An examination of the sermons of pastor Jean Medard in the French city and district of Rouen 1939 to 1945

The manuscript sermons are a unique, contemporaneous response to the horrors of war and occupation in the city and its environs and were an impulse towards singular obedience leading to life threatening actions. They answer the fundamental question of what to say to a deeply troubled congregation during this time.<br><br>The thesis details the sermons in their historical context and identifies the principle topics within the pastor's crisis rhetoric.

This is developed, not only to identify how the congregation was regularly guided to deal with and survive the hardship, but also to determine whether, in being true to a belief in God, the pastor and his colleagues created a French version of the German Confessing Church in the Occupied Zone of France. The thesis also provides evidence Qf the repeated motivation behind Resistance and rescue in the Occupied Zone that enabled refugees to pass through Rauen and its environs and so find refuge from persecution in other parts of France.