Consistories

The essay focuses on the lay elders of the consistory. In the historiography of Reformed/Calvinists consistories, these lay members are rarely studied in detail and are normally treated as a group ('the elders' supported...). This detailed study not only looks at these individuals in the THE model consistory (that of Geneva under Calvin) but also notes their close involvement in social welfare provision in the city. This link has never been noted or explored and not only changes the view of the role of Geneva's elders but also suggests the systems which developed in France, the Dutch Republic and Scotland in a formal manner closely followed what was the informal reality of the Genevan model. Again, this has never been noted before.