Lesson 3
John Calvin, the Reformation in Geneva and the Beginnings of the Reformation in France
   (Print) (Debate plattforrm)

10. The Development of the Reformed Church in France up to 1598.

In 1598, Heinrich IV of France pronounced the edict of Nantes, which granted the Reformed Christians in France equal rights and permitted services to be held in most places. Eight religious wars since 1562 had preceded this edict. From about the year 1535, the Reformed doctrine spread in France. Parishes arose, drawing believers to them. The presence of the Geneva Reformed Church under the leadership of the French Calvin led to a state of affairs in which the French Protestants were more and more orientated towards Geneva. In 1559, the National Synod assembled in Paris and adopted a confession of faith (Confession de Foy) and a church constitution (Discipline ecclesiastiques), and thereby gave a structure to the church. By 1562 about a third of the French population was Protestant.
However, the Protestant communities lived from the beginning under difficult conditions, becoming entangled in political disputes. And thus the rivalry between the (Catholic) dukes de Guise and the (Protestant) princes de Conde dominated the course of events for about half a century. In the armed conflicts between the Catholics and Huguenots, as the French Protestants were named (the origins of the name are uncertain), it was therefore not just a matter of religion. The kings were mostly on the stronger side in this conflict. And until 1585 this was for the most part the Catholics, the tides turning a little after this. Besides small attempts to allow both faith-persuasions to exist next to one another, there were atrocities and numerous massacres, among which the Night of Bartholomew of 1572 stands out, in which a large number of the Protestant nobility were murdered. All in all, there was a greater amount of injustice in the conflicts and wars of the Catholic majority, although one must also add that the defenders did not often recoil from violence.
In 1589, Heinrich of Navarra became the new King Heinrich IV. He was originally from Huguenot circles, but in 1593 converted to Catholicism on political grounds. Through military and diplomatic skill, he saw through with the fighting parties and thereby brought the religious wars to an end. On 13th April 1598, he pronounced the edict of Nantes, which formed the legal basis for the existence of the Reformed Church in France. Only 87 years later was it superseded in the edict of Fontainebleau under Ludwig XIV (more on this in lesson 5 of the basis course).