St. Pierre Cathedral

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Saint Pierre Cathedral of Geneva
The Cathedral Church of St Peter
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Genève
St Pierre Cathedral (46717064755).jpg
St. Pierre Cathedral
Switzerland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Saint Pierre Cathedral of Geneva
Location of St. Pierre Cathedral in Switzerland
46°12′4″N6°8′55″E / 46.20111°N 6.14861°E / 46.20111; 6.14861 Coordinates: 46°12′4″N6°8′55″E / 46.20111°N 6.14861°E / 46.20111; 6.14861
Location Geneva
Country Switzerland
Denomination Protestant Church of Geneva
Previous denomination Roman Catholic
Tradition Calvinist
Website St. Pierre Cathedral
History
Status Parish church
Founded4th century
Dedication Peter the Apostle
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designation Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
Style Gothic
The nave of St. Pierre Cathedral Geneve. (9838876563).jpg
The nave of St. Pierre Cathedral

Saint Pierre Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland is a former Roman Catholic cathedral that was later converted into a Reformed Protestant Church of Geneva church during the Reformation.

Contents

It is known as the adopted home church of John Calvin, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. Inside the church is a wooden chair used by Calvin.

History

Although this has been the site of a cathedral (a church that is the seat of a bishop) since the fourth century, the present building was begun under Arducius de Faucigny, the prince-bishop of the Diocese of Geneva, around 1160, in Gothic style. The interior of the large, cruciform, late-gothic church was stripped of its rood screen, side chapels, and all decorative works of art, leaving a vast, white-washed interior that contrasts sharply with the interior of surviving medieval churches in countries that continued to be part of the Roman Catholic Church. A Neo-Classical the main facade was added in the 18th century. In the 1890s, Genevans redecorated a large, side chapel adjacent to the cathedral's man doors in polychrome, gothic revival style. The German painter Konrad Witz painted an altarpiece, the so-called St. Peter Altarpiece, for the cathedral in 1444, now in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva, which contains his composition, the Miraculous Draught of Fishes.[ citation needed ]

Currently, every summer a German Protestant minister is present, making it possible to hold bilingual services and meetings of both German and French Protestant worshippers. [ citation needed ]

Theodore Beza, French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar, and successor to John Calvin, was buried in St. Pierre in 1605.

On Whit Saturday, 30 May 2020, after nearly 485 years [1] a Catholic Mass was to be celebrated in the cathedral as a symbol of ecumenical hospitality the first time again. [2] Because of COVID-19, the celebration was first postponed from 29 February 2020 to 30 May 2020, but could again not be celebrated because of the pandemic. The celebration was postponed to 2021. [3]

On 5 March 2022, the Mass was finally celebrated in the cathedral. [4]

Bells

Chapelle of St. Pierre Cathedral Chapelle des Macchabees (47623232361).jpg
Chapelle of St. Pierre Cathedral
No.
 
Name
 
Year
 
Caster,
Gussort
Durchmesser
(mm)
Mass
(kg)
Strike tone
 
Tower
 
1La Clémence1902H. Rüetschi, Aarau21906238g0North
2L'Accord1845S. Treboux, Vevey15602080c1South
3La Bellerive1473Nicolas Guerci14001500e1North
4La Collavine160911401012g1South
5L'Espérance2002H. Rüetschi, Aarau930475a1South
6L'Eveil1845S. Treboux, Vevey750261c2South
7Le Rappel15th century590133e2South
ILa Cloche des Heures146012901610e1Spire
IILe Tocsin1509760270cis2South

See also

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References

  1. After the temporary suspension of the Mass by a city council decision on August 10, 1535, no Catholic Mass had taken place. (Publication de L'Association pour la Restauration de Saint-Pierre, Saint-Pierre Ancienne Cathédrale de Genève, Geneva, 1982, p. 67)
  2. Catholic Mass in Cathedral of the Reformed (in German), Deutschlandfunk, 31 May 2020.
  3. Still waiting for a historical event (German), Domradio, 2 June 2020
  4. https://www.cath.ch/newsf/geneve-la-premiere-messe-a-la-cathedrale-st-pierre-en-mars/

Further reading

Images