The Great Church or St. Stephen's Church colloquially called ''Steven's Church'', is the oldest and largest church in

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The church is built on a small hill, the Hundisburg.

History

The history of St. Stephen's dates back to the seventh century. The foundation of the church may be connected with the Christianization campaign of bishop Kunibert of Cologne in the seventh century. In 1247 Nijmegen came under the control of Count

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

of Gelre. For strategic reasons, St. Stephen's was moved from the Kelfkensbos to its current location on the Hundisburg. The present church was consecrated in 1273 by

Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus ( 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great, Albert of Swabia, Albert von Bollstadt, or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop, considered one of the great ...

. Administratively, St. Stephen's fell under the authority of the chapter of the Basilica of the Holy Apostles, Cologne. The church has long been the only

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the city. The building was expanded several times in the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, including an impressive ambulatory.

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

authorized the establishment of its own chapter, in 1475, making St. Stephen's independent of Cologne. In 1591 Saint Stephen's was converted to a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church after the city was captured from the Spanish (during which the steeple was severely damaged), which it has remained since except for a Catholic interlude around 1670. Catherine of Bourbon was buried in the St. Stephen's Church, in 1469. Her son, Charles of Gelre, paid to have a monument to her placed in the church, which remains to this day. In 1810 is by

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

the church property was transferred to the Reformed Church; the civil community retained the ownership of the tower, as part of the city defenses. The church was severely damaged by the bombing of the city in 1944, including loss of the main spire, but was rebuilt after the war with the restored spire being completed in 1969. In 2001 the church received two stained-glass windows of Marc Mulders entitled ''Pelican and Stigmata''.

Current use

Today St. Stephen's Church is mainly used for weekly

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

church organ concerts on the famous König organ, exhibitions, cantus of the HRG Achelous, and

oration Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

s. The Stevens Church is open for viewing.

Gallery

File: Upper_bell_tower_of_Saint_Stephen's_Church,_Nijmegen,_Aug_15,_2016.jpg , Upper bell tower of church File: Bell_tower_of_Saint_Stephen's_Church,_Nijmegen,_Aug_15,_2016.jpg , Bell tower of church File: Front_of_Saint_Stephen's_Church,_Nijmegen,_Aug_15,_2016.jpg , Front of church File: 2008-09 Nijmegen st stevens beeldenstorm.JPG , Iconoclastic above the entrance. File: 2008-09 Nijmegen st stevens orgel.JPG , The ''König organ''. File: CelsiusKelvinThermometer.jpg ,

Thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature (the hotness or coldness of an object) or temperature gradient (the rates of change of temperature in space). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb ...

with a scale in

Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

and

Kelvin Scale The kelvin (symbol: K) is the base unit for temperature in the International System of Units (SI). The Kelvin scale is an absolute temperature scale that starts at the lowest possible temperature (absolute zero), taken to be 0 K. By de ...

attached to one of the pillars of the church

External links

Stevens Church Foundation
*
Ecumenical Chaplaincy City Nijmegen

Grote of St. Stevens Church Nijmegen monument
* , 'Rebuilding Stevenstoren' in
'Desipientia: Fancy and Fancy'
Volume 2, nr. 2 (August 1995), pp. 38–44. {{Coord , 51 , 50 , 52 , N , 5 , 51 , 45 , E , type: landmark_scale 3000 Buildings and structures in Nijmegen Rijksmonuments in Nijmegen Reformed church buildings in the Netherlands Protestant churches converted from Roman Catholicism