1536–1542

Calvin and the reform of Geneva

In 1536 Calvin was passing through Geneva, a newly independent republic. Guillaume Farel demanded that he stay and lead the city's reform, and Calvin yielded.

A dispute over the right of excommunication led to the expulsion of Calvin and Farel in 1538. In Strasbourg Martin Bucer made Calvin pastor to the French refugees. There he probably conceived the idea of a consistory.

Calvin was recalled to Geneva in September 1541. He secured the "Ecclesiastical Ordinances", which established four offices (pastors, doctors, elders, deacons) and a consistory. It was made up of pastors and lay elders and was to oversee morals and doctrine.

In 1541–1542 the consistory took shape as a compromise between church and city authority. This gave Geneva the status of a model Protestant city-state.