Geneva Servetus Conference
By Peter Hughes
October 28th, 2003
Servetiana List
I have just returned from the ICUU (International Council
of Unitarians and Universalists) conference "Commemorating
Servetus," held at Geneva Switzerland, October 24-27.
October 27 was the 450th anniversary of the burning of Servetus.
We marked the occasion by gathering at the site of the execution
at Champel, which was then just outside of Geneva but is now
a neighbourhood park, and held a short service there. We then
walked to the expiatory monument erected by the Genevans in
1903 where we heard a speech by a representative of the Geneva
Reformed church.
The conference was held at the Centre Internationale Reforme
John Knox on the north side of Geneva. There were about 30
participants, from Great Britain, the United States, Hungary,
Romania (Transylvania), Germany, and elsewhere in Europe.
There were lectures by Rev Clifford Reed, Rev Andrew Hill,
Dr Elek Rezi, and myself. The topics of these addresses complemented
each other well, exploring the life and theology of Servetus,
and our Servetian and Calvinist heritages. I am told that
the texts will soon be published in both English and Hungarian.
Sunday worship was led by Rev Richard Boeke and held at Chapelle
des Crets, the local Reform church. Rev Reed then led a tour
of old Geneva, taking us to the La Madelaine Church where
Servetus was apprehended, the site of the old prison where
he was incarcerated, and the old city hall where he was condemned.
We also looked at the St. Pierre Cathedral, where Calvin preached
during his tenure in Geneva, and at the imposing (almost frightening)
Reformer monuments in the city park.
I greatly appreciate meeting many people I had only or chiefly
known before through internet communication and others whom
I had not met before but with whom I hope to keep in touch.
Organizers and participants were very accommodating and helpful
in making sure that I was able to get around in Geneva, pushing
my wheelchair over cobbled streets and up and down the steep
slopes of that hilly town and hauling me in and out of buses.
Much interest was expressed in the reprint of Bainton's Hunted
Heretic that the UUHS has undertaken to produce. I also shared
with the group the news that Servetus' magnum opus, Christianity
Restored, has been translated into English and will be available
in the near future.
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