 After the death of Servetus , Calvin was acclaimed a defender of Christianity , but his ultimate triumph over the libertines was still two years away . He had always insisted that the Consistory retain the power of excommunication , despite the council 's past decision to take it away . During Servetus 's trial , Philibert Berthelier asked the council for permission to take communion , as he had been excommunicated the previous year for insulting a minister . Calvin protested that the council did not have the legal authority to overturn Berthelier 's excommunication . Unsure of how the council would rule , he hinted in a sermon on 3 September 1553 that he might be dismissed by the authorities . The council decided to re @-@ examine the Ordonnances and on 18 September it voted in support of Calvin — excommunication was within the jurisdiction of the Consistory . Berthelier applied for reinstatement to another Genevan administrative assembly , the Deux Cents ( Two Hundred ) , in November . This body reversed the council 's decision and stated that the final arbiter concerning excommunication should be the council . However , the ministers continued to protest , and as in the case of Servetus , the opinions of the Swiss churches were sought . The affair dragged on through 1554 . Finally , on 22 January 1555 , the council announced the decision of the Swiss churches : the original Ordonnances were to be kept and the Consistory was to regain its official powers . 
