The ‘resistance’ incarnated by WWII French resistance fighters, four of whom were recently inducted into the Panthéon, was also displayed three centuries ago by the main actors of the ‘first Synod of the Desert’–that is, the assembly held in August 1715 in Montèzes, near Monoblet. Noting that ‘resistance’ does not just mean opposition and combat but also persistence, the present article recalls the necessity for the Churches of the Desert, in the eyes of Antoine Court, to reinstitutionalise themselves. It examines the definitive role played by the young Court in this affair, as well as the visits he paid to the Cévennes during the spring and summer of 1715. It explains how and why, at his prodding, this ‘crisis centre’ assembly evolved into a synod.