Scarred by divisions

Arch-covered street in the old village of Villecroze, France
For the traveler with eyes to see, France remains scarred by the battles which raged there between Protestants and Catholics in the 1500s. For more than 30 years, French Wars of Religion raged between the Reformed (often called Huguenot) who were allied to the House of Bourbon and the Catholic monarchy. There were actually eight separate wars of religion fought over a 36 year period from 1562-1598. These open conflicts were divided by times of uneasy peace. Both sides massacred and murdered their enemies, and at times the reformed group posed a real threat to the crown. England, not known for its love of French monarchs, gave support to the Protestants. The staunchly Catholic Spain supported their fellow Catholics.

While in Provence we visited what is now called the ghost town of Les Baux. The town, located on a rocky plateau that had been inhabited for thousands of years, became a Protestant center from which an unsuccessful revolt against the monarchy was launched. Cardinal Richelieu ordered the castle and its walls destroyed in 1632 and the town remained empty ruins until modern times, a reminder of the cost of countering the crown on the religion of the state.

In Provence, we rented an apartment for the week in the small Village of Villecroze in the Var region north of the famed Cote d'Azur (St. Tropez east past Cannes to Monaco). Our own medieval town was known for its caves, that had been crafted into a hiedout for Huguenots at a time when Huguenot military strength was growing and the cause could claim more than 60 fortified strongholds, not counting little Villecroze. Fortunately the hideout and escape route for the Villecroze caves was never needed.

As an aside, a group of Huguenots who feld France, came to live in America. My wife has Huguenot ancestors who settled in South Carolina. Most Huguenot churches later combined with other denominations including the Presbyterians and the united Church of Christ.

In my own travels in Italy and France, I never saw any Protestant Church other than the Anglican congregation with whom we worshipped in Assisi. I do know that other denominations exist and thrive in some places in Europe. I also know that Jesus prayed for those who followed him to be one as he and the Father are one so that the world may see and believe.

I feel that the wars of religion are one explanation for the secularization of Europe. Having such great upheaval immediately before the Enlightment turn toward science no doubt led many great thinkers to see religion as more problem than cure. I have written before that science and religion need not be at odds. Yet, I think the division among people of faith helped drive the wedge between science and religion.

Likewise, I feel that the more people who share a common faith in Jesus Christ come together, the more attracting the Christian faith becomes to those who are struggling to make sense out of their lives. Churches do not grow by division, but by multiplication. While I was saddened by the division I saw scarring the land more than 350 years later, I am heartened to return to Camden County, where the churches have found ways to show our common belief is more important than the things which would divide us.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

The ruins of Les Baux

Looking out on Villecroze from the cave