Registers of the Consistory of Geneva in the Time of Calvin: Volume 1, 1542-1544

Sixteenth Century Journal
"This volume provides for English readers an invaluable and unprecedented picture of the early work of the consistory and of a broad cross-section of mid-sixteenth-century Genevan society. . . All in all, this is a tremendously valuable source for social history, translated and annotated effectively, that should find its way into college and university classrooms and into the hands of those interested in what Calvin actually did, rather than simply said."

Protestant Reformed Theological Journal
"The student of the Reformation will find these records fascinating. . . This book is a valuable addition to the literature of the Calvinistic Reformation in English."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802846181
• ISBN13: 9780802846181
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
• Length: 522 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Tantalizingly incomplete but great window into Calvin's church

During seminary at Princeton there was a big set of matching blue volumes in the reference collection that really fascinated me. Bound typescripts of the consistory minutes of Calvin's church in Geneva. I believe these were the only copies in the Western Hemisphere. Unfortunately they were in French -- and Old (16th century) French at that. Not real accessible, even for those on campus. Completely so for those not. This series of published English translations promised to open this up to a much wider audience. Unfortunately, I think this is the only of the projected 21 volumes (covering 1542-64, with just three lacunae) that has appeared after eight years. I wonder if there have been funding or copyright problems. In any case, we can take what we get. This volume, covering 1542-4, is wonderful. No, it will not satisfy modern expectations for session/consistory/elder minutes. It is spotty at best, and assumes some knowledge of local circumstances that most readers will not have. But it is a great window into the most significant church of the Reformation. While the editors do add some critical notes, obsessive readers will desire alot more. The meetings seem to have happened every Thursday. The consistory seemed to convene very frequently for lots of small and big issues. While they exercised pretty frequent and proactive discipline, the penalties are often surprisingly mild. Spousal abuse, crimes, etc. often resulted in admonishment only for first offenses. Many people are required to learn the Ten Commandments or other creedal or Biblical texts. But the pastoral concern and even tenderness often emerges from even these rather sparse notes. I highly commend this volume to students of Calvin, historians, but also church leaders and laity.