Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/77

Contributor - Harvey van Farowe

Title - Reformation in Western Switzerland

Topic - Church History

In recent articles we have been focusing on men like Zwingli and Bullinger who furthered reformation in and around Zurich, in "German Switzerland". In this article we will move westward and begin to tell of reformation in "French Switzerland", in places nearer the French border. These places have been very influential for the Christian cause. One prominent example is Geneva, where John Calvin himself labored and which became a strong, Protestant center. It is said that Geneva became "the Protestant Rome" "from which proceeded the ideas and impulses for the Reformed Churches of France, Holland, England, and Scotland".

Persecuted Christians from nearby France sparked the reformation in Western Switzerland. Men like William or Guillaume Farel, who was born in France, gave it early strong leadership. The Edict of Nantes, granting much religious freedom to the Huguenots (Reformed Christians in France) was rescinded and many Huguenots fled into Switzerland. Western Switzerland at that time was getting more ripe for change. Among the Catholic leadership there was considerable laxity, "corruption", and injustice. News was also being received of reform further east in the country as well as in Germany. People had heard of Luther and Zwingli and their convictions. A strong desire existed for more freedom and change.

Into this hunger for reform came fleeing Protestants from France, and in particular, William Farel. Farel was a courageous preacher and evangelist. It is said "he was as bold and fearless as Luther". He has been termed "the Elijah of the French Reformation". He was born in France and had been a roman Catholic but as a student in Paris had had as his main teacher, Jacques Le Fevre. Le Fevre had translated Scripture and had a great appreciation for the truths believed so strongly by the Apostle Paul, like justification by faith. This teacher left his mark on Farel. The latter engaged in an earnest study of the Bible and saw that salvation could only be had in Jesus Christ, that the Bible is man's rightful authority, and that there was no biblical basis for a number of Roman Catholic teachings. Schaff said Farel "was amazed that he could find in the New Testament no trace of the pope, of the hierarchy, of indulgences, of purgatory, of the mass, of seven sacraments, of sacerdotal celibacy, of the worship of Mary and the saints". Farel became a Protestant and an outspoken one. And, because of this, his life became hounded by enemies and he fled to Switzerland, to the city of Basel.

There he found more reception though also opposition from church leaders. He was so ardent and anti-Catholic that he was in danger there too. Some hated him and called him "heretic" and "devil". He received death threats and once there was an attempt to poison him. He was eventually expelled from Basel.

He then went to various places, including Zurich, where he became more acquainted with Zwingli. He was also in Bern, the present Swiss capital, where he was given liberty to preach in the districts under its control. By this freedom the Reformation truths spread and took more root. Farel later went to Geneva and there was welcomed by many Huguenots. In Geneva he was destined to leave a lasting imprint, both in effecting a noteworthy reformation in the city and in being instrumental in having John Calvin come there.

Of his vital role in the reformation in Geneva, I would cite the following. In 1534 he engaged in a public debate with a Catholic leader, Guy Furbity. The debate took place before the Great and Small Councils. It went on for several days and, in the end, advanced the cause of truth and the Reformation. Farel was convincing in pointing out that Christ was the proper head of the church and that the church might not "impose ordinances" which were not Scriptural. The ruling Council decided to give permission to the reformers to hold public Christian services and the Council even became part of the reformation movement. In 1535 and 1536 the mass was abolished and images and relics were taken out of churches. Citizens promised, 'by an oath", to live according to the precepts of the gospel. A school, bearing the stamp of the reformation, was started. A non-Catholic hospital was begun, "daily sermons" were introduced in a couple of places, and it was decreed that "all shops were to be closed on Sunday". The city took on a vastly different character.

Farel also was successful in getting Calvin to Geneva, and, under him, reformation flourished still more. Of this I hope to write more in future articles. Although both Calvin and Farel later were sent out of the city because their strict discipline and rules were not accepted, Geneva was never the same again. Indeed, the late Kenneth Latourette, a prominent modern church historian, wrote it was "the main centre of the kind of Protestantism which bore the designation Reformed".

Reform and revival didn't only come to Geneva. It came to Neuchatel where Farel accepted a call and served most of the rest of his life. It came to Lausanne, on the other side of Lake Geneva, where Peter Viret, preached. Viret, unlike Farel, was born in Switzerland. He was trained for the priesthood but didn't have peace of conscience, went through quite a spiritual struggle, and left Romanism to become a preacher of the gospel. He was not as outspoken as Farel but also was greatly used, even in the conversion of his parents and around two hundred persons in the town in which he was born. It is even said that his sermons were more popular and impressive than those of Calvin, and better attended, though Calvin was undoubtedly a greater expositor and as an organizer. Viret served as pastor, teacher, and author in Lausanne for twenty-two years.

Farel and Viret were also used in Bern. They were the chief speakers, on the reformation side, in a public debate there. Following this debate the cause of the Reformation was officially introduced.

Thus Farel, Viret, Calvin, and Theodore Beza were all men whom the Lord used as leaders in Western Switzerland at a strategic time. God does greatly use individuals, sometimes much more than we realize. This is a lesson of history we should not forget. Indeed, it is a lesson of the Bible.

As God raised up an Elijah and a Paul in the days of Scripture, He raised up a William Farel, a Peter Viret, and a John Calvin in this later important period. Certainly, God calls many to be His channels in greater and lesser ways.

Let us thank Him for it and realize He is ever on the throne.

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.