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427 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA Reformed Church

order. This informal assembly, to receive official recognition, must necessarily be followed by a synod of duly qualified delegates of the various congrega­tions, empowered to draft rules and regulations binding on the entire Dutch Reformed body. In the actual realization of this synod that held at Emden the leader was Marnix van St. Aldegonde (q.v.). Deeply impressed with the need of a gen­eral synod, he had devoted the period of his cap­tivity in Germany (beginning with 1567) to the realization of his ideal. With this end in view, he seems to have written the open letter which, in 1570, was widely distributed, in the name of the congregations at Heidelberg and Frankenthal. The chief ideas advanced by Marnix in this letter were discussed at the Synod of Emden and became the bases of specific resolutions. In this letter Marnix invited the congregations to whom he wrote to dele­gate men to a conference to be held at Frankfort in Sept., 1570, which led up to the Synod of Emden, though a provisional synod was first held at Bed­bur on July 4 5, 1571, attended by delegates from Germany and Brabant as well as from Mich. Here the definitive synod was resolved upon, and Gerard van Kuilenburg and Willem van Zuylen van Nije­veIt were empowered to confer with the congrega­tion at Emden, and after first securing the approval of the congregations at Wesel and Cleves, they also won the sanction of the Emden Reformed. The result was that the two delegates named, together with four others, were entrusted with the prepara­tions for the general synod.

The committee thus formed chose Emden as the place and Oct. 1, 1571, as the date on which to convene. The only opposition to the synod came, curiously enough, from Holland. The grounds for these objections are unknown, but they appear to

have been regarded as trivial. The

z. The Walloon and Flemish congregations at Synod of Cologne, on the other hand, appealed

Emden. to the prince of Orange to induce the

Dutch Reformed to send delegates to the synod; and the synod was attended by a num­ber of Reformed pastors from Holland. Thus the first general synod of the Dutch Reformed Church was held at Emden on Oct 4 13, 1571. The presi­dent was Gaspar van der Heyden, preacher at Frankenthal; the vice president, Jean Tan, pas­tor of the Walloon congregation at Heidelberg; and the secretary, JOannes Polyander, pastor of the Walloon congregation at Emden. The attendance was twenty nine, five of whom were elders. This synod laid the foundations of the Dutch Reformed Church. The delegates were fully aware that they had been called to prepare binding regulations, and that they were the authorized representatives of their church. Besides adopting three of the Wesel articles (the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty­first of the Emden articles), the synod utilized the French church order of 1559, the two often corre­sponding word for word. On the other hand, the Emden acts can not be considered a mere amplifi­cation of the French church order. The acts of this synod are distinctly Calvinistic, and the organiza­tion which they propose is presbyterial and syn­odal. The sole bond of union between churches is

consensus in doctrine; fellowship is desired with the churches of other lands, provided they are Re­formed in doctrine. The standards adopted were the Belgic Confession and the French; the Geneva Catechism was to be used in French congregations, and the Heidelberg Catechism in the Dutch, though churches employing any other corresponding cate­chism might retain it. The administration was to be conducted by consistories, classes, synods, and national synods. Of these, only the consistories were to be permanent, the members of the other bodies being chosen for each assembly. Each church or congregation was to have a consistory, consisting of preachers, elders, and deacons, and the consistory was to meet at least weekly. Every three or six months a classis " of several neighboring churches " was to meet; and synods were to be held annually of the congregations in Germany and East Frisia, of the English congregations, and of the Dutch con­gregations. About every two years a national synod " of all the Belgic churches together " was to be held. Each congregation, while independent, formed part of an organic whole, being subject suc­cessively to the classis, the synod, and the general synod, in each of which it was represented by dele­gates chosen either directly or indirectly. The synod arranged for classes in the various countries and prepared a number of regulations governing the in­ternal administration of the Reformed congrega­tions, as on the calling of pastors, the choice of elders and deacons, and the length of their terms, baptism, the Lord's Supper, marriage, discipline, and the like.

The next synod was to meet in the spring of 1572 in case the congregations in England should be will­ing and able to send deputies, otherwise it was to be postponed to the .spring of the year. following; and the Palatinate classis was authorized to convene it.

It was, however, never held, for, though

3. Results the congregations in England ap­of Expul  proved, at least in general, the decisions sion of the of the Synod of Emden, and though Spanish. they desired to form classes and send delegates, they could not obtain the requisite consent of the English government. Never­theless, deputies from England were present at the national synods of Dort (1578) and Middelburg (1581), and a conference was held at London on Aug. 28, 1599. The acts of the Emden Synod were adopted, so far as practicable, by the congrega­tions in the Palatinate, Emden, Jiilich, and Berg, and by the classes of Cologne and Wesel. Gradu­ally, however, these congregations lost their Dutch character, and their bond with the Dutch Reformed Church was dissolved. Within six months after this synod, determined resistance to Spain had begun, and the expulsion of the Spanish from city after city was followed by a corresponding increase in the number of Dutch Reformed churches: On July 15,.1572, the States General convened at Dort, and Mamix, as the representative of the prince of Orange, demanded equal rights for Roman Catholics and 11 formed, provided the former abstained from all acts of disloyalty. In the following year, how­ever, public worship was denied the Roman Catho­lics, the prince of Orange went over to the Reformed

Reformed (Dutch) Church THE NEW SCHAFF HERZOG 428

faith and Alva retired from the Netherlands. This unexpected change of conditions was most happy for the Reformed, especially as its organization was ready to hand. In Aug., 1572, the first synod of North Holland convened and passed a number of resolutions concerning the admission of ex priests to the Reformed ministry, infant baptism, marriage, and funeral sermons. Of the next synod, at Hoorn, nothing is known. The third synod, held at Alk­maar in Mar., 1573, determined that subscription to the Belgic Confession should be required, and that the Heidelberg Catechism should be taught and preached. It likewise began the partition of North Holland into classes. In June, 1574, a pro­vincial synod was held at Dort with Gaspar van der Heyden, pastor at Middelburg, as presiding officer. This synod, which was practically national, was convened by the three provinces which had expelled the Spaniards, South Holland, North Hol­land, and Zealand. The rulings of the Synod of Emden were, in general, approved, though it was determined that h3nceforth subscription should be made only to the Belgic Confession, and that the Heidelberg Catechism alone should be used and taught. No national synod was held until 1578. Meanwhile, the peace of Ghent, in 1576, had been distinctly favorable to the extension of Reformed tenets in the south of Holland, and even outside the Netherlands, in Brabant, Gelderland, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Frisia, the Reformed held open or secret services, often with the connivance or ap­proval of the authorities. New congregations arose everywhere, and the first national synod on Dutch soil was held at Dort, June 2 18, 1578. Petrus Dathenus (q.v.) was the presiding officer, Dutch and Walloon churches were represented, and dele­gates were present from the classes of Holland, Zealand, East and West Flanders, the Palatinate, Cleves, England, and apparently from Gelderland. The classis of Cologne, on the other hand, refused to send deputies, holding the synod to be a private gathering. The conclusions previously reached at Emden and Dort were made the basis of a church organization harmonizing in all essentials with that of Emden. Professors of theology were required to subscribe to the Belgic Confession; the Walloon congregations, like those of Wesel and Emden, were permitted to use the Geneva Catechism, but the Dutch congregations were restricted to the Heidel­berg Catechism, though the Corte ondersoeck des gheloofs was also permitted. Finally, a division of all Netherlandish provinces into distinct synods was proposed.

The peace of Ghent, though intended to promote peace between Roman Catholics and Reformed, had contented neither; and the proposed religious peace set forth by the prmce of Orange on 4. Struggles July 22, 1578, in the name of the States

Between General, granting liberty of conscience

Reformed and a limited degree of religious free. and dom, had no better result. In conse 

Roman quence there arose separation between

Catholics. southern Nertherlands, where the an­

cient faith steadily regained ground,

and northern, where Reformed tenets were spread­

ing constantly. In Mar., 1578, John of Nassau, a

decided Calvinist and brother of the prince of Orange, became stattholder of Gelderland, where the Reformed at once were predominant. Though the majority of the population were still faithful to their ancient Church, the Reformed tenets were gradually firmly planted, especially by the Arnheim preacher Johannes Fontanus (q.v.), and in Aug., 1579, the first synod was held at Arnheim, where the results of the national Synod at Dort in 1578 were supported. Roman Catholic worship was for= bidden in Gelderland in 1582. Overyssel had ac­cepted the religious peace, and by 1579 had the three classes of Zwolle, Kampen, and Deventer, the first synod of the province being held at Deven­ter in Feb., 1580. The peace of Ghent was accepted by Frisia in Mar., 1577, Reformed refugees poured back, and in 1580 Roman Catholic worship was for­bidden, while the property of the ancient church was turned over to support Reformed preachers and teachers, and in May, 1580, the first Frisian synod convened at Sneek. In southern Netherlands, on the other hand, the Reformed cause made no prog­ress, and on Jan. 6, 1579, the Union of Atrecht (a secret alliance between Atrecht, Henegouwen, and Douay) was formed to defend the Roman Catholic Church and the authority of the king. This was opposed by the Union of Utrecht, formed on Jan. 23, 1579, between Gelderland, Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, and Groningen. It was the work of Jan of Nassau, who led the prince of Orange to abandon his policy of reconciling the Roman Catholics and the Reformed. While ostensibly permitting each province to make its own regulations concerning re­ligion, the practical results were, as might have been expected, prejudicial to the Roman Catholic cause. On July 26, 1581, the States General re­nounced allegiance to the king of Spain. It took considerable time, however, for the religious situa­tion to become settled in all provinces. Thus, in Utrecht political and ecclesiastical conditions com­bined to prevent organization, nor was it until 1618 that affairs decisively changed. After the great Synod of Dort (1618 19), however, the church order there established became authoritative for all the churches of the province. In Groningen no Re. formed organization could be effected until the city had been retaken from the Spaniards by Prince Maurice in 1594; but on Feb. 27, 15$5, a church order was promulgated which remained in force until 1816. The first Synod of Groningen was held July 14 17, 1595. The taking of Groningen had also wrested Drenthe from the Spaniards, and, as stattholder, Count William Louis of Nassau organ­ized the Reformed Church there, so that on Aug. 12, 1598, the first classis convened at Rolde.

Meanwhile, there had been no cessation of na­tional synods. At the one held at Middelburg in 1581, a CM Pus disciplince was drawn up, based on the articles of the Dort Synod. of 1578. g. Final Or At the national synod held at The ganization. Hague in 1586 a church order was drawn up which, though little differ­ent from the one formulated at Middelburg, made concessions to the desire of the civil authorities to share in ecclesiastical administration. Holland, Zealand, Gelderland, and Overyssel accepted the

429 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA Reformed (Dutch) Church

church order. The church orders of the other Netherlandish provinces were in harmony, except for minor details, with that formulated by the Synod of The Hague. This latter synod had done all in its power to unite all the Reformed churches of the Netherlands into an organic whole; and its church order, essentially the same as that of Emden, re­mained the basis for the organization and admin­istration of the Dutch Reformed Church. Thus was the Reformed Church founded in the Nether­lands. Its doctrinal standards were the Belgic Con­fession and the Heidelberg Catechism; it possessed an admirable system of organization; it was divided into classes and synods which met regularly and carefully guarded its interests; its consistories con­tributed more and more to orderly conditions of the congregations; and while at first there was a dearth of preachers, this was remedied by the uni­versities of Leyden (1575), Franeker (1585), and Groningen (1614). It enjoyed the protection and the financial support of the State, even though en­tire harmony in administration and doctrine did not prevail. Its Calvinistic character was assailed by the Remonstrants (q.v.), but by their condem­nation and expulsion by the national Synod of Dort in 1618 19 its true nature was vindicated, and the unity begun at Emden and completed at The Hague was powerfully strengthened. For statistics and present status see HOLLAND. (S. D. VAN VEEN .)

IL In America: 1. The Background; The Re­formed Church in America, known until 1867.as the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, is a body of Christians in the United States composed originally of settlers from the Netherlands, but now greatly intermixed with elements from other sources. In the Netherlands the Reformation met with a hearty welcome. Entering first from Germany, it subse­quently received its great impulse from Switzerland and France, whence its distinct type of Reformed doctrine, and its more democratic Presbyterian polity. In the Netherlands, as elsewhere, there had been a great preparation made by Reformers before the Reformation. Reference can be made only to Geert Groote (q.v.) and his Brotherhood of the Com­mon Life (see ComnsoN LIFE, BRETHREN OF THE). They studied the Bible and preached and prayed in the vernacular. The Bible was translated into Dutch as early as 1477 (copies of this old version are in the Lenox Library and the library of the Col­legiate Church, New York). The monks, John Esch and Henry Voes, for their Evangelical preaching were burned at Brussels as early as 1523, and were, perhaps, the first martyrs of the Reformation. The Reformed Church of the Netherlands began its more formal existence in 1566, when the so called"League of Beggars " was formed. Fiefd preaching and the singing of evangelical hymns rapidly spread the Reformed doctrine. During the next two decades were held the conventions or synods which formu­lated a liturgy and rules of church government (see I:, above).

2. First Period, 1628 64: The Dutch first came to America for purposes of trade. The West India Company was chartered in 1621, and settled many thousands of Dutch and Walloons in New York and New Jersey. After religious services had been con 

ducted for five years, 1823 28, by Sebastian Jansen Krol, a comforter of the sick (Van Rensselaer­Bowier MSS., page 302), the First Church of New Amsterdam was organized by Domine Jonas Mi­chaelius in 1628, who was its pastor for not less than four years. This is now the strong and wealthy organization known as the Collegiate Church of New York City, with its half score of churches or chapels and fourteen ministers. The West India Company formally established the Church of Hol­land in New Netherland and maintained the minis­ters, schoolmasters, and comforters of the sick. Calls upon ministers were not valid unless endorsed by the company. In 1624 the Synod of North Hol­land decreed that any classic, within whose bounds either of the two great commercial companies had their chambers or offices, might take charge of all ecclesiastical interests in such colonies as were under the care of that office (Ecclesiastical Records of New York, i. 38). Thus the classis of Amsterdam came to have charge of the churches in New Netherland. During the government of the West India Company, or until the English conquest in 1664, fourteen churches had been established, chiefly along the Hud­son and on Long Island, but including one in Delar ware, and one at St. Thomas, in the West Indies (Corwin, Manual, p. 1073, ed. of 1902); and six­teen ministers had been commissioned for these fields, There were seven Dutch ministers in service at the time of the surrender of the Dutch colonies to the British in 1664 (Corwin, Manual, p. 1045).

8. Second Period,1664 1708: During this period occurred the struggle of the church to maintain her ecclesiastical independence under English rule. At the conquest there were about 10,000 Hollanders in the colony, but Dutch immigration then prac­tically ceased. The relation of the Dutch churches to the Classic of Amsterdam was somewhat modi­fied by the change of political sover 

1.Results eignty and the destruction of their re 

Conquest. lation to the West India Company. It

Conquest. was a question whether these churches could survive under such circumstances. Although helped to a trifling extent at first, they were soon thrown for support on their own resources. The Dutch had, indeed, secured at the surrender liberty to worship according to their own customs and usages. But, while still under the ecclesiastical care of the Classic of Amsterdam, they were now subjects of the British empire, yet they did not legally come under the class of English dissenters. During the first decade under English rule, the English popu­lation being yet very small, there was not much opportunity for friction with the English governors. But after the revolt of the Dutch in 1673, and their re surrender to the English by treaty of the Nether­lands government in 1674, although it was stipu­lated that the former freedom of worship and disci­pline was to be maintained (Eccl. Records of New York, i. 662 X63, 669 672), preliminary but unsuc­cessful efforts began to be made to impose the Church of England upon the Dutch colony. For in 1675 Governor Andros attempted to force the Rev. Nicholas Van Rensselaer (son of the first Dutch patroon of that name, one who had been, indeed, licensed to preach by the Classic of Amsterdam, but

Reformed (Dutch) Church THE NEW SCHAFF HERZOG 430

had been ordained as a minister of the Church of England, and who was therefore a Dutch Episco­palian) upon the Dutch church of Albany, and also to allow him to mtrude his services upon the Dutch church of New York. But he was stoutly resisted in these attempts and not allowed to officiate until he had subscribed to the regulations of the Church of Holland (Ecd. Records of New York, i. 649, 650, 678 690; Corwin, Manual, pp. 51, 844, 850). In 1679 the four Dutch ministers then in the country, at the request of this same Governor Andros, or­ganized themselves into a classis, and ordained Petrus Tesschenmaker, a licentiate of the Univer­sity of Utrecht, to the ministry, to supply the press­ing need, and this act was subsequently approved by the Classis of Amsterdam (Bed. Records of New York, ii. 724 735, 737, 739); but when directed by Governor Nicholson, in 1709, to ordain Van Vleck as chaplain to certain Dutch troops, the ministers of that period refused to obey (Ecd. Records of New York, iii. 1760).

With renewed persecutions in France, many Huguenots began to flock to America about 1680, who naturally fell into the fold of the Dutch Church. During the reign of Charles IL, 1660 85, and of James Il., 1685 88, full liberty of conscience was ostensibly granted to all denominations in America, but this was done with the sinister ob­2. Attempts ject of gaining entrance for Romanism.

to Impose The outcome was the severe legislation

Anglican

Church. of the colony of New York in 1700, al­

together prohibiting Romanism under

severe penalties, so that that system was virtually

extinct in New York until the American Revolu­

tion. In 1682, Domine Selyns, who had left the

country at the surrender in 1664,  returned, and

exerted a great influence in delivering the Dutch

Church from governmental interference. The un­

fortunate complications brought about by the Leis­

ler episode, 1689 91, put the Dutch ministers for a

time in a false position, as if they opposed the acces­

sion of William and Mary. This was not by any

means the case, but they only desired that changes

in New York should be made in a legal manner.

But with the return of the Protestant succession,

the normal policy of the English government was

restored, and determined and persistent efforts were

made to impose the Church of England upon New

York, although the population was overwhelmingly

Dutch. The public commissions of the governors

were liberal in spirit for those times, respecting re­

ligion, but they had secret instructions looking

toward an Engfish Church establishment. Hence,

after two years' efforts, the passage of the so called

Ministry Act of 1693 was secured. The intention

of the government in seeking this act, was to estab­

lish the Church of England over the whole colony;

but when finally enacted it was found to cover only

four counties out of ten, namely, New York, West­

ohester, Queens, and Richmond. Also the Church

of England was not even alluded to in the act, but

only that Protestant ministers should be supported

by a system of taxation in these four counties.

Neither would the assembly yield to the governor's

wish for an amendment to give him the right to in­

duct all ministers. And when the governor falsely

assumed that this act established the Church of England, the assembly declared by resolution the contrary; that a dissenter could be called and sup­ported under the provisions of the act; that it was entirely unsectarian. But the Dutch Church of New York City saw her danger and resolved to pro­tect herself by a charter. This was finally secured in 1696, but not without overcoming great difficul­ties. Besides securing thereby their grooving prop­erty and the other usual legal rights, it gave them complete ecclesiastical independence. They could call and induct their own ministers in their own way, and manage all their own church affairs with­out any interference from the civil authorities. And following this example and having this precedent, many of the other Dutch churches also obtained similar charters, although these were repeatedly denied to the churches of all other denominations, except the Church of England, down to the Revo­lution. Trinity Church obtained its charter in 1697, in which it is often declared that the Church of England is " now established by our laws," refer­ring to the act of 1693; but as is evident, there is nothing in that act to sustain the assertion (cf. a comparison of these two earliest church charters, printed side by side in Ecd. Records of New York, ii. 113"5; Corwin, Manual, pp. 78 85). The Eng­lish Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, organized in 1701, sent over a num­ber of English clergymen to provide for the serv­ices of the Church of England in the colonies and to teach the Indians. These missionaries expected to be supported by the provisions of this act, but lawsuits followed instead, and no income was de­rived from the act for .nine years. Meantime the oppressions of Governor Cornbury drove a large number of Dutch families into New Jersey, 1702 10, where they settled on the banks of the Raritan and its tributaries, and this territory was for a century and a half considered the " garden of the Dutch Church." During this period, and notwithstand­ing the struggle for their rights, the Dutch churches increased from fourteen to thirty one, and twenty­five ministers in all officiated.

4. Third Period,1708 1747: This may be termed the period of spiritual awakening and efforts for American ecclesiastical organization. During this period many Palatines arrived and settled chiefly on the upper Hudson and along the Mohawk. In course of time about twenty German churches were organized, which came also generally under the supervision of the Classis of Amsterdam. It was a time of comparative peace of the " Great Awak­ening," as it was called. Whitefield aroused the people throughout the land, while Bertholf and Frelinghuysen were the evangelists of the Dutch Church, especially in New Jersey. The necessity of more ministers was deeply felt, but few were willing to leave the Fatherland to come to America. The expense and danger of sending American youth to Holland for education and ordination were very great. Joseph Morgan, a Presbyterian, served sev­eral of the Dutch churches, 1709 31, in Monmouth County, N. J., while John Van Driessen went to Yale College for ordination in 1727. In 1729 the Classis of Amsterdam permitted the ministers in

481 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA Reformed (Dutch) Church