Calvin Auditory, Geneva, Switzerland

The Calvin Auditory (Auditoire de Calvin), originally the Notre-Dame-la-Neuve Chapel, played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. It is associated with John Calvin, Theodore Beza and John Knox.

The auditorium lies directly adjacent to St. Pierre Cathedral in the Place de la Taconnerie. The austere Gothic-style building was constructed in the 15th century, on the site of earlier 5th-century religious buildings, and was originally dedicated to Notre-Dame-la-Neuve.

From 1536, the time of Geneva's Reformation, it became a lecture hall where Calvin actively expounded his reformed theology. In 1559, it served as the original home of the University of Geneva. Once Geneva accepted the Reformation, it became a haven for Protestant refugees from all over Europe, and Calvin gave this building over for them to worship in their own language. It was also used by the Scottish reformer John Knox, during his exile in Geneva in the 1550s. Here he ministered to an English-speaking refugee congregation and developed many of the ideas that were to be influential in the Scottish Reformation. Subsequently, it became a place used by numerous Protestant refugee groups including Italian Waldensians, Dutch Reformed and Scottish Presbyterians. It is viewed by many Reformed churches throughout the world as a crucible of their faith.

Over the years, the building deteriorated. In 1954, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches reached an agreement with the National Protestant Church of Geneva and launched a programme to restore the auditorium, which was completed in 1959.

Today, following in the tradition established by Calvin, the Auditoire is still used for worship in languages other than French. It hosts congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church and Italian Reformed Church, as well as being used by a congregation of the Church of Scotland as its main place of worship every Sunday.

References:

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Religious sites in Switzerland

User Reviews

Timothy Welty (3 years ago)
Interesting auditorium that is tied to John Calvin preaching in Geneva. There is a friendly Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) that holds English services on Sunday mornings. Well worth a visit.

Timothy Welty (3 years ago)
An interesting and important center for the Reformation. It is one of the places where John Calvin taught and preached. The auditorium lacks the splendor of Catholic cathedrals, but is beautiful in its simplicity. An English speaking congregation of the Church of Scotland meets in the auditorium on Sunday mornings.

이남희 (4 years ago)
Calvin...

Vladimir Pecha (5 years ago)
A nice chapel associated with John Calvin, he taught Reformed theology here. The Gothic-style building was constructed in the 15th century, on the site of earlier 5th-century religious buildings. This chapel is still a place of worship today for members of the churches of Scotland, Holland and the Italian Reformed Church.

Paul Law (6 years ago)
Sitting in the history

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