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.

This article is about the cathedral in Geneva. For the cathedral in Saint-Pierre, see St. Pierre Cathedral, Saint-Pierre.
Saint Pierre Cathedral of Geneva
The Cathedral Church of St Peter
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Genève
St. Pierre Cathedral
Saint Pierre Cathedral of Geneva is located in Switzerland
Saint Pierre Cathedral of Geneva
Saint Pierre Cathedral of Geneva
Location of St. Pierre Cathedral in Switzerland
46°12′4″N 6°8′55″E
LocationGeneva
CountrySwitzerland
DenominationProtestant Church of Geneva
Previous denominationRoman Catholic
TraditionCalvinist
WebsiteSt. Pierre Cathedral
History
StatusParish church
Founded4th century
DedicationPeter the Apostle
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationSwiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
StyleGothic
The nave of St. Pierre Cathedral

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

Below the cathedral is a modern, well-interpreted, and accessible archaeological site that includes a 1st-century BC tomb of an ancient Allobrogian chieftain.[1] An oppidum erected on the hill of Saint-Pierre allowed them to control the inland navigation on the Rhône.[2]

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,[3] in Gothic style. The interior of the cathedral is lined with fourth-century mosaics. 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.

At the time of the Reformation, the interior of the large, cruciform, late-gothic church was stripped of its rood screen, side chapels, and all decorative works of art, except the stained glass, leaving a vast, plain interior that contrasts sharply with the interior of surviving medieval churches that remain Roman Catholic. A Neo-Classical main façade was added in the 18th century.[3] In the 1890s, Genevans redecorated a large, side chapel adjacent to the cathedral's man doors in a polychrome, gothic revival style.

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

Present day

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.

On Whit Saturday, 30 May 2020, after nearly 485 years[4] a Catholic Mass was to be celebrated in the cathedral as a symbol of ecumenical hospitality.[5] Because of COVID-19, the Catholic Mass was postponed and was celebrated on Saturday, 5 March 2022.

On certain nights of the full moon, the cathedral sponsors "The Nocturnes de St-Pierre", an opportunity to access the towers for a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside by moonlight.[6]

Bells
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
  • Spire of St. Pierre Cathedral
    Spire of St. Pierre Cathedral
  • Front entrance of the Cathedral at night
    Front entrance of the Cathedral at night
  • John Calvin's chair
    John Calvin's chair
  • Jet d'Eau from the north tower of the Cathedral
    Jet d'Eau from the north tower of the Cathedral
  • Ceiling of the Maccabees Chapel
    Ceiling of the Maccabees Chapel
  • Chapelle of St. Pierre Cathedral
    Chapelle of St. Pierre Cathedral

See also

References
  1. Blair, Hazel. "St Pierre Cathedral", World Archaeology, Issue 83, May 25, 2017
  2. Kruta, Venceslas (2000). Les Celtes, histoire et dictionnaire : des origines à la romanisation et au christianisme. Robert Laffont. p. 636. ISBN 2-221-05690-6.
  3. "Saint-Pierre Cathedral", Ville de Genève
  4. 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)
  5. Catholic Mass in Cathedral of the Reformed (in German), Deutschlandfunk, 31 May 2020.
  6. "The Nocturnes de St-Pierre", Cathedrale Saint-Pierre Geneve

Further reading
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