9-2-018-0106 Grootte Kerk Adderley street Cape Town (2)

Abraham Isaac Steytler (5 February 1840 - 17 December 1922) was a

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He was dubbed the "Nederduitse Gereformeerde Pous" ("Dutch Reformed Pope") due to his great influence.

Biography

Steytler was born in

Sea Point Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is one of Cape Town's most affluent and densely populated suburbs, situated between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). Moving from ...

, a suburb of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 1840, and attended the school of renowned Dr Changuion, after which he went to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and returned with a degree in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

from the University of Utrecht. He became a preacher in the

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

NG Church in 1863. The town of

Steytlerville Steytlerville is a settlement on the R329 route in Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town is situated on the right bank of the Groot River, where the river emerges from a valley in the Grootr ...

was founded after members were cut off from his congregation. He was called to

(

Groote Kerk, Cape Town The Groote Kerk (Afrikaans and Dutch for "Great Church") is a Dutch Reformed church in Cape Town, South Africa. The church is South Africa's oldest place of Christian worship, built by Herman Schuette in 1841. The first church on this land was ...

) in 1881, where he stayed for the remainder of his career. He was also Moderator of the Cape Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church. He retired in October 1915 and died on 17 December 1922.Rosenthal, Eric. 1978. Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa. Cape Town and Johannesburg: Juta and Company Limited

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steytler, Abraham Isaac 1840 births 1922 deaths South African Protestant ministers and clergy 19th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers Members of the Dutch Reformed Church Utrecht University alumni People from Cape Town