Reformed Church of France

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For the former church in Königsberg, see French Reformed Church (Königsberg).
Reformed Church of France
Calvinist
PolityPresbyterian
AssociationsWorld Alliance of Reformed Churches,
World Council of Churches,
Protestant Federation of France
Origin1559; merged in 2013 with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in France to form the United Protestant Church of France
Separated fromCatholic Church
Members300,000 at the time of merger
Official websitehttps://www.eglise-protestante-unie.fr/

The Reformed Church of France (

Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in France to form the United Protestant Church of France.[1]

The church was a member of the Protestant Federation of France (Fédération protestante de France), the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the World Council of Churches.

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

Calvinists there. The church consists of 400 parishes, organised in 50 presbyteries (consistoires
) and eight administrative regions.

History

Background to formation

See also: Huguenots
Areas controlled and contested by Huguenots are marked purple and mauve on this map of modern France.

Emerging from the

Confession of La Rochelle, was composed in 1571. Recognised but restricted by the Edict of Nantes in 1598, the last official synod met in 1659; subsequently, the churches were suppressed in France by the Edict of Fontainebleau
of 1685, which revoked the Edict of Nantes.

The revocation of the Edict of Nantes began a period of systematic state persecution known in

Roman Catholic Church
. 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

Lorraine 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 (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 corporations) leaving the status of a religious association
, 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

Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine
.

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 (Eglise Protestante unie de France or EPUF).[2][3]

Beliefs

The 30th General Synod held 1872-1873 was the first national synod 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, neo-Lutheranism, Methodism, 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 synodal system, with an annual national Synod
, 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 (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 (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 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". 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 Exodus 3:2,[4] "...and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."

See also

References

  1. ^ "Glasgow Churches Together".
  2. ^ "Offer to sell domain: Protestantnews.eu".
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Exodus 3:2 King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769)

External links

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