The Reformed Church of France (, ERF) was the main

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

denomination in France with a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

orientation that could be traced back directly to

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 ...

. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in France to form the

United Protestant Church of France The United Protestant Church of France () is the main and largest Protestant church in France, created in 2013 through the unification of the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France. It is active in all parts of ...

. The church was a member of the

Protestant Federation of France The Protestant Federation of France (''Fédération protestante de France'') is a religious organisation created on 25 October 1905, which united the main Protestant Christian groupings in France. In 2023, the current president is Christian Krie ...

(''Fédération protestante de France''), the

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...

and the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

. 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 Alsace-Moselle and the Pays de Montbéliard, as the

Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine The Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine ( (EPRAL); ; ) is a Calvinist denomination in Alsace and northeastern Lorraine (the ''Département'' of Moselle), France. As a church body, it enjoys the status as an ''établissement public ...

brings together most of the local

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

History

Background to formation

Emerging from the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

in the 16th century, the

reformed churches Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian ...

in France were organised independently and, by force of circumstance,

clandestinely Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

. The first national synod of the Reformed Churches was held in 1559; the first formal confession of faith, the Confession of La Rochelle, was composed in 1571. Recognised but restricted by the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...

in 1598, the last official synod met in 1659; subsequently, the churches were suppressed in France by the

Edict of Fontainebleau The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to prac ...

of 1685, which revoked the Edict of Nantes. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes began a period of systematic state persecution known in French as the ''Désert'' (wilderness), an allusion to the sufferings of the Hebrews when they wandered in the wilderness following the flight from Egypt. This was associated with mass

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to other European countries, North America, and South Africa (''les pays de Refuge''). In 1787, the

Edict of Versailles The Edict of Versailles, also known as the Edict of Tolerance, was an official act that gave non-Catholics in France the access to civil rights formerly denied to them, which included the right to contract marriages without having to convert to t ...

, issued by

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, ended most legal discrimination against non-Roman Catholics – including Huguenots. In 1802, the church was recognised in accordance with the

Organic Articles The Organic Articles (French language, French: ''Articles Organiques'') was a law administering public worship in France. History The Articles were originally presented by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte, and consisted of 77 Articles relating to Cat ...

(''les Articles organiques'') which followed

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 ...

with the 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 ''Bezirk Lothringen'' of Lorraine (region), Lorraine were separated from the Reformed Church in what remained of France. The consistorial districts of the conquered territories then formed the still-existing

(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 corporation A statutory corporation is a corporation, government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government ...

s) leaving the status of a

religious association The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State instituted in France (at the time without the Alsace-Lorraine, where the law does not apply) of religious associations also say ''parochial'' or sometimes in some churches, ''presby ...

, 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

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, combined with new departures in theology (in particular the thought of

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

), allowed for a partial restoration of a national grouping: the Reformed Church of France (''L’Église Réformée de France'', ÉRF), established in 1938. However, some Reformed congregations preferred not to merge and form their separate union since. The ÉRF is the largest of the four French Protestant churches and is in full communion with the other three (which are also members of the

): the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France (''l'Église évangélique luthérienne de France'') and in Alsace-Moselle the EPRAL and the Lutheran

Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine The Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine (, EPCAAL; , ''Kirche A.B. von Elsass und Lothringen''; ) is a Lutheran church of public-law corporation status (établissement public du culte) in France. The ambit of the ...

. In June 2012, it was announced that the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France would unite to form the

(Eglise Protestante unie de France or EPUF).

Beliefs

The 30th General

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

held 1872-1873 was the first national

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

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 Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

neo-Lutheranism Neo-Lutheranism was a 19th-century revival movement within Lutheranism which began with the Pietist-driven '' Erweckung,'' or ''Awakening'', and developed in reaction against theological rationalism and pietism. The movement followed the Old L ...

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, 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 Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

synodal system, with an annual national

, 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

(''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 The Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (in French, ''Société des missions évangéliques de Paris''), also known as the ''SMEP'' or ''Mission de Paris'', was a Protestant missionary association created in 1822. As with other Christian societie ...

(''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 The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament and Islamic scripture). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb ...

". 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, King James Version (Oxford Standard, 1769) "...and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Christian denominations founded in France

History of Protestantism in France