Peace of Alès
After three religious wars, the peace of Alais deprived Protestants of safe havens, but confirmed their right to practice their religion within the framework of the Edict of Nantes. Article...
Siege of La Rochelle
This very busy port, which had become largely Protestant, represented a potential threat to the royal power and Richelieu due to the risk of an English landing. Richelieu laid siege...
Resumption of the Wars of Religion under Louis XIII
After the death of Henry IV, a new dispute arose concerning the religious and political organization of the Béarn, the king’s personal property. In 1616, things deteriorated. Three new religious...
Le Conseil national des évangéliques de France (CNEF)
Le Conseil national des évangéliques de France est créé en 2010. Il rassemble la plupart des unions d’Églises protestantes évangéliques. Certaines de ces unions d’Églises sont aussi membres de la...
Promulgation of the Edict of Nantes
Having become King of France in 1589, after converting to Catholicism, Henri IV put an end to the Wars of Religion on April 3, 1598 by promulgating the Edict of...
Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
This is the emblematic event of the French Wars of Religion. On August 24, after the marriage of Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV) and Marguerite de Valois (daughter...
Start of the Wars of Religion, the massacre of Wassy
The massacre, on March 1st, by the Duke de Guise’s troops of some hundred Protestants attending religious services in a barn located inside the ramparts of the city of Wassy...
First National Synod of the Reformed Churches
This clandestine meeting of Protestants met in Paris and adopted the first Protestant Confession of Faith in France. Largely inspired by Calvin, this confession of faith was slightly modified to...
1st edition of The Institutes of the Christian Religion
Calvin published “The Institutes of the Christian Religion” in Latin, preceded by an Address to King Francis I. The work, published in Basel, presents the theological and biblical foundations of...
Martin Luther’s 95 theses
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 theses against Indulgences. This was the origin of the schism in the Church, which gave birth to the Reform. Luther’s ideas...
Lieux de mémoire en Picardie
Regroupant aujourd’hui les départements de la Somme (80), de l’Aisne (02) et de l’Oise (60), cette région est pauvre en souvenirs protestants. Au XVIe siècle, elle dépend du roi d’Espagne...
Protestant literature from the 16th to the 20th century
The prominent figure of Jean Calvin (1509-1564) inaugurated, if I may say so, protestant literature in the mid-16th century because of the perfect language in which his religious works were...
Eugène Bersier (1831-1889)
Pastor Eugène Bersier was to be a man of action : he founded of the Evangelical Church of l’Etoile and wrote a new liturgy. He was likewise a man of peace,...
Timothée Colani (1824-1888)
Athanase Coquerel (1795-1868)
Athanase Coquerel, the son (1820-1875)
Jean Léopold Frédéric Cuvier, known as Georges (1769-1832)
Philippe Aristide Denfert-Rochereau (1823-1878)
Agénor Étienne de Gasparin (1810-1871)
Panorama of the Protestant press in the 19th century
The 19th century was a period of prolific press activity and Protestant publications were of a very varied nature : periodicals, national and regional newspapers and newsletters, alongside specific information concerning...