The Restored Reformed Church ( nl, Hersteld Hervormde Kerk, abbreviated HHK) is a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

denomination in 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 ...

. It was founded in 2004, from congregations which made up the orthodox-reformed wing of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

; they had previously been part of groups named ''Het Gekrookte Riet'' ("The Bruised Reed") and the still existing ''Gereformeerde Bond'' ("Reformed Association") within the Dutch Reformed Church. The Church has grown steadily since its founding. :nl:Hersteld Hervormde Kerk#Geschiedenis

History

The Restored Reformed Church was founded on 1 May 2004, by a minority of the Calvinist Bond inside the

(''Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk'') who opposed that church's merger with two other

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches into the

Protestant Church in the Netherlands The Protestant Church in the Netherlands ( nl, de Protestantse Kerk in Nederland, abbreviated PKN) is the largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands, being both Calvinist and Lutheran. It was founded on 1 May 2004 as the merger of the ...

(''Protestantse Kerk in Nederland''). The first president of the denomination was Dirk Heemskerk. Later several free churches joined this new federation in

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 ...

Alblasserdam Alblasserdam () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It covers an area of , of which is water, and has a population of as of . Alblasserdam is officially a part of the Drechtsteden region. A po ...

Schiedam Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...

Waddinxveen Waddinxveen () is a town and municipality along the Gouwe (river), Gouwe river in the western Netherlands in the province of South Holland near Gouda, South Holland, Gouda. The municipality had a population of in and covers an area of of which ...

and an Old Reformed Church voted to affiliate with Restored Reformed Church. Many congregations have their own church buildings, but several churches meet in storehouses and schools. In the towns of

Elspeet Elspeet is a tourist village in the Netherlands, in the Veluwe region, in the municipality of Nunspeet, Gelderland, Netherlands. The village is situated about 10 kilometers south of Nunspeet and about 4 kilometers north of Uddel, on the Northern V ...

Sommelsdijk Sommelsdijk is a village on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee, South Holland, the Netherlands, and part of the municipality of the same name. Sommelsdijk has (1 January 2022) 7,195 inhabitants which makes it the second largest settlement after Midd ...

, Sint-Annaland,

Putten Putten () is a municipality and town in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It had a population of in . It is located in the coastal area of the old Zuiderzee (Southern Sea). To the east of Putten lies the Veluwe, the biggest national par ...

, Terschuur, Barneveld Restored Reformed congregations have new buildings and others are preparing for this. In 2014, the Church had a membership of 58,821 in 118 congregations.According to the church office of the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk, April 17, 2008 The church has established the Reformed Seminary which in 2011 had seventy students; the rector is Wim van Vlastuin.

Character, statistics

The Restored Reformed Church is a

church of

presbyterian polity Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

. It cooperates with the Christian Reformed Church in the Netherlands in youth programmes. There is also a possibility to exchange ministers. Officially the denomination use only the Statenvertaling translation of the Bible. Almost all the congregations are in the Dutch Bible Belt.

Staphorst Staphorst () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. History The villages of Staphorst and its southern neighbour Rouveen came into existence as in the 13th century monks started to bring the bogs and swamps into culture. All ...

Ouddorp Ouddorp is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is part of the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee. It is often referred to as ''Ouddorp aan Zee'' (Outdorp on the Sea) to promote itself as a seaside resort, because the village has a ...

Lunteren Lunteren is a town in Gelderland, the Netherlands. It has a railway station on the line between Amersfoort and Ede. It is well known for three conference centres in the vicinity, including ''Het Bosgoed'', which mostly hosts academic conferences ...

Katwijk Katwijk (), also spelled Katwyk, is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland, which is situated in the mid-western part of the Netherlands. The Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine") river flows through the town and into the North Se ...

Urk Urk () is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Urk is first mentioned in historical records dating to the 10th century, when it was still an island in the Zuiderzee, an inland sea that would become part ...

Doornspijk Doornspijk is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Elburg. The village was first mentioned in 796 as Thornspiic, and is a combination of thorn and tapering land. The original village was flooded by th ...

and

Opheusden Opheusden is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Neder-Betuwe, and lies some 5 km south-west of Wageningen. Opheusden (or "Heusden", as it was known then) was a separate municipality until 1818, ...

are towns where large Restored Reformed churches can be found. The church has seven presbyteries (Dutch: Classis): Classis North, Classis North Veluwe, Classis Center, Classis East, Classis South East, Classis West, and Classis Southwest. These classes form the General Synod.

Theology

Creeds

Apostles Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a Christian statement of belief ...

Nicene Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

Confessions

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Calvinist Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, ...

Belgic Confession The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a doctrinal standard document to which many of the Reformed churches subscribe. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity of the Reformed Church, which are still ...

Canons of Dort The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Christian doctrine, Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, is the judgment of the National Synod held in the Netherlands, Dut ...

Missions

It conducts

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

work in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

, where the Dutch minister Rev. R.J. Oomen works in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Malawi (RPC). The church consists of 170 congregations in Malawi, mainly in the central and southern part of Malawi. The church there has about 15,000 members. The work is to advise the governing bodies of the church and to teach the leaders and students. There is a mission point in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

and in the village of Klein Powakka among the Arowak Indians. On 14 August 2012 a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

congregation was added to the Restored Church, the Springford Reformed Church. The largest congregations are those of

and

Membership

In 2004/2005 the Restored Reformed Church had 53,900 members. In 2014, there were 58,821 members in the Netherlands and in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. In 2021, the church had 60,159 members.

Notable members

Roelof Bisschop Roelof Bisschop (born 30 November 1956 in Staphorst) is a Dutch historian and politician. As a member of the Reformed Political Party (SGP) he has been an House of Representatives (Netherlands), MP since 20 September 2012. Previously he was a memb ...

, politician (member of the lower house of the Dutch Parliament) *

Bart Jan Spruyt Dr. Bastian Jan "Bart Jan" Spruyt (born 29 January 1964, in Ridderkerk) is a Dutch historian, journalist and conservative writer. Academic background Spruyt grew up in Rotterdam, and studied history, theology and law at the Utrecht University and L ...

, historian, journalist and conservative writer *

Bas van der Vlies Bastiaan Johannis "Bas" van der Vlies (29 June 1942 – 7 November 2021) was a Dutch politician of the Reformed Political Party (SGP) and teacher. He was an MP from 10 June 1981 to 17 June 2010. He was also both Parliamentary leader and Leader ...

, former politician (member of the lower house of the Dutch Parliament)

References

External links

Restored Reformed Church (Dutch)

Restored Reformed Youth Organisation (Dutch)
{{Christianity in the Netherlands Reformed denominations in the Netherlands Christian organizations established in 2004 Protestant denominations established in the 21st century