This week in Christian history: Church of the Holy Sepulchre destroyed, Mass. bans Quakers

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, October 13, 2024

Theodore Beza dies – Oct. 13, 1605

Theodore Beza (1519-1605), a French-born Protestant Reformation leader, theologian, poet, and important ally to John Calvin. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when Theodore Beza, a prominent French Reformation leader, poet, and ally to Jean Calvin, died at the age of 86 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Also known as Théodore de Bèze, he was born in France and raised Catholic, converting to Protestantism in 1548 following an illness. He would eventually move to Switzerland and meet Reformation leaders, including Calvin.

Among his efforts, Beza served as an important religious leader for the Reformed movement, helping to set up churches in France and teach and debate theology, especially in Geneva.

“Beza was an intellectual and a man of action who established Calvin’s theology thanks to his defense of the Reformed ideas without flaw or compromise,” according to Musée Protestant.

“His dream of turning France into a Protestant country never came true, he died in 1605 at a time when the Edict of Nantes surely protected the Reformed in France. He was undoubtedly one of those who worked most effectively to sustain the Reformation in Europe.”