principal pastor after Marron's death in 1832. During the course of 1833 he was chosen a member of the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

, and rapidly acquired the reputation of a great pulpit orator, but his liberal views brought him into antagonism with the rigid Calvinists. He took a warm interest in all matters of education, and distinguished himself so much by his defence of the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

against a sharp attack, that in 1835 he was chosen a member of the consistory of the Legion of Honor. In 1841 appeared his ''Response to the Leben Jesu'' of Strauss. After the revolution of February 1848, Coquerel was elected a member of the National Assembly, where he sat as a moderate republican, subsequently becoming a member of the Legislative Assembly following the May 1849 election, won by the conservative

Parti de l'Ordre The Rue de Poitiers Committee (), best known as Party of Order (), was a political group formed by monarchists and conservatives in the French Parliament during the French Second Republic. It included monarchist members from both the Orléanist an ...

. He sieged as a member of the legislative commission which prepared the draft for the

Falloux Laws The Falloux Laws promoted Catholic schools in France in the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s. They were voted in during the French Second Republic and promulgated on 15 March 1850 and in 1851, following the presidential election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte ...

on education. He supported the first ministry of

Louis Napoleon Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, and gave his vote in favor of the expedition to Rome and the restoration of the temporal power of the pope. After the ''coup d'état'' of 2 December 1851, he confined himself to the duties of his pastorate. He was a prolific writer, as well as a popular and eloquent speaker. He died at Paris on 10 January 1868. A large collection of his sermons was published in 8 vols. between 1819 and 1852. Other works were ''Biographie sacrée'' (1825–1826); ''Histoire sainte et analyse de la Bible'' (1839); ''Orthodoxie moderne'' (1842); ''Christologie'' (1858), &c. He married (Amsterdam, 7 September 1819) Anne "Nancy" Rattier (8 November 1792 - 24 January 1826) with whom he had 5 children:

Athanase Athanase is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Antoine-Athanase Royer-Collard (1768–1825), French physician born in the village of Sompuis, département Marne * Athanase Coquerel (disambiguation) * Athanase David (1882–1953) ...

(16 June 1820 - 24 July 1875), Charles (2 December 1822 - 12 April 1867,) Helene Rosalie Cecile (30 September 1821 - 20 January 1826), Jean Persis (23 June 1824) and Cécile (20 July 1825 - 2 July 1885). In his second marriage (Amsterdam, 25 October 1827) he married Sophie Mollet (1802 - 1891) and had 3 children: Etienne Jean (9 November 1829 - 15 June 1901), Henri (8 September 1828 - 28 June 1841) and Paul Augustin (20 November 1831 - 1909) His brother, Charles Augustin Coquerel (1797–1851), was the author of a work on English literature (1828), an ''Essai sur l'histoire genérale du christianisme'' (1828) and a ''Histoire des églises du desert, depuis la revocation de l'edit de Nantes'' (1841). A liberal in his views, he was the founder and editor of the ''Annales protestantes'', ''Le Lien'', and the ''Revue protestante.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coquerel, Athanase Charles Laurent 1795 births 1868 deaths Politicians from Paris French Calvinist and Reformed theologians Moderate Republicans (France) Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic 19th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 19th-century French theologians