Pierre and Renée Filhol
One of the great ladies of French Evangelical Protestantism left this world Tuesday, December 13, 2022. Without the extraordinary dedication of Pierre and Renée Filhol it is doubtful that the Faculté Jean Calvin would exist, let alone be thriving. The same could be said of the flourishing local church, l’Église Réformée Évangélique on the Rue de la Masse in Aix. The Filhols, to use the expression, were pillars of the community. We may never know the ways they supported the needy and the destitute.
Renée was a beloved mother and grandmother. We first met the Filhols when we visited Aix in 1974. Together with Paul Wells and various French leaders, they had decided to reopen the seminary in Aix and put it on an independent confessional basis. Pierre was president of the trustees. Renée handled all the accounts. This team was uniquely dedicated to the well-functioning of our beloved Faculté Jean Calvin.
Renée excelled in the gift of hospitality, undergirded with a profound love of people. Perhaps unlike some of her compatriots she loved Americans and recognized our love for France and for things French. She also humbly knew that without the partnership of the Dutch, the Swiss and the Americans, the seminary could not operate. At the same time she resisted any attempt to “infantiliser” this properly indigenous work. She had, not pride, but dignity.
The Filhols more or less adopted us. We lived in the same apartment complex. We had meals with them frequently and talked with them honestly about the problems and opportunity of “La Fac”. We benefitted greatly from their wisdom and experience. We also dearly love their two children, Hélène and Daniel. Though she retired a number of years ago, her absence will be sorely felt. Let us resolve to accompany Pierre in his grief, until that day when they will be together with Jesus Christ in eternity.
William Edgar
Professor Emeritus of Apologetics
Westminster Theological Seminary
Philadelphia, USA