Reformation and the Synod of Emden in
Amsterdam (now belonging to the
Protestant Church) is still used for Dutch royal investiture ceremonies 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 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 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 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.
Synod of Dort 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. Almost all Marranos, mainly
Jewish groups, converted to Christianity around 1649, more specifically to the Nederduitsche/Niederdeutsche church, later known as the 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 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.
Further Reformation The 17th and early 18th centuries were the age of the Dutch
Nadere Reformatie (best translated in English as the
Further Reformation), led primarily by
Gisbertus Voetius and
Wilhelmus à Brakel, which was greatly influenced by English
Puritanism.
19th century splits 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 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.
20th century to the present The Dutch Reformed Church remained 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 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). Estimates 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 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. == International distribution ==