John Calvin-Life,Legacy and Theology

JOHN CALVIN : LIFE, LEGACY AND THEOLOGY -
PROF. M. M. NINAN
The house where Calvin was born became part of the Hôtel de France, built in the XVII th century on
the place aux Blés, (in fact, a small yard separated it from the “place”). This is what we can infer from
drawings, engravings and photographs taken before 1918. During the wars of religion and succeeding
invasions the house remained intact – in February 1553, Calvin wrote in a letter “My father’s house is
the only one still standing : it is not reduced to rubble like the other houses of this town.”
Calvin's house was destroyed in the First World War and then
rebuilt
The Germans took possession of Noyon in 1914 – soon after this a memorial plaque was put up on
the house which stated that it was the historic birthplace of the reformer. In the last year of the war it
was completely destroyed, as were all the other houses in the town. The imposing city residences
which used to hide it from view were never rebuilt.
The Société de l’histoire du protestantisme français (SHPF), bought the ruins of the house and thanks
to an international fund which was raised to finance the project, the lower part of the building (as it was
before 1917), was completely restored. This was largely due to the efforts of two friends, Monseigneur
Lagneau, archpriest of the cathedral and pastor Pannier, general secretary of the SHPF. The top part
of the building was added later in order to transform it into a museum. It was inaugurated in 1930,
damaged by bombing in 1944, restored in 1954 and, thanks to the perseverance of pastor Georges
Casalis, modernized in 1983 to become the building we see today.
There is a large library and many pictures in the museum
Bourges, Calvin's pulpit © V.M.F.
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