Reformation day

Just before leaving Geneva at the end of April, I decided it wouldn't be right to leave without having seen the Reformation Museum in the old part of town. Since Carrie had to work I went alone. (Back in January, it was great to know we would have 4 months to enjoy the city, but how were we to know that time would eventually run out??)

Some scenery on the way...



St. Peter's Cathedral is a big old church where John Calvin did some fire-and-brimstone preaching during the Reformation era. Here's the chair he used and the steps to the pulpit he preached from:



The church itself is a fair size and nicely plain inside (in contrast to the decked-out Roman Catholic churches in Europe). I climbed up the bell tower and took a zillion pictures of Geneva.





Beside St. Peter's Cathedral is the smaller Calvin Auditorium (a.k.a. John Knox Chapel -- it seems to have several names). This is where Calvin and Knox (and others) preached during the Reformation; it has been used by Protestant groups ever since. Nowadays it is in use by a Dutch Reformed group and the Church of Scotland (we attended services of the latter several times).



Some time probably last century, it was discovered that there were ruins beneath the cathedral, so now there is an archeological dig underneath the site with lots to see. An audio guide is available for a self-guided tour, which provides one with plenty of history (back to the 1st century AD) and a great view of rocks.



Cross sections of the ground show how everything was built up over the centuries. And I encountered a skeleton... neato.



The ticket I bought got me into the bell tower, the ruins underneath, and the Reformation museum. The museum had plenty of things on display, several presentations, and a whole lot of history to read. It all seemed pretty accurate, from what church history I've retained over the years.

There were plenty of manuscripts, like a 300-year-old copy of the Heidelberg Catechism, a 400-year-old edition of the acts of the Synod of Dort, a 500-year-old Latin edition of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, and a letter of John Calvin to William Farel.



In the bookstore I just had to take this next picture. Perhaps he didn't brew beer, but apparently he inspired someone to.



Not far from the cathedral site is a park on university property that includes part of what is known as the Reformation Walk. It has statues or monuments of the main Reformation characters. The main 4 on the wall are Calvin, Farel, Knox and Beza. If any of these are foreign to you, pick up some books! :)





And that, my friends, was Protestant Rome.