August 8: Geneva Tour

The city of Geneva is in the western-most part of the country of Switzerland. It is surrounded on three sides by France. If you travel three miles north or three miles south of Geneva, you must cross a French border. So Geneva was the perfect place for John Calvin to spend his life's work in exile, always seeking from this refuge to call his beloved France to the Gospel.

Calvin had not wanted to live in Geneva. As a young man, suddenly famous for writing his first edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin was traveling through Geneva intending to stay for one night only, seeking a place of rest and repose for further writing.

The city of Geneva had voted to outlaw Roman Catholicism in the city and adopt the Reformation only two years before this (1536). This was fruit of the amazing efforts of a handful of preachers (not Calvin) (more in just a moment about one of them.). Perhaps the most important of these preachers was a man named William Farrel. When Farrell heard that John Calvin was in Geneva for the night he went to his hotel room and begged him to stay and lead the Reformation in the city. When none of Farrell's arguments succeeded, he prayed aloud that God would curse the repose Calvin was seeking if he left the city. Calvin was so terrified by Farrell's prayer that he considered that God was calling him to minister in the city.

Geneva never became a restful home for Calvin, although he grew to love the people of Geneva, writing, "The welfare of this church it is true lay so near to my heart that for its sake I would not have hesitated to lay down my life."

When we arrived in Geneva, believe it or not, it was pouring rain and it rained pretty much all day.  I was shocked. Shocked and soaked. Perhaps you can tell from this picture. This is from left to right: William Farrell with clenched fist, John Calvin with fingers in both Old Testament and New, Theodore Beza who was Calvin' successor in Geneva, and John Knox. All four men lived in Geneva at the same time in the year 1559.

Our tour guide was a Swiss policeman named Fabien who attends a church pastor Ed by a Master's Seminary graduate named John Glass. Here we are in St Peter's Cathedral where John Calvin ministered in Geneva.

St Peter's church in Geneva is not having its 500th birthday this year.  More like 1000th birthday!  The church was in Geneva long before Calvin came. The church is truly impressive. More pictures of the church tomorrow.  Imagine that you are a persecuted Hugonaut, and you come to this Reformed city and find safety and refuge and enter this church for the first time. 

(To be continued momentarily).