The Genevan Consistory: Case Files

The Consistory of Geneva (1541 to 1564) was the body in which the pastors and ruling elders of the city met every Thursday morning to exercise ecclesiastical discipline. From the working life of the Consistory under Calvin’s leadership emerged the disciplinary architecture that shaped Reformed church polity in Scotland, the Netherlands, France, and ultimately America. This reference compiles 214 verified cases and disciplinary patterns drawn from the Consistory’s own registers and the modern scholarly literature.

Each card is tagged by jurisdiction. Consistory cases were adjudicated by the Consistory itself. Small Council cases were handled by Geneva’s civic government, including the famous Servetus and Bolsec proceedings (included to clarify what the Consistory did and did not do). Joint or referred cases involved both bodies. Categorical patterns describe recurring types of action documented across the archive.

Click any card for the full case detail and source citations. Use the search and filters to narrow by name, year, jurisdiction, or decade. Cases are grouped by decade, followed by a final section connecting Geneva’s disciplinary categories to contemporary pastoral application.