Réveil
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The Réveil (French for "revival", "awakening") of 1814 was a
revival movement Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelis ...
within the
Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
of western Switzerland and some Reformed communities in southeastern France. The supporters were also called pejoratively ''momiers''. The movement was initially prompted by small Moravian communities implanted by earlier Moravian missionary efforts and much helped by British Presbyterians such as
Robert Haldane Robert Haldane (28 February 1764 – 12 December 1842) was a religious writer and Scottish theologian. Author of ''Commentaire sur l'Épître aux Romains, On the Inspiration of Scripture'' and ''Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans.'' Early ...
or Henry Drummond, or Methodists such as Charles Cook; several members of Free Church of Scotland moved over to the Continent after Napoleon's fall. Among the leading personalities of the Réveil are
Henri-Louis Empaytaz Henri-Louis Empaytaz (1790–1853), was a Protestant theologian. He was born and died in Geneva. After Napoleon Bonaparte's downfall in 1814 and the general disillusionment with the ideals of the French Revolution, Empaytaz was a leading member o ...
,
César Malan Henri Abraham César Malan (July 7, 1787 – May 8, 1864) was a Swiss Protestant minister and hymn-writer. Life Malan was born in Geneva, Republic of Geneva and was a believing Christian from childhood. After completing his education, he went to ...
, Louis Gaussen, Ami Bost, Henri Pyt, Antoine Jean-Louis Galland and
Adolphe Monod Adolphe-Louis-Frédéric-Théodore Monod (21 January 1802 – 6 April 1856) was a French Protestant churchman. His elder brother was Frédéric Monod. He was born in Copenhagen, where his father, Jean Monod (Sept. 5, 1765 – April 23, 1836; himse ...
as well as the controversial
Barbara von Krüdener Beate Barbara Juliane Freifrau von Krüdener (née Freiin von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel; ), often called by her formal French name, Madame de Krüdener, was a Baltic German religious mystic, author, and Pietist Lutheran theologian who exerted i ...
. Having accused the Protestant state church of apostasy from true Christianity, most of the Geneva momiers walked out of the State church in 1831 and set up the Evangelical Society in Geneva, with its own "preacher school" built in 1832. In 1848 the various dissident congregations united to form an evangelical
Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...
(''Église libre''), which since then exists along to the established church (''Église nationale''). In the canton of
Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...
was also formed a Reformed Free Church, whose spiritual father was
Alexandre Vinet Alexandre Rodolphe Vinet (17 June 17974 May 1847) was a Swiss literary critic and theology, theologian. Literary critic He was born near Lausanne, Switzerland. Educated for the Protestantism, Protestant ministry, he was ordained in 1819, when alr ...
. In France, several regions were reached by the ''Réveil'', including Paris where a very influential church, la Chapelle Taitbout, gathered numerous members of the high
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
and nobility of the time. Other preachers kept their activities to a given area such as Felix Neff, called the "Apostle of the Alps", who preached in mountain area in the border of France, Switzerland, and
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, and among the Waldensians. Historians of ''Réveil'' recognise that the movement had a deep influence on Protestantism in France and Switzerland. It has for instance been noted that French protestant clergy more than doubled its numbers from 305 in 1829 to 765 in 1843. Although there were also divisions and disputes, the ''Réveil'' modernised protestantism in many ways: * It created new institutions such as the singing of new
hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
(instead of just using the
Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
), Sunday schools, Bible study classes or meetings, prayer meetings, etc. * It gave an enhanced position to women, who were sometimes key figures of the movement, such as
Rosine de Chabaud-Latour Suzanne Rosette de Chabaud-Latour, known as Rosine de Chabaud-Latour, (15 September 1794 – 28 May 1860) was a French religious thinker and translator. The daughter of an engineer who had served Napoleon, she was a prominent member of the protes ...
, Mrs Jules Mallet, born Émilie Oberkampf, Henriette André-Walther, Caroline Malvesin or Catherine Booth-Clibborn, courageous founder of the
Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
in France and Switzerland. * It allowed protestant churches to adapt to
rural exodus Rural flight (or rural exodus) is the migratory pattern of peoples from rural areas into urban areas. It is urbanization seen from the rural perspective. In industrializing economies like Britain in the eighteenth century or East Asia in the ...
by opening new parishes in the cities. * It opened the door to Christianisme social and ''Réveil''-inspired businessmen will be praised for their social efforts, including by Pope Paul VI, who will particularly name
Daniel Legrand Daniel Legrand (1783 – 16 March 1859) was a Swiss industrialist and philanthropist of the Reformed Church who spent most of his life in Alsace, France. He campaigned for laws that would improve the condition of child workers, and of industrial wo ...
, a disciple of J. F. Oberlin. * It created a series of movements (such as scouts) which helped spread the Christian Protestant message across society, and it was a major influence on the early Red Cross movement. * It created foreign missions organisations, such as the ''Société des Missions évangéliques de Paris'' The Franco-Swiss Réveil was contemporary and analogous to the German ''Erweckungsbewegung'' and shared the social concern of its leaders like J. F. Oberlin. A preacher influenced by the Réveil was the German-speaking Swiss minister Samuel Heinrich Froehlich founder of the ''Neutäufer'' in Europe and the
Apostolic Christian Church The Apostolic Christian Church (ACC) is a worldwide Christian denomination from the Anabaptist tradition that practices credobaptism, closed communion, greeting other believers with a holy kiss, a capella worship in some branches (in others, s ...
in the United States. Many of the Continental "awakened" joined the
Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...
.


References

* Encrevé, André « Le Réveil du XIXème siècle », ''Réforme'', 4 September 2008 * Stewart, K. J. ''Restoring the Reformation: British Evangelicalism and the Francophone «Réveil'» 1816-1849''. 2006. * Christian revivals Protestantism in Switzerland Protestantism in France 19th-century Calvinism {{Switzerland-stub