CONCLAVE (CONCLAVE). — For Protestants the c. (rarely called concistoro) has many forms and meanings. For Calvin (1509–64) in Geneva the c. was the great means of dominating the city. It was composed of 12 elders, of whom, if not legally, at least practically, Calvin was the head. It fell within its competence to judge the religious and moral discipline of the citizens, and for this reason it investigated, admonished, excommunicated transgressors, and, if this was not sufficient, reported them to the magistrates. And since the magistrates or civil authority, in Calvin’s doctrine, were to govern the city according to the law of God, and practically the sole interpreter of the divine law was Calvin, he, in the shadow of the c., was the absolute head of the city.
Among Lutherans there are various classes of councils and tribunals called c. Through them the German princes governed the Church of their states. In the Evangelical Church of Prussia, which King Frederick William III (1797–1840) formed by uniting the Lutherans and Reformed of his states, there was, after 1851, a supreme c., composed of Lutherans and Reformed. In the Reformed Churches (with the exception of the Presbyterian), the individual local congregations are governed by a c., composed of the local pastor, elders, and deacons: the pastor and elders are responsible for overseeing spiritual interests, while the deacons administer goods and charitable works. In the “National Protestant-Presbyterian Church of Italy,” organized in 1929, the name “supreme c.” is given to the board or council that is to govern the Church.