| Temple du Marais | |
|---|---|
Eglise Protestante Unie du Marais | |
_20151213.jpg) The Temple du Marais | |
  Temple du Marais The location of the Temple du Maris within Paris | |
| 48°51′12.1″N2°21′58.5″E / 48.853361°N 2.366250°E /48.853361; 2.366250 | |
| Location | Paris |
| Country | France |
| Denomination | United Protestant Church of France |
| Previous denomination | Reformed Church of France |
| Churchmanship | Evangelical[1] |
| Weekly attendance | 300[2] |
| Website | temple.dumarais.fr |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | St. Mary of the Angels, Église Sainte-Marie-des-Anges |
| Authorisingpapal bull | 1626[3] |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 1619 |
| Founder(s) | Francis de Sales,Jane Frances de Chantal |
| Events | Suppressed in theFrench Revolution and sold in 1796. Converted to a Protestant church in 1802 by decree ofNapoléon Bonaparte.[4] |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation |  Monument Historique PA00086261[5] |
| Designated | 1887 as Temple Sainte-Marie |
| Architect | François Mansart |
| Architectural type | church |
| Style | Baroque |
| Years built | 1632-1634 |
| Specifications | |
| Dome height (inner) | 33 m (108 ft) |
| Dome diameter (inner) | 13 m (44 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Synod | Synode régional d'Île-de-France |
| Clergy | |
| Pastor(s) | Gilles Boucomont, Caroline Bretones |
 | |
TheTemple du Marais, sometimes known as theTemple Sainte-Marie, or historically, as theChurch of Sainte Marie de la Visitation, is aProtestantchurch located in the4th arrondissement of Paris, in the district ofLe Marais at 17 Rue Saint-Antoine. It was originally built as aRoman Catholicconvent by theOrder of the Visitation of Holy Mary, whose sisters were commonly called the Visitandines. The church was closed in theFrench Revolution and later given to aProtestant congregation which continues its ministry to the present. The closestmétro station isBastille
The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded in 1610 by SaintFrancis de Sales and SaintJane de Chantal inAnnecy as aCatholic religious order ofnuns. It started a convent in Paris in 1619 which built the current church and the crest of the order still surmounts the rose window above the entrance.[6] The building was designed byFrançois Mansart in 1632, in theBaroque style. The church's benefactor,Noël Brûlart de Sillery, an admirer of thePantheon in Rome, desired a centralized plan. Mansart, no doubt also influenced by the chapel of theChâteau d'Anet, delivered a highly original design with eight interconnected subsidiary spaces surrounding the central 13-metre (44-foot) dome[7] including the sanctuary to the south, the vestibule to the north, three chapels, twosacristies, and the nuns' choir to the west. The design for the exterior was also quite original with the street elevation's three components, the arch with itsMichelangelo inspired portal and projecting cross, thetoit à l'impèriale with its lantern, and the cross-topped spire, drawing the eye heavenward.[8] The building's construction was overseen by the master mason contractorMichel Villedo.[9]
SaintVincent de Paul served as the spiritual director of the convent for twenty-eight years.[10] The church crypt, finished in 1665, was the family mausoleum ofNicolas Fouquet,Superintendent of Finances forLouis XIV, whose remains were transferred to Paris a year after his death. The church is also home to the tomb of Henri, Marquis de Sévigné, husband of noted writerMarie de Rabutin-Chantal.[11]
In 1790 during theFrench Revolution the convent was seized, its furniture sold, and the building converted into storage for books seized from immigrants.[clarification needed] In 1792 the sisters were expelled and the Society of Friends of the Law, led by the courtesanTheroigne de Mericourt, used the chapel for meetings. In 1796 the buildings were sold and all were later demolished apart from the chapel during the creation of the Rue Castex in 1805.[12] The Revolution left its mark on the chapel in the form of aPhrygian cap above a door.[13]
After the Revolution the sisters reconstituted their convent as the Monastère de la Visitation at 68 avenue Denfert-Rochereau where it continues to the present day.[14] The remains of the patron of the convent, Noël Brûlart de Sillery, as well as ofBishop Frémiot (Archbishop of Bourges and brother of Jane de Chantal) were removed to the new location in 1836 rather than leave them in a Protestant church.[15]
After theConcordat of 1801 the church was turned over, along withSaint-Louis-du-Louvre and the chapel of thePentemont Abbey, for the use ofReformed believers in Paris who had been forced to worship in secret or in the chapels of foreign embassies since theRevocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The first time that PastorPaul-Henri Marron preached in the new church he remarked on how Protestants could now worship in freedom and security nestled between such symbols of the oppression of their forebears, theBastille and the home of theJesuits in theLycée Charlemagne.[16]
The church was home to the famed city plannerGeorges-Eugène Haussmann and architectVictor Baltard during their student days atCollège Henri IV. While Baltard was a Lutheran he went with his more radical Protestant peers to the doctrinally stricterCalvinist church.[17] In 1830 the church held the state funeral forBenjamin Constant.[18]
The building was damaged in May 1871 by fierce fighting at a barricade directly in front of the church during theParis Commune.[19] Restoration work was undertaken in 1874 by Marcellin Varcollier and the statues on the pediment ofcharity and religion were carved byErnest-Eugène Hiolle.[20] The church's organ was built byJoseph Merklin in 1895 with additional work by Haerpfer in 1960 and Heddelin in 1992.[21]
Elisée Lacheret became the pastor of the church in 1902 moving from the moretheologically liberall'Oratoire to the moreevangelical Temple du Marais. As president of the permanent commission of the Reformed Church he played an important role during the debate that led to theLaïcité policy that separated church from state in France in 1905.[22] A plaque in the church commemorates his role in assuring the free practice of religion as well as in organizing theEglises Réformées Evangéliques, the evangelical wing of the Reformed church.[23] During theWorld Wars the church crypt was used as a shelter from bombardment and under theGerman occupation of France duringWorld War II the organ was used to hide Jews.[24]
The church continues as part of the United Protestant Church of France and has experienced a great revitalization in recent years going from a handful of congregants in 2004 to 300 weekly attenders, most under the age of 40, today.[25] There are French services at 10:30am on Sundays, an African community service (in French) at 1:00pm, a Japanese service at 4:00pm, and an Arabic service at 6:00pm. The congregation also holds many activities throughout the week including prayer and Bible study groups.[26] The church is open to tourists on Saturday afternoons from 3:30-5:30pm and volunteers provide tours.[27]
temple pentemont restauration.
