The Company of Pastors or Venerable Company () is an organization, comparable to a classis, of ministers and

deacons A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

of the

Protestant Church of Geneva The Protestant Church of Geneva (EPG, ) is a Swiss organization of congregations in the Canton of Geneva. It was founded in 1536 during the Protestant Reformation. It was the state church of Geneva from its inception until 1907. It is a member of ...

. It was established as part of the implementation of

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

's ''

Ecclesiastical Ordinances An ordinance or ecclesiastical ordinance is a type of law, legal instrument, or by-law in the canon law of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and in Calvinism. Each Christian denomination that has a hierarchy tends to need rules and re ...

'' in 1541 and originally consisted of the ministers of Geneva's three city churches and a dozen countryside parishes. It met every Friday morning to examine candidates for ministry and discuss the theological and practical business of the church. In 1559 professors of the Genevan Academy were made members of the company. The company's powers were drastically reduced in the nineteenth century.

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Calvinist organizations established in the 16th century Religious organizations established in the 1540s Organisations based in Geneva {{calvinism-stub