Introduction

Biography

Henri was the son of ac­count­ant An­toine Em­pay­taz and Is­a­line Mi­ro­glio, and hus­band of Elis­a­beth-Jeanne-Hen­ri­ette Trem­bley.

After Na­po­le­on Bon­a­parte’s down­fall in 1814, Em­pay­taz was one of ma­ny dis­il­lu­sioned with the ideals of the French Re­vo­lu­tion.

In his view the church in Ge­ne­va had lost its way, and the di­vi­ni­ty of Christ was be­ing re­ject­ed.

He be­came a lead­ing mem­ber of Le Ré­veil (The Awak­en­ing), join­ing pas­tor­al­ists Cé­sar Ma­lan, Émile Guers, Ami Bost and oth­ers who want­ed to re­turn to Bib­li­cal truth.

He served as pas­tor of the in­de­pen­dent Église de Bourg-de-Four (1818–39) and the Église de la Pé­liss­er­ie (1839–53).

Works

• Recueil de Can­tiques Spi­rit­u­els, 1817
• Notice sur Al­ex­an­dre, Em­per­eur de Rus­sie