Religious practice in the time of the “Desert”
Antoine Court reorganised the practice of religion in secret (also called religion “in the Desert”), returning things to the more disciplined ways of the Reformed Church before the revoking of...
Pastors of the “Church of the Desert”
Following the revoking of the Edict of Nantes, Protestant pastors had to leave France. From 1715, encouraged by Antoine Court, a new group of pastors gradually emerged. The “Church of...
“Church of the Desert” Synods
During the time Protestant religious practice was banned in France, services were held in secret (“Church of the Desert” meetings) in many parts of the country, but particularly in the...
The Gibert brothers
The Gibert brothers exercised a pastoral ministry during the period of the “underground” church. They both had an eventful life that drove them from the “Desert” church to the Refuge.
Jean Jarousseau (1729-1819)
A pastor in the “Church of the Desert”, Jean Jarousseau exercised his ministry in Saintonge at the end of the Heroic Period and during the time called the Period of...
Paul Ricœur (1913-2005)
Paul Ricoeur considered himself to be a philosopher by profession and Christian in his religion. He was thought to be one of the greatest post-war French thinkers. Ricoeur lived a...
François Wendel (1905-1972)
François Wendel was a lutheran lawyer who devoted much study to the Reformation movement, religious institutions in Alsace and Calvin. He was appointed Dean to the protestant University of Strasbourg,...
Edouard Reuss (1804-1891)
Although Edouard Reuss was a professor of theology in the protestant Faculty of Strasburg, he was above all a historian ; dogmatics had little to do with his analysis of the...
Frédéric Lichtenberger (1832-1899)
Frédéric Lichtenberger was a Lutheran pastor at the Faculty of Theology in Strasbourg until the annexation of Alsace. He was Dean of the Faculty of Theology in Paris ; he was...
The tolerated “Church of the Desert” (1760-1787)
In the second half of the XVIIIth century, the marginalisation that excluded Protestants from French society gradually eased.
The “Desert” Protestant Churches (1760-1789)
Even though repressive measures were still being taken against the Protestants and it was not yet possible for them to hold a public service, little by little, they rebuilt the...
André Gide (1869-1951)
André Gide was one of the most well-known writers of the first half of the XXth century. He was born into a protestant family and was brought up in an...
Process Theology
Process theology was influenced by the English philosopher and mathematician, Alfred Whitehead. It was Professor André Gounelle who made known this theology in France – according to which God is...
The Admiral Charles Baudin (1784-1854)
Charles Baudin had an excellent career in the Navy. He was a protestant with a deep personal faith and became the first president of the Central Council of Reformed Churches.
Laurent Angliviel de La Beaumelle (1726-1773)
La Beaumelle was a French man of letters and a contemporary of Voltaire. He considered tolerance to be an essential constituent of Christianity.
The Protestant Theology Faculties today
The protestant theology faculties in France are independent institutions of higher education awarding their own diplomas. Strasbourg is a case apart and is still bound by the Concordat agreement between...
The Protestant Institute of Theology
The Protestant Institute of Theology, which was founded in 1972, is made up of two protestant theology faculties, Paris and Montpellier. Its main role is to prepare for the ministry...
The Independent Evangelical Theological Faculty of Vaux-sur-Seine
The Vaux-sur-Seine Faculty has trained pastors since the late XIXth century. It became an independent institution of further education in 1965. It is a training centre of future pastors in the...
The Bible Institute of Nogent
The Bible Institut of Nogent was founded in 1921 to train evangelists, missionaries and more recently, social workers. There are students of all nationalities who later go on to serve...