Station: [11] The "Church of the Desert"

Can you work out the secret of this mirror? 
Here's a clue: try looking at it from behind!
There is a recess in the back, a perfect hiding place for a Bible. 
Foto: 11.2.JPG
Devout Huguenots depended on such devices to save their faith as well as their lives. When the Edict of Fontainebleau was issued in 1685, it stripped the Protestants of all their rights. Anyone in possession of a Reformed Bible, or attempting to flee the country, had to be prepared for the worst. Being sentenced to the galleys was an especially cruel punishment. Convicts were chained as oarsmen on the galleys, which were actually warships. They even had to spend the nights at the oars. It was an ordeal with virtually no survivors.  
Foto: 11.3.JPG
Nevertheless, some courageous Huguenots remained true to their beliefs and found ways to live according to their faith. The tiny chignon bible helped. It was so small that women could conceal it in their hair under their bonnets.
To continue to hold services, baptise children and celebrate communion together, committed Huguenots often came together at night, out in the open or at secret locations. Under the name "Church in the Desert", they practised their faith in secret. Just like the people of Israel in the Old Testament, who wandered through the desert for forty years to finally reach the Promised Land. 

Foto: © DHG