Presented on Saturday and Sunday at 4 pm, pastor Lauriane CRONFALT will present "The United Protestant Church of Savoy: a place of life where a theological, ethical and spiritual heritage is shared".
The exhibition presented at the temple of Aix-les-Bains traces the history of the Protestants of Savoy. In the 16th century, the Reformation initiated by the German monk Martin LUTHER and the French Jean CALVIN appeared in the Duchy of Savoy. Despite many sympathizers and the help of Geneva, «the Protestant», Protestantism did not take hold. There are several reasons for this:
• François de Sales' active Counter-Reform.
• The influence of neighbouring France by Louis XIV, who revoked the Edict of Tolerance of Nantes of 1598 in 1685.
In the eighteenth century, after the Enlightenment, Savoy in the Piedmont-Sardinia kingdom again experienced repressions against Protestants.
In 1860, Savoy became French. Protestants enjoyed freedom of worship and conscience. Temples were built (Annecy, Chambéry, Aix). Pastor André FOURNIER (1836-1887) restored Protestantism in Savoy. He was the first «Evangelical Asylum» and his chapel near the old thermal baths. The building will be demolished and rebuilt in 1933 in the present place: LESTAL, which houses the temple of Aix-les-Bains.