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| Dutch Reformed Church | |
|---|---|
 Oude Kerk in Amsterdam | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Continental Reformed |
| Scripture | Protestant Bible |
| Theology | Reformed |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Region | Kingdom of the Netherlands,Belgium, andSouth Africa |
| Origin | 4 October 1571 Emden,County of East Frisia in theHoly Roman Empire |
| Separated from | Catholic Church in the Netherlands |
| Separations | Remonstrants (1618) Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (1892) Restored Reformed Church (2004) |
| Merged into | Protestant Church in the Netherlands (2004) |
| Congregations | 1,350 at the time of merger |
| Members | 2 million at the time of merger |
TheDutch Reformed Church (Dutch:Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk,pronounced[ˈneːdərlɑntsəɦɛrˈvɔr(ə)mdəˈkɛr(ə)k], abbreviatedNHK[ˌɛnɦaːˈkaː]) was the largestChristian denomination in theNetherlands from the onset of theProtestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930.[1] It was the traditional denomination of theDutch royal family and the foremostProtestant denomination until 2004, the year it helped found and merged into theProtestant Church in the Netherlands (the largest Protestant and second largest Christian communion in the Netherlands). It was the larger of the two majorReformed denominations, after theReformed Churches in the Netherlands (Gereformeerde kerk) was founded in 1892. It spread to theUnited States,South Africa,Indonesia,Sri Lanka,Suriname,Brazil, and various other world regions throughDutch colonization. Allegiance to the Dutch Reformed Church was a common feature among Dutch immigrant communities around the world and became acrucial part ofAfrikaner nationalism in South Africa.
The Dutch Reformed Church was founded in 1571 during the Protestant Reformation in theCalvinist tradition, being shapedtheologically byJohn Calvin, but also other major Reformed theologians. The church was influenced by various theological developments and controversies during its history, includingArminianism, theNadere Reformatie, and a number of splits in the 19th century that greatly diversified Dutch Calvinism. The church functioned until 2004, the year it merged with theReformed Churches in the Netherlands and theEvangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), aunited church of both Reformed andEvangelical Lutheran theological orientations. At the time of the merger, the Church had 2 million members organised in 1,350 congregations.[citation needed] A minority of members of the church chose not to participate in the merger and instead formed theRestored Reformed Church (HHK).
Before the demise of theDutch Republic in 1795, the Dutch Reformed Church enjoyed the status of "public" or "privileged" church. Though it was never formally adopted as thestate religion, the law demanded that every public official should be acommunicant member. Consequently, the Church had close relations with the Dutch government. A privilege of members of the Dutch Reformed Church was that they could have their businesses open on Sundays, otherwise considered a religious day and not one for business.
The Dutch Reformed Church was officially disestablished in 1795 with the end of the Republic. Although it remained endorsed by the royal family, the Netherlands never had any public church afterwards.
The Reformation was a time of religious violence between the established Catholic Church, Protestants and governments, in some cases. Efforts to form a Reformed church in the southern provinces stemmed from a secret meeting of Protestant leaders atAntwerp in 1566, and despite Spanish repression, many nobles joined the Protestant movement. Two years later, in 1568, following an attack on the Netherlands by the forces of the Duke of Alba, many Netherlanders fled to the German city ofWesel, where aSynod was convened at which theBelgic Confession andHeidelberg Catechism were adopted, and provisions were made for the offices of pastor, elder, teacher and deacon. The firstSynod of 23 Dutch Reformed leaders was held in October 1571 in theGerman city ofEmden. TheSynod of Emden is generally considered to be the founding of the Dutch Reformed Church, the oldest of the Reformed churches in the Netherlands. The Synod both affirmed the actions of the earlier Synod of Wesel, as well as establishedpresbyterian church government for the Dutch Reformed Church.
The first Synod to be located in the Dutch Republic was held inDordrecht in 1578. This synodical meeting is not to be confused with the better known SecondSynod of Dort of 1618. Large groups ofMarranos settled inEmden and converted toChristianity. Mostly allMarranos, manyJewish groups converted toChristianity around 1649 to the Nederduitsche[citation needed], Niederdeutsche church later on Dutch Reformed Church. In the latter meeting, the Church fathers expelledArminians and added theCanons of Dort to the Confessions. The Canons of Dort, together with the previously adopted Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism, were called theDrie formulieren van Enigheid (Three Forms of Unity). Most conflicts and splits in the Church arose because of disagreement over the substance and interpretation of these doctrinal documents. The government of theDutch Republic, which had instigated the Arminians' expulsion, subsequently prohibited the Reformed Church from assembling synodically. No Synod was held in the Netherlands until after the end of the Republic in 1795.
The 17th and early 18th centuries were the age of the DutchNadere Reformatie (best translated in English as theFurther Reformation), led primarily byGisbertus Voetius andWilhelmus à Brakel, which was greatly influenced by EnglishPuritanism.[2]
In the 19th century, theological liberalism led to splits in the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1816,King William I of the Netherlands imposed a new form of government for the church, in which the civil authorities selected the commissioners to the National Synod, making it increasingly difficult for ministers to speak out against perceived errors. In 1834, the ministerHendrik de Cock of the town ofUlrum was told by church leaders that he could not preach against certain colleagues, who he believed held erroneous views. He and his congregation seceded from the Dutch Reformed Church. In time, theAfscheiding (the Separation) led to the departure of 120 congregations from the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1886, another separation, theDoleantie, occurred, led by Dutch Reformed journalist, theologian and politicianAbraham Kuyper.[3][4]
The Dutch Reformed Church remained the largest church body in the Netherlands until the middle of the 20th century, when it was overtaken by theCatholic Church. The rapidsecularisation of the Netherlands in the 1960s dramatically reduced participation in the mainstream Protestant church. From the '60s onward, a number of attempts were made to effect a reunion with theReformed Churches in the Netherlands (Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland). This led to the two churches uniting with theEvangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Evangelisch-Lutherse Kerk in het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) to establish theProtestant Church in the Netherlands in 2004.[5][6]
The 2004 merger led to a separation in which a number of congregations and members of the Dutch Reformed Church separated to form theRestored Reformed Church (Hersteld Hervormde Kerk). Estimates of their membership vary from 35,000 up to 70,000 in about 120 local congregations served by 88 ministers.[7][8] The Restored Reformed Church disapproves of the pluralistic nature of the merged church, which they allege contains partly contradicting Reformed andLutheran confessions. This conservative group also opposes theordination of women and theblessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches, which have been adopted as practices by the merged church.[citation needed]
Dutch migrants carried the Dutch Reformed Church with them, planting several Reformed denominations inKenya (The Reformed Church of East Africa)[9] andSouth Africa, including theThree Sister Churches of South Africa (theDutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk), theDutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NHKA) (Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk), theReformed Churches in South Africa (Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika)), theAfrikaans Protestant Church (Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk), and theUniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suid-Afrika).[10][11][12]
Through theDutch East India Company and its workers, the Dutch Reformed Church was established inCeylon in 1642. TheGroote Kerk, built in 1755, still stands inGalle. The Dutch Reformed Church of Ceylon officially changed its name in 2007 to theChristian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka to reflect its Christian identity in the nation, rather than on its Dutch colonial heritage. As of 2007, its membership stands around 5,000, comprising both communicant and baptised members in 29 congregations, preaching stations, and mission outposts.[citation needed] Christianity in Indonesia is strongly influenced under the Dutch reformed church, the first known church established in the country is "De Oude kerk" inBatavia in 1640. Christianity in Indonesia, like Sri Lanka, has been nationalised into different branches of Protestantism while retaining many of the reformed church elements, such asProtestant Church in Indonesia.[13]
The Dutch Reformed Church went with migrants to theAmericas,beginning in 1628 inNew Amsterdam. St. Thomas Reformed Church, founded in 1660 inSt. Thomas,Danish West Indies,[14] became the first Dutch Reformed Church in theCaribbean. During the period of Dutch settlement inBrazil in the 17th century colonists organised the Reformed Church[15]inPernambuco.[16]
In Canada and theUnited States, the oldest and second largest body is theReformed Church in America, which was the American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Netherlands between 1628 and 1819. TheBrookville Reformed Church is one of the oldest Dutch Reformed Church built in America. The largest Dutch Reformed body in North America, theChristian Reformed Church in North America, split off from Reformed Church in America in 1857 under the leadership ofGijsbert Haan. Smaller related denominations and federations include theCanadian and American Reformed Churches, theFree Reformed Churches of North America (FRC), theHeritage Reformed Congregations (HRC), theNetherlands Reformed Congregations (NRC), theProtestant Reformed Churches in America (PRC), and theUnited Reformed Churches in North America (URC). The Dutch were mainly Protestant and Catholic before arrival to America, but became dominantly Protestant after settling in America.[17] They spread their religion by forming bonds with the natives in The Ohio River Valley.[18]
In 1766, ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church foundedQueen's College, which would later becomeRutgers College, in theProvince of New Jersey. Today,Rutgers University is a major public research institution in the state ofNew Jersey. As one of ninecolonial colleges clustered in the eastern United States, Rutgers serves as a reminder of early Dutch cultural influence in the North American colonies.
FormerU.S. PresidentsMartin Van Buren andTheodore Roosevelt, both of Dutch descent, were affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church.[19][20][21]
[...] the Dutch Reformed Church, with the support of the States General in The Hague, and the Heren XIX, endeavoured to organize itself in an effective manner as the public church in 'New Holland' as Dutch Brazil was officially designated. Although the first two salariedpredikanten arrived in 1633, it was not until 1635 that clear and detailed guidelines for the organization of the Reformed faith in Dutch Brazil were laid down.
His religious affiliation was Dutch reformed
He was of the Dutch Reformed Church. He participated in missions work with his father
the Calvinist traditions in Roosevelt's ancestry: the Dutch Reformed Church on his father's side
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