Religion in the “Desert” period
After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, French Protestants went into exile or abjured their religious faith. However, among those who abjured, some continued to practice in...
Introduction to the Reform in the 16th century
The aim of this tour is to present the main events and figures of the early stages of French Protestantism: from Jean Calvin, to Henri IV, including Clément Marot and...
Protestants in Alsace since 1871
Few French provinces have experienced as many traumatic experiences as Alsace, twice annexed to the German Reich and twice returned to France. The Protestant community participated, with varying degrees of...
Protestant education from the Reform to the Revolution
From the start of the Reform, great importance was assigned to reading and writing, tools necessary to religious instruction based on reading the Bible.
Protestant education since the Revolution
After the French Revolution, a public education system was gradually established with the high schools and Grandes Ecoles. Protestants participated widely in the major school and university reforms of the...
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...
The role of women in Protestantism
From the “good” woman of Proverbs to the woman citizen
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...
