 In supporting Calvin 's proposals for reforms , the council of Geneva passed the Ordonnances ecclésiastiques ( Ecclesiastical Ordinances ) on 20 November 1541 . The ordinances defined four orders of ministerial function : pastors to preach and to administer the sacraments ; doctors to instruct believers in the faith ; elders to provide discipline ; and deacons to care for the poor and needy . They also called for the creation of the Consistoire ( Consistory ) , an ecclesiastical court composed of the lay elders and the ministers . The city government retained the power to summon persons before the court , and the Consistory could judge only ecclesiastical matters having no civil jurisdiction . Originally , the court had the power to mete out sentences , with excommunication as its most severe penalty . However , the government contested this power and on 19 March 1543 the council decided that all sentencing would be carried out by the government . 
