The Reformed Church of France (french: Église réformée de France, ERF) was the main
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
denomination in France with a
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
orientation that could be traced back directly to
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
. In 2013, the Church merged with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in France Evangelical Lutheran Church in France was a Lutheran denomination in France until its 2013 merger with the Reformed Church of France to form the United Protestant Church of France. It had 100,000 members at the time of the merger.
It covered all of ...
to form the
United Protestant Church of France
The United Protestant Church of France (french: Église protestante unie de France) is the main and largest Protestant church in France, created in 2013 through the unification of the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church o ...
.
The church was a member of the
Protestant Federation of France
The Protestant Federation of France (''Fédération protestante de France'') is a religious organisation created on 25 October 1905, which united the main Protestant Christians, Christian groupings in France. The current president is Christian K ...
(''Fédération protestante de France''), the
World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...
and the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
.
The church had approximately 300,000 members at the time of merger, distributed in a somewhat unequal fashion throughout French metropolitan territory, with the exception of
Alsace-Moselle and the
Pays de Montbéliard
In France, a ''pays'' () is an area whose inhabitants share common geographical, economic, cultural, or social interests, who have a right to enter into communal planning contracts under a law known as the Loi Pasqua or LOADT (''Loi d'Orientation ...
, as the
Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine
The Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine (french: Église protestante réformée d'Alsace et de Lorraine (EPRAL); german: Reformierte Kirche von Elsass und Lothringen; gsw-FR, d'Reformierta Kìrch vum Elsàss ùn Lothringa) is a Cal ...
brings together most of the local
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
s there. The church consists of 400 parishes, organised in 50 presbyteries (''
consistoires'') and eight administrative regions.
History
Background to formation
![Protestant France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Protestant_France.svg)
Emerging from the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in the 16th century, the
reformed churches
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the Christian theology, theological tradition and forms of Christianity, Christ ...
in France were organised independently and, by force of circumstance,
clandestinely. The first national synod of the Reformed Churches was held in 1559; the first formal confession of faith, the
Confession of La Rochelle, was composed in 1571. Recognised but restricted by the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
in 1598, the last official synod met in 1659; subsequently, the churches were suppressed in France by the
Edict of Fontainebleau
The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without s ...
of 1685, which revoked the Edict of Nantes.
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes began a period of systematic state persecution known in
French as the ''Désert'' (wilderness), an allusion to the sufferings of the Hebrews when they
wandered in the wilderness following the flight from Egypt. This was associated with mass
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to other European countries, North America, and South Africa (''les pays de Refuge''). In 1787, the
Edict of Versailles
The Edict of Versailles, also known as the Edict of Tolerance, was an official act that gave non-Catholics in France the access to civil rights formerly denied to them, which included the right to contract marriages without having to convert to th ...
, issued by
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
, ended most legal discrimination against non-Roman Catholics – including Huguenots. In 1802, the church was recognised in accordance with the
Organic Articles
The Organic Articles ( French: ''"Les Articles Organiques"'') was a law administering public worship in France.
History
The Articles were originally presented by Napoléon Bonaparte, and consisted of 77 Articles relating to Catholicism and 44 ...
(''les Articles organiques'') which followed
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's
concordat
A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Ed ...
with the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. This permitted a local and non-national organisation of the church, which did not reflect its traditional organisation (synods, participation of lay members in the pastoral organisation of the Church, etc.)
In the 19th century, the Awakening (''le Réveil'') and other religious movements influenced the French and European Reformed churches; this was also accompanied by division within French Protestantism. In 1871 the Reformed congregations in German-annexed Alsace and the newly formed ''
Bezirk Lothringen
Bezirk Lothringen (today's french: link=no, Présidence de la Lorraine, at the time translated into french: link=no, Département de la Lorraine i.e. Department of Lorraine), also called German Lorraine (''Deutsch Lothringen''), was a governmen ...
'' of
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
were separated from the Reformed Church in what remained of France. The consistorial districts of the conquered territories then formed the still-existing
Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine
The Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine (french: Église protestante réformée d'Alsace et de Lorraine (EPRAL); german: Reformierte Kirche von Elsass und Lothringen; gsw-FR, d'Reformierta Kìrch vum Elsàss ùn Lothringa) is a Cal ...
(EPRAL). At the time of the promulgation of the
Separation of Church and State in 1905, which did away with the ''établissements publics du culte'' (religious
statutory corporation
A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
s) leaving the status of a
religious association The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State instituted in France (at the time without the Alsace-Lorraine, where the law does not apply) of religious associations also say ''parochial'' or sometimes in some churches, ''presb ...
, there were no less than four groupings of the Reformed Church: the Evangelical Reformed Churches (''les Églises réformées évangéliques''), the United Reformed Churches (''les Églises réformées unies''), the Free Reformed Churches (''les Églises réformées libres''), and the Methodist Church (''l'Église méthodiste'').
The Reformed Church of France today
The horrors of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, combined with new departures in theology (in particular the thought of
Karl Barth
Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...
), allowed for a partial restoration of a national grouping: the Reformed Church of France (''L’Église Réformée de France'', ÉRF), established in 1938. However, some Reformed congregations preferred not to merge and form
their separate union since. The ÉRF is the largest of the four French Protestant churches and is in full communion with the other three (which are also members of the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
): the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France (''l'Église évangélique luthérienne de France'') and in Alsace-Moselle the EPRAL and the Lutheran
.
In June 2012, it was announced that the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France would unite to form the
United Protestant Church of France
The United Protestant Church of France (french: Église protestante unie de France) is the main and largest Protestant church in France, created in 2013 through the unification of the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church o ...
(Eglise Protestante unie de France or EPUF).
[ ]
Beliefs
The 30th General
Synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
held 1872-1873 was the first national
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
held in 213 years. The General Synod arrived at a new confession of faith, the main principles of which were rejected by a significant minority. The official practice of the Calvinist faith in France distanced itself from stricter interpretations. The current Reformed Church adopted liberal currents in Calvinist theology including
pietism
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...
,
neo-Lutheranism
Neo-Lutheranism was a 19th-century revival movement within Lutheranism which began with the Pietist-driven '' Erweckung,'' or ''Awakening'', and developed in reaction against theological rationalism and pietism. This movement followed the Old L ...
,
Methodism
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
, social Christianity, etc. The opportunities, substance and limits of theological pluralism are set out in the 1936 Declaration of Faith (which is read at the opening of all synods, adherence to which is required of all pastors licensed to preach and the laity who express membership of the Calvinist church)
Organisations and relations
The church was organised according to a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
synodal system, with an annual national
Synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
, composed mainly of representatives from each of the eight administrative regions with equal numbers of clergy and laity in attendance. The president of the National Council (''Conseil national'') was elected every three years by the Synod.
Sister denominations and fraternal relations
The Reformed Church in France was involved in the work of other Protestant churches in France, through its membership of the
Protestant Federation of France
The Protestant Federation of France (''Fédération protestante de France'') is a religious organisation created on 25 October 1905, which united the main Protestant Christians, Christian groupings in France. The current president is Christian K ...
(''Fédération protestante de France'')
In 2005, Pope Benedict sent a message to the national synod of the Reformed Church of France, which thanked the Pontiff for this "gesture of consideration".
Missions
In common with other churches, the Reformed Church in France operated a missionary service (''le Défap''). The mission service supported reformed churches in Africa and Oceania, primarily those arising from the work of the now defunct
Paris Evangelical Missionary Society
The Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (in French, ''Société des missions évangéliques de Paris''), also known as the ''SMEP'' or ''Mission de Paris'', was a Protestant missionary association created in 1822. As with other Christian societie ...
(''Société des missions évangéliques de Paris'')
Theological seminaries
Training for the ministry took place in the Institut Protestant de Théologie, which formed part of the Protestant theology faculties of the Universities of Paris and Montpellier.
Universities, colleges, and schools
The church also operated a distance education programme for lay members called Théovie.
Symbols
Until recently, the
Huguenot cross
The Huguenot cross is a Christian religious symbol originating in France and is one of the more recognizable and popular symbols of the French evangelical reformed faith. It is commonly found today as a piece of jewelry (in gold or silver) or eng ...
was not an official symbol of the Reformed Church of France. Rather it has served as a sign of popular recognition. The official logo of the former reformed churches was the "
burning bush
The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb. According to the bib ...
". A new logo of the Reformed Church of France was adopted, a stylised representation of the burning bush with the Huguenot cross as an insert and the Latin phrase ''Flagror Non Consumor'' (I am burned, I am not consumed) taken from "...and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."
See also
*
Camisard
Camisards were Huguenots (French Protestants) of the rugged and isolated Cévennes region and the neighbouring Vaunage in southern France. In the early 1700s, they raised a resistance against the persecutions which followed Louis XIV's Revocation ...
*
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
*
Huguenots in South Africa
Many people of European heritage in South Africa are descended from Huguenots. Most of these originally settled in the Cape Colony, but were absorbed into the Afrikaner and Afrikaans-speaking population, because they had religious similaritie ...
*
French Australian
French Australians (french: link=no, Australiens d'origine française), some of whom refer to themselves as Huguenots, are Australian citizens or residents of French ancestry, or French-born people who reside in Australia. According to the 201 ...
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
Christian denominations founded in France
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
History of Protestantism in France