Protestant Temple en Seine-et-Marne

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Key figures

Origin and history

The Protestant temple of Nanteuil-lès-Meaux, located on Rue Pasteur, is an emblematic religious building of the United Protestant Church of France. Its history dates back to the 16th century, when the Cenacle of Meaux, a humanist circle protected by Marguerite de Valois-Angoulême, sister of François I, was dissolved in 1525 under pressure from the Sorbonne. This group, led by Guillaume Briçonnet, Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples and Guillaume Farel, advocated religious reforms, including preaching in French rather than Latin.

In 1546, the Calvinist community of Meaux already had 400 members, but the repression was violent: 14 men, including Pastor Pierre Leclerc, were burned alive, while women and children were forced to convert. Despite these persecutions, a first temple was built between 1570 and 1601 in the hamlet of Chermont, at Nanteuil-lès-Meaux. This place of worship, decorated with black marble Law tables, symbolized the reformed identity, before being destroyed after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685.

Religious freedom was restored with the French Revolution. In 1802, descendants of exiled Protestants returned to Meaux. The present temple, rebuilt in 1827 under the Restoration, adopts a sober neo-classical style, characteristic of the Reformed Churches. His facade, marked by four Tuscan columns, bears a Bible in bas-relief and an inscription drawn from the gospel according to John. Inside, wooden panels expose the tables of the Law, the Our Father and the Symbol of the Apostles, perpetuating Protestant tradition.

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