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The Old or Pilgrim Fathers' Church ( nl, Oude of Pelgrimvaderskerk Rotterdam-Delfshaven) is a church located in
Old or Pilgrim Fathers Church
Stichting Vrienden van de Oude of Pelgrimvaderskerk, 2011 The oldest known depiction of the church dates from 1512. In 1574 during the
The Old or Pilgrim Fathers' Church has a spacious and light interior. Arches, plastered white, divide the nave from the aisles. Commemorative panels, bearing the names of the vicars who served the community from 1574 adorn the otherwise bare walls. The richly carved pulpit dates from the eighteenth century.
As usual in Dutch Protestant churches, the pulpit stands within a rectangular enclosure. Here, the members of the church council sat during services and here, baptism was administered. The stained-glass windows in the choir represent the six days of Creation. It has a 44-bell
Website of the Old or Pilgrim Fathers' Church
Website of the Reformed Church Delfshaven
Foundation Old Churches in Holland
{{coord, 51.909, N, 4.449, E, display=title, source:nlwiki Rijksmonuments in Rotterdam Churches in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
-Delfshaven
Delfshaven is a borough of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas. It was a separate municipality until 1886.
The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft. Delft itself was not located on a major river ...
, in the Netherlands.
History
The history of the Old or Pilgrim Fathers' Church goes back as far as 1417, when the Roman Catholic church of St Anthony was consecrated on this site.Stichting Vrienden van de Oude of Pelgrimvaderskerk, 2011 The oldest known depiction of the church dates from 1512. In 1574 during the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, the church came into Protestant hands and was altered to suit its new function.
In 1608 a group of English Dissenters
English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries.
A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who disagrees in opinion, belief and ...
fled to the Netherlands. They had left the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
a few years before and founded their own religious community.
After living in Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
for eleven years, they decided to become Pilgrims and cross to America, where they might worship God in their own way and still be Englishmen. The '' Speedwell'' left Delfshaven
Delfshaven is a borough of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas. It was a separate municipality until 1886.
The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft. Delft itself was not located on a major river ...
, on 21 July 1620, bound for America. According to the chronicles the Pilgrim Fathers
The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who came to North America on the ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony in what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts, named after the final departure port of Plymo ...
knelt down in prayer on the quay near the church. Much later, American visitors gave the church its third name, Pilgrim Fathers' Church.
The most radical rebuilding took place in 1761. At this time the church was heightened considerably () and was given its present facade with the bell-shaped gable.
In the nineteenth century the building with the text ''Eben-Haëzer'' ('helping stone') in its gable, was erected behind the church. The ''Stichting Oude Hollandse Kerken'' (Foundation Old Churches in Holland) acquired the church in 1992. A large-scale restoration was completed in 1998. The main user of the Pilgrim Fathers Church remains the Reformed Church Delfshaven. Besides the church activities, the Pilgrim Fathers Church is rented for concerts, lectures, weddings and exhibitions.
Interior
The Old or Pilgrim Fathers' Church has a spacious and light interior. Arches, plastered white, divide the nave from the aisles. Commemorative panels, bearing the names of the vicars who served the community from 1574 adorn the otherwise bare walls. The richly carved pulpit dates from the eighteenth century.
As usual in Dutch Protestant churches, the pulpit stands within a rectangular enclosure. Here, the members of the church council sat during services and here, baptism was administered. The stained-glass windows in the choir represent the six days of Creation. It has a 44-bell carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
but the oldest bell, which was cast in 1464, is cracked and is now on display in the church.
See also
*St Mary's Church, Rotterdam
St Mary's Church or the English Church ( nl, Engelse Kerk) is an Anglican church in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It is part of the Archdeaconry of North West Europe in the Diocese in Europe of the Church of England.
History
In 1635 an Englis ...
, Anglican church in Delfshaven
References
External links
Website of the Old or Pilgrim Fathers' Church
Website of the Reformed Church Delfshaven
Foundation Old Churches in Holland
{{coord, 51.909, N, 4.449, E, display=title, source:nlwiki Rijksmonuments in Rotterdam Churches in Rotterdam