Calvin. History and Reception of a Reformation Week 5. Reading Calvin Today Sequence 4. Calvin's Imprint on Geneva What exactly is the imprint left by Calvin on Geneva? Those of us who live in Geneva today undoubtedly lack the perspective to properly answer such a question. This is why this sequence will be taught by one of Europe's (and indeed the world's) foremost Calvin scholars, professor Herman Selderhuis. Herman Selderhuis teaches the history of Christianity in the Netherlands. It is with great pleasure that I now give him the floor, so that he may educate us on how the outside world, so to speak, sees Calvin's Geneva. >> Geneva. Geneva is the name of a city that rings a bell for many Protestants. Thousands, hundreds of thousands of Protestants, maybe millions, know the name Geneva, especially the Calvinists among the Protestants. But not too many have visited the city. What would happen if they would come, today, as some have done? I guess, most will be disappointed not to see the image of John Calvin at the airport, or at Cornavin station, and they will be disappointed entering the city. And it takes some time before they can see the traces of John Calvin. The same will happen to those that do not know that Geneva was, and maybe is, the city of John Calvin. A visitor to the city having no knowledge at all about the Reformation, about John Calvin, about Calvinism or the Reformed church, would not notice that this city has so many characteristics that were left by John Calvin. Unless the visitor visits the old country, and comes to the place where the cathedral is, and the Auditoire, the school of Calvin, and maybe visits the Musée of the history of the Reformation, the beautiful museum right next to the cathedral. So, what is there to see of John Calvin? It seems that the city is not too proud of having had this man for so long in the town, having made this city so famous among so many in the world. If you would come on a Sunday, you would notice that most shops, nearly all, are closed. That could be a remains of the policy of John Calvin who ordered that shops should be closed on Sundays, at least during the church services. So everyone would have a chance to go to church. However, having shops closed on Sunday is to be seen in many cities in Europe. So, that is not something that is special for the leftovers of John Calvin. There are some things you could see that can be linked to the influence of John Calvin. One of the things is the University in the city. Calvin started that university in 1559 as a training institution for pastors, theologians, later on, politicians and lawyers, and this University has grown, it has grown into an international famous institution. But even if you walk through the surroundings of the University, go through the buildings, there's not much reverence to the one who founded it. When you leave the University building, you can walk right into the Reformation Wall, a huge wall with the statues of some famous politicians and theologians, the biggest statue is that of John Calvin. If you look at it from a right perspective, you can see that this Reformation Wall is outside the old city walls. What does that mean? Does that mean that they wanted to keep Calvin out of the city? That may be true, because Calvin had a hard time when he was here. They called him "illegalus", this French man, and that was not a compliment. He was regarded as a foreigner, who took with him a lot of other foreigners. A lot of French refugees came into the city, and the natives of Geneva did not really like that. Having a foreigner like Calvin govern the city and he was to decide on how you should live, whether you should dance or not dance, whether you should call your names, your children with names from Saints or not, and many other rules; they just didn't like him. Is that the reason why they put up the Reformation Wall outside the city walls? Or is it the opposite? Is it that this means that Calvin and his message, Calvin and Calvinism were faced towards the world? They wanted to be not just in Geneva, but wanted to reach the world. First phase, the University, train people to work in various fields in this world, in economics, in law, in social life, in all institutions. So, it's just a matter of perspective. Let's go back to what can be seen. And I first want to mention what you cannot see as a remains of what is to be seen of Calvin. That sounds complicated, but it's quite easy. What you do not see in this city are images of Saints, of Mary, of Jesus. They were removed. Geneva was fed up with the Roman Catholic bishop long before Calvin came. But as soon as he arrived, he wanted to clean the city of all the remains of Catholicism. So, that is something you can see, although you can't see it. There's another aspect. It is the internationality of Geneva, that is not particular for just a city, but it does link to Calvin's stay, here in Geneva. Calvin was an attraction. Already during his life, tourists came to Geneva to see him, to hear him preach. Students came from all over the world to be trained here. That gave the city an international flair. What you can also see is prosperity, in Geneva. It is, compared to most other cities in the world, a wealthy city. Now, I do not know if that counts for all the people that live here, but you certainly can see that money plays an important role. Well, that links to the thesis that Calvinism and capitalism are twin sisters. Whether this thesis is true or not, it is true that Calvinists made good money in the world, and the Genevans, although they didn't really like Calvin, they did profit from his views on economics, on money, on interest. What else is there to be seen in Geneva? It is a church, a church on a hill. That also is not typical, because you see it in many European cities. But this church was something special. This church, where Calvin preached. And if you walk through Geneva, by night, and the best place to walk there by night is visit the old town, or look at it from the shores of Lake Geneva. You can see the church in full light. That is what Calvin wanted. So, even though the city didn't really like it, they do put all the lights on his church. Now, what if Calvin would visit the city, what would he see? We can only guess. But the thing is, it was not so important for him, what was to be seen. Because one of the fundamental issues of his theology is that what is to be seen, what is visible, objects, are not the essence. What counts is the Word, is the invisible work of the Holy Spirit, for example, as Calvin talks about it. So, whether he would recognize his city or not, we do not know. He would be glad to see that the church is still there, and the University has grown, and that there is a museum where people can learn about him, and that there are classes teaching on his theology. But what would fascinate him most is what happened to what he said. And for that, you can go to Geneva as a starting point. But from there out, you have to go out into the world to see the leftovers and the living remains of Calvin and his message, starting in Geneva.
