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From: "HCV" <>
Subject: [HWE] Huguenots followers of John Calvin
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 15:00:37 +0200

Hi All,

I refer to recent postings on this mailing list mentioning that the Huguenots were followers of Martin Luther. The French Huguenots were all followers of John Calvin, not of Martin Luther, and in fact after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes the French Huguenot refugees were not always welcomed in Lutheran controlled parts of Europe.

This aspect is adequately covered in the excellent plenary session paper "The Huguenot Settlements in Northern Germany - an unknown chapter" by pastor Andreas Flick, president of the Deutschen Hugenotten Gesellschaft (German Huguenot Society), which was delivered at the 3rd International Huguenot Conference held in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, South Africa, during September 2002. The paper is contained in the Proceedings of the 3rd International Huguenot Conference (also known as Bulletin no 39 of the Huguenot Society of South Africa), a publication of 294 pages, copies of which are still available from the Huguenot Society of South Africa at

In the above publication Pastor Flick writes in the "Conclusion" as follows (I quote):

"In Northern Germany Huguenot colonies were established in Altona. Brunswick, Bremen, Bückeburg, Butzow, Celle, Emden, Hamburg, Hamelin, Hanover, Glückstadt and Lübeck. Yet the North German Refuge which provided asylum for over 3,500 Huguenots, a figure which represents 8 % - 10 % of the réfugiés who migrated to Germany, has been largely ignored by international scholars writing about the Huguenots, and there are two main reasons for this. On the one hand, there is still much ground to be covered by German researches as regards the Huguenots in North German territories, and on the other hand, articles and books in the German language are hardly taken notice of by English and French scholars. Added to this, German territorial history is so confusing and the confessional structure so complicated that it is extremely difficult to give an overall view of the North German refuge. But there is one thing that can be said for the north German refuge. Unlike in England or even Hesse,!
for example, the church congregations into which the former Huguenot congregations merged, have remained true to the Reformed faith untill this day. The melodies of the Huguenot Psalter are still a fixed part of their services". (unquote)

Pastor Flick quotes numerous examples of tension and even conflict between the fleeing Calvinist Huguenots who settled in parts of northern Germany, and the local Lutheran inhabitants. This was caused both by a fear of competition with the better qualified Huguenot craftsmen and artisans, and confessional differences between Lutheranism and Calvinism. For example: (I quote)
"Local tradesmen feared the new competition. In Celle the French were called "Nahrungsstörrer"', livelihood disturbers. In neighbouring Lüneburg, there are documents in the archives which describe a serious attack on Huguenot artisans. In 1686, German artisans from the guilds, accompanied by two soldiers, entered the workshop of two French dressmakers and confiscated the clothes. The dressmakers were mishandled and flung into prison.

"Besides economic rivalry and differences in mentality, there was a further factor which - at least in Northern Germany - made relations between the Germans and the French difficult: confessional differences between the German Lutherans and the French Calvinists. In Calvinist Emden and in Bremen the Huguenots encountered few problems with the German ministers - belonging as they did to the same confession. The situation was equally favourable in the county of Schaumburg where the ruling dynasty professed the Reformed religion, or again in the Dukedom of Brunswick-Wolfenbiittel where the liberal theology of the University of Helmstedt had resulted in a mild form of Lutheranism. Nonetheless, the great majority of the North German territories were Lutheran and in some places a strict Lutheran anti-Calvinist orthodoxy prevailed". (unquote)

The Lutheran followers sometimes regarded the Calvinist Huguenots even as a greater "danger" than the Roman Catholics, and in some cases were even forbidden to preach Calvinist theology. Pastor Flick writes as follows (I quote)"

"The Ministeriurn tripolitanum, a union of the church councils of Hamburg, Lüneburg and Lübeck, was strictly opposed to the recognition of non-Lutheran confessions. Lübeck's Lutheran clergy referred disparagingly to the Huguenots as "sacramentarians" because of their Reformed confession. There was also the fear that by their wealth, well-to-do Calvinists would encourage the citizens of Lübeck to convert to the Reformed faith. The continual fierce attacks on the French Reformed refugees in Lübeck finally drove the Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick II, to intervene. He regarded the sermons directed against the Huguenots as a personal affront to himself. But it was in Hamburg that the resistance to religious toleration was at its most virulent. An entry in the poor relief book of the French Reformed congregation in Hamburg, dated 2nd November 1696, runs, "We have been forbidden to preach in the town". Although many refugees lived in Hamburg, it was not until 1785 that they were!
granted the right to exercise their religion freely. If, despite these hindrances, Huguenots settled in Lübeck or Hamburg, it could only have been because of the favourable economic conditions that prevailed there.

"Both in Lübeck and in Celle, the Huguenots were compelled to hold their Reformed services in French and on the quiet". (unquote)

Some Huguenot Calvinists who settled in Lutheran controlled parts of Europe were later absorbed in the Lutheran church and the French Reformed congregations in some cases ceased to exist. In this case their descendants may be Lutheran to this day. Pastor Flick writes (I quote):


"After the death of the Duchess in 1722, the brightest years of the Celle congregation were over. From as early as 1705 Celle was ruled from Hanover. The absence of a court meant that many Huguenots could see no further career prospects and left the town. On 7th November 1800 the widow de Cheusse commented on the situation: "The French Reformed congregation in Celle was once one of the largest and most prosperous in the whole country. Today it is extinct, with the exception of a few decrepit old persons." In 1805 the French Reformed congregation was united with the German Reformed congregation which had been established in 1709. Since then, the congregation has been called the Evangelish-Reformierte Gemeinde - the Evangelical Reformed congregation." (unquote)

I thought that these quotations (brief as they may be) may shed some light on the fact that the French Huguenots were originally all followers of John Calvin. For anyone wishing for a more complete insight into the historical facts, I recommend pastor Flick's complete paper.

Kind regards
Christo Viljoen

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