Worship at the Margins: On Violence, Enclosures, and the Reformed Church of Paris (1555–1562)

Abstract

This essay traces the brief history of the Reformed Church of Paris through the socio-spatial experiences of its members. Using Oren Yiftachel’s concept of ‘gray space’ as an analytical framework, it examines how the community navigated marginalization and violent persecution under Catholic urban dominance. The essay highlights key locations described in contemporary Protestant literature, including prison cells, private homes, and the grassy Parisian suburbs. It is argued that though the Protestant community was ultimately unable to overcome their enclosures, they found ways to reinterpret their marginalization nonetheless, drawing strength and agency from their constrained circumstances.