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35-459: There are many Dutch Reformed Churches , and many are called Reformed Dutch Church . These include: Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church ( Dutch : Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk , pronounced [ˈneːdərlɑntsə ɦɛrˈvɔr(ə)mdə ˈkɛr(ə)k] , abbreviated NHK [ˌɛnɦaːˈkaː] ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of

70-635: A copy of the revised text of Junius to be made for its archives, to be signed by every new minister; this manuscript has always been regarded in the Belgic churches as the authentic document. The first Latin translation was made from Junius' text by Theodore Beza , or under his direction, for the Harmonia Confessionum (Geneva, 1581), and passed into the first edition of the Corpus et Syntagma Confessionum (Geneva, 1612). A second Latin translation

105-540: Is essentially religious in that it deals with matters of faith, which in Hebrews 11:1, is defined as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The theological doctrines confessed are not simply the object of intellectual assent, but of belief and confession, which Curtis elaborates on, 'Belief and confession are presupposed in all the other moods of worship—in praise, in thanksgiving, in self-abasement, in supplication, in hope, and in love; they are

140-732: Is one of the oldest Dutch Reformed Church built in America. The largest Dutch Reformed body in North America, the Christian Reformed Church in North America , split off from Reformed Church in America in 1857 under the leadership of Gijsbert Haan . Smaller related denominations and federations include the Canadian and American Reformed Churches , the Free Reformed Churches of North America (FRC),

175-872: Is strongly influenced under the Dutch reformed church, the first known church established in the country is "De Oude kerk" in Batavia 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 as Protestant Church in Indonesia . The Dutch Reformed Church went with migrants to the Americas , beginning in 1628 in New Amsterdam . St. Thomas Reformed Church, founded in 1660 in St. Thomas , Danish West Indies , became

210-528: Is the organ which grasps religious truth. [... Faith] in its full meaning is vital to the highest experience of religion, and as such is bound to find expression when religion becomes self-conscious and articulate. [...] In the language of religious self-utterance, therefore, credo , "I believe," and confiteor , "I confess or acknowledge," must always have a foremost place.' Thus the Belgic Confession, due to its emphasis upon belief and confession,

245-480: The Augsburg Confession of 1530, as 'apologetic' in character; as a 'vindication of the true character of the religious belief cherished by a body of Christians.' In other words, one of the 'authentic expositions of distinctive doctrine, intended to remove misconceptions and to repudiate misrepresentations.' The Confession avoids explicit provocations of Roman Catholicism which were characteristic of

280-822: The Dutch East India Company and its workers, the Dutch Reformed Church was established in Ceylon in 1642. The Groote Kerk , built in 1755, still stands in Galle . The Dutch Reformed Church of Ceylon officially changed its name in 2007 to the Christian 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. Christianity in Indonesia

315-698: The Further Reformation ), led primarily by Gisbertus Voetius and Wilhelmus à Brakel , which was greatly influenced by English Puritanism . In the 19th century, theological liberalism led to splits in the Dutch Reformed Church. 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 in 1816, making it increasingly difficult for ministers to speak out against perceived errors. In 1834,

350-643: The Gallic Confession , the order of which de Brès closely followed. The Belgic Confession instead expands on the doctrines of the Trinity , Incarnation , Church and sacraments , while frequently distinguishing itself from Anabaptist theology . Philip Schaff said that the Confession is 'upon the whole, the best symbolical statement of the Calvinistic system of doctrine, with the exception of

385-857: The Heritage Reformed Congregations (HRC), the Netherlands Reformed Congregations (NRC), the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRC), and the United 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. They spread their religion by forming bonds with the natives in The Ohio River Valley. In 1766, ministers of

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420-667: The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal family and the foremost Protestant denomination until 2004, the year it helped found and merged into the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (the largest Protestant and second largest Christian communion in the Netherlands). It was the larger of the two major Reformed denominations, after

455-636: The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands ( Gereformeerde kerk ) was founded in 1892. It spread to the United States , South Africa , Indonesia , Sri Lanka , Brazil , and various other world regions through Dutch colonization . Allegiance to the Dutch Reformed Church was a common feature among Dutch immigrant communities around the world and became a crucial part of Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa. The Dutch Reformed Church

490-901: The Three Sister Churches of South Africa (the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) ( Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk ), the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NHK) ( Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk ), the Reformed Churches in South Africa ( Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika )), the Afrikaans Protestant Church ( Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk ), and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa ( Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suid-Afrika ). Through

525-688: The Duke of Alba, many Netherlanders fled to the German city of Wesel , where a Synod was convened at which the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism were adopted, and provisions were made for the offices of pastor, elder, teacher and deacon. The first Synod of 23 Dutch Reformed leaders was held in October 1571 in the German city of Emden . The Synod of Emden is generally considered to be

560-688: The Dutch Reformed Church founded Queen's College , which would later become Rutgers College , in the Province of New Jersey . Today, Rutgers University is a major public research institution in the state of New Jersey . As one of nine colonial colleges clustered in the eastern United States, Rutgers serves as a reminder of early Dutch cultural influence in the North American colonies. Former U.S. Presidents Martin Van Buren and Theodore Roosevelt , both of Dutch descent, were affiliated with

595-420: The Dutch Reformed Church. Belgic Confession The initial text was prepared by de Brès in 1559, and was influenced by the Gallic Confession . De Brès showed it in draft to others, including Hadrian à Saravia , Herman Moded and Godfried van Wingen (Wingius). It was revised by Franciscus Junius , who abridged the sixteenth article and sent a copy to Geneva and other churches for approval; and it

630-472: 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

665-713: The Nederduitsche , Niederdeutsche church later on Dutch Reformed Church. In the latter meeting, the Church fathers expelled Arminians and added the Canons of Dort to the Confessions. The Canons of Dort, together with the previously adopted Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism, were called the Drie formulieren van Enigheid (Three Forms of Unity). Most conflicts and splits in the Church arose because of disagreement over

700-814: The Westminster Confession.' In the Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith , M. Eugene Osterhaven outlines the contents of the Confession. The topical order is traditional: God and how God is known (arts. 1-11); creation and providence (arts. 12-13); fall and election (arts. 14-16); salvation in Christ (arts. 17-21); justification and sanctification (arts. 22-26); the church (arts. 27-29); church order (arts. 30-32); sacraments (arts. 33-35); church and state (arts. 36); and last things (arts. 37). Distinctive Reformed emphases are: Scripture as normative;

735-569: The church chose not to participate in the merger and instead formed the Restored Reformed Church (HHK). Before the demise of the Dutch Republic in 1795, the Dutch Reformed Church enjoyed the status of "public" or "privileged" church. Though it was never formally adopted as the state religion , the law demanded that every public official should be a communicant member. Consequently, the Church had close relations with

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770-774: The first Dutch Reformed Church in the Caribbean . During the period of Dutch settlement in Brazil in the 17th century colonists organised the Reformed Church in Pernambuco . In Canada and the United States , the oldest and second largest body is the Reformed Church in America , which was the American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Netherlands between 1628 and 1819. The Brookville Reformed Church

805-605: The following century, but Jacobus Arminius himself opposed the notion that it could be used against his theology. The text was revised again at the Synod of Dort in 1618-1619, was included in the Canons of Dort (1618-1619), and adopted as one of the doctrinal standards to which all office-bearers and members of the Reformed churches were required to subscribe. The first French edition is extant in four printings, two from 1561 and two from 1562. The Synod of Antwerp of 1580 ordered

840-775: 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 established presbyterian church government for the Dutch Reformed Church. The first Synod to be located in the Dutch Republic was held in Dordrecht in 1578. This synodical meeting is not to be confused with the better known Second Synod of Dort of 1618. Large groups of Marranos settled in Emden and converted to Christianity . Mostly all Marranos , many Jewish groups converted to Christianity around 1649 to

875-552: The largest church body in the Netherlands until the middle of the 20th century, when it was overtaken by the Catholic Church . The rapid secularisation 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 the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands ( Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland ). This led to

910-701: The minister Hendrik de Cock of the town of Ulrum 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, the Afscheiding (the Separation) led to the departure of 120 congregations from the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1886, another separation, the Doleantie , occurred, led by Dutch Reformed journalist, theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper . The Dutch Reformed Church remained

945-588: The persistent undertones in the natural liturgy of the universal religious consciousness. They imply that the period of ignorance or doubt is past; that conviction is attained; that the spiritual life is come to itself; that the seeker has at last found, and that the soul is at rest.' In this way, the Belgic Confession is of a similar nature to the ancient Christian creeds, including the Apostles' Creed , Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed . The Confession may also be categorised with other Reformation-era creeds, such as

980-598: The pluralistic nature of the merged church, which they allege contains partly contradicting Reformed and Lutheran confessions. This conservative group also opposes the ordination of women and the blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches , which have been adopted as practices by the merged church. Dutch migrants carried the Dutch Reformed Church with them, planting several Reformed denominations in Kenya (The Reformed Church of East Africa), South Africa , including

1015-605: The substance and interpretation of these doctrinal documents. The government of the Dutch 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 Dutch Nadere Reformatie (best translated in English as

1050-717: The two churches uniting with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( Evangelisch-Lutherse Kerk in het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden ) to establish the Protestant Church in the Netherlands in 2004. The 2004 merger led to a separation in which a number of congregations and members of the Dutch Reformed Church separated to form the Restored Reformed Church ( Hersteld Hervormde Kerk ). Estimations of their membership vary from 35,000 up to 70,000 in about 120 local congregations served by 88 ministers. The Restored Reformed Church disapproves of

1085-470: The year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), a united church of both Reformed and Evangelical Lutheran theological orientations. At the time of the merger, the Church had 2 million members organised in 1,350 congregations. A minority of members of

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1120-468: 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 at Antwerp 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

1155-640: Was founded in 1571 during the Protestant Reformation in the Calvinist tradition, being shaped theologically by John Calvin , but also other major Reformed theologians. The church was influenced by various theological developments and controversies during its history, including Arminianism , the Nadere Reformatie , and a number of splits in the 19th century that greatly diversified Dutch Calvinism. The church functioned until 2004,

1190-604: Was prepared by Festus Hommius for the Synod of Dort, 1618, revised and approved 1619; and from it was made the English translation in use in the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America . It appeared in Greek 1623, 1653, and 1660, at Utrecht . The Confession begins with the phrase 'We all believe with the heart, and confess with the mouth,' which gives it the distinctive character of a confession of faith. W. A. Curtis writes that '[Faith]

1225-574: Was presented to Philip II of Spain in 1562, in the hope of securing toleration for his Protestant subjects in the Low Countries . In 1566, the text of this confession was revised at a synod held in Antwerp . It was adopted by national synods held during the last three decades of the 16th century. The Belgic Confession became the basis of a counter to the Arminian controversy that arose in

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