The Calvin Auditory

The Calvin Auditorium or Calvin Auditory (French Auditoire de Calvin) originally the Notre-Dame-la-Neuve Chapel is a chapel in Geneva, Switzerland which played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. It is associated with John Calvin Theodore Beza and John Knox. Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German:   //, Italian: Ginevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). ... Reformation redirects here. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and was a central developer of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism or Reformed theology. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other persons named John Knox, see John Knox (disambiguation). ...

The auditorium lies directly adjacent to Geneva's St. Pierre Cathedral in the Place de la Taconnerie. The austere Gothic-style building was constructed in the fifteenth-century, on the site of earlier fifth-century religious buildings, and originally dedicated to Notre-Dame-la-Neuve. The St. ... See also Gothic art. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 - 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ...

The Auditory in the south shadow of the Cathedral

From 1536, the time of Geneva's Reformation, it became a lecture hall where Calvin actively expounded his reformed theology: Bible studies were conduced here at 7.00 am each morning. 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. An auditorium is the area within a theatre, concert hall or other performance space where the audience is located in order to hear and watch the performance. ... Reformed theology is a branch of Protestant Christian theology based primarily on the theology of Jesus. ... The University of Geneva (Université de Genève) is one of the oldest universities in the world. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Reformation in Scotland was arguably the most important event in Scottish history. ... It has been suggested that Vaudoir be merged into this article or section. ... -1...

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 program to restore the auditorium, which was completed in 1959. Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation. ...

Today, following in the tradition established by Calvin, the Auditoire is still used for worship in other than French languages. 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. The Dutch Reformed village church of St. ... The Church of Scotland (CofS, known informally as The Kirk, Eaglais na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the national church of Scotland. ... A place of worship is a building or other locations where religious persons may worship their deity, regularly or not. ...

References

• information from WARC website (accessed Feb 08 2007)
• The Church of Scotland, Geneva
• official Geneva tourist information (accessed Feb 08 2007)