The 1886 Dutch Reformed Church split, also known as Doleantie (from Latin ''dolere'', 'to feel sorrow') was the name of a prominent

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

in the Dutch Reformed Church (''Nederlands Hervormde Kerk'') which took place in 1886 and was led by the renowned

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 ...

Abraham Kuyper Abraham Kuyper (; ; 29 October 1837 – 8 November 1920) was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist theologian and a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upo ...

. The Doleantie was not the first schism in the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1834 another schism, the Secession of 1834 ''(Afscheiding van 1834)'', had led to the formation of the Christian Reformed Church in the Netherlands ''(Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk in Nederland)''. In 1885 the first moves towards schism were made when Kuyper and his supporters issued a formal complaint about liberalizing practices in the Dutch Reformed Church. Their complaint never won broad support within the church, and in the winter of 1885-1886 the call for schism grew stronger amongst a large number of conservative congregations, most of which were located in the Veluwe area and elsewhere in what is today the Dutch Bible Belt. The first congregation to secede was Kootwijk, on 7 February 1886 appointed a minister trained at the

Free University of Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

without waiting for permission of its classis. The following day the congregation in Voorthuizen followed suit. The seceded congregations united in the ''Low German Reformed Church (Dolerende)'' (''Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (Dolerende)''). ''Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk'' had been the official name of the Dutch Reformed Church until 1816 and with this name the seceded churches wanted to show that they thought of themselves as the legitimate continuation of this church, which was highly prominent in the Dutch Republic. The suffix ''(Dolerende)'', meaning 'those who feel sorrow', was added to show their disapproval with the Dutch Reformed Church. Later in 1886 Kuyper and his supporters occupied the New Church in Amsterdam, the seat of the governing body of the Reformed Church, to force a settlement in the conflict over church property that had followed the Doleantie. In July 1886 the ''dolerenden'' had to accept a verdict against them. In 1892 the ''Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerken (Dolerende)'' merged with the Christian Reformed Church in the Netherlands to form the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.

External links

Description of the history of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN)Information about the Dutch Reformed Church ''(Nederlands Hervormde Kerk)'' in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN)

Information about the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands ''(Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland)'' in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN)
{{Authority control History of Calvinism in the Netherlands Dutch Reformed Church 19th-century Calvinism 1886 in Christianity

See also

External links