The Spread of
Presbyterianism in Europe
-- a history of triumph over persecution.The Calvinist tradition was the most international of the Reformation movements. it penetrated not only Western Europe, but Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia) as well. Calvin even commissioned missionaries to go to Brazil.
Switzerland
Calvin had made this small middle European nation the center of the Reformation in Europe. Exiles came here to study with Calvin, then carried his ideas back home.France
Despite severe persecution, many French people were attracted to the Reformed Church. Called Huguenots, they established the first Reformed Congregation in 1555, and convened the first Synod in 1559.Netherlands
A Presbyterian constitution was adopted in 1563. It provided the basis for the formation of many congregations. The Dutch Reformed Confessions of 1618 remained part of their constitution until the 20th century.Scotland and Ireland
After studying under Calvin in Geneva, John Knox returned to Scotland in 1559 and established the Presbyterian faith. Soon thereafter, Scottish settlers brought Presbyterianism to Northern Ireland, an important steppingstone on the trail leading to America.England
The Westminster Assembly, called together under an alliance of English, Scottish and Irish Presbyterians, prepared the Psalter, Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms and other key texts between 1643 and 1649. These documents later became cornerstones of American Presbyterianism.Emigration to America
Renewed religious persecution drove many Presbyterians to America. There they established new communities and a new life. Major groups of emigrants included English Puritans; French Huguenots; and Dutch, German, Scottish and Irish Presbyterians. The largest single group was an exiled community of Scots who had lived in Ireland in the 1720s.Presbyterianism in America grew rapidly...
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