Jump to content

Protestant Church in the Netherlands

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ruud64 (talk | contribs) at 19:41, 21 July 2011. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Protestant Church in the Netherlands
File:Protestant Church in the Netherlands logo.png
Logo of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationReformed and Lutheran
PolityMixture of presbyterian and congregationalist
AssociationsConference of European Churches,
World Council of Churches,
World Alliance of Reformed Churches,
Lutheran World Federation
Origin1 May 2004
Netherlands
Merger ofThe Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Separations2004 Restored Reformed Church and Continued Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (did not participate in the merger)
Congregationsca. 2,000
Membersca. 1,789 million (2009) 10,8 % [1] [2]

The Protestant Church in the Netherlands (Dutch: Protestantse Kerk in Nederland, abbreviated PKN) is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in the Netherlands. With 2,000 congregations and a membership of some 2.3 million in 2004 which droped to 1,789 million (or 10,8 % yearend 2009 [3] [2] , it is the second largest church in the Netherlands after the Roman Catholic Church.

It was founded 1 May 2004 as a merger of the Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.[4] The merger was the culmination of an organizational process begun in 1961. The Church incorporates both Reformed and Lutheran theological orientations.

Doctrine and practice

Westerkerk in Amsterdam.

The doctrine of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands is expressed in its creeds. In addition to holding the Apostle's, the Nicene and the Athanasian Creeds of the universal church, it also holds to the confessions of its predecessor bodies. From the Lutheran tradition are the unaltered Augsburg Confession and Luther's Catechism. From the Reformed, the Heidelberg and Genevan Catechisms along with the Belgic Confession with the Canons of Dordt. The Church also acknowledges the Theological Declaration of Barmen and the Leuenberg Agreement.[5]

The PKN contains both liberal and conservative movements. Local congregations have far-reaching powers concerning "controversial" matters (such as whether or not women are admitted as members of the congregation's consistory or admittance to holy communion).

Organization

The polity of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands is a hybrid of presbyterian and congregationalist church governance. Church governance is organised along local, regional, and national lines. At the local level is the congregation. An individual congregation is led by a church council made of the minister along with elders and deacons elected by the congregation. At the regional level are the 57 classical assemblies whose members are chosen by the church councils. At the national level is the General Synod which directs areas of common interest, such as theological education, ministry training and ecumenical co-operation.[6]

The PKN has four different types of congregations:

  1. Protestant congregations: local congregations from different church bodies that have merged
  2. Dutch Reformed congregations
  3. Reformed congregations (congregations of the former Reformed Churches in the Netherlands)
  4. Lutheran congregations (congregations of the former Evangelical-Lutheran Church)

Lutherans are a minority (about 1 percent) of the PKN's membership. To ensure that Lutherans are represented in the Church, the Lutheran congregations have their own synod. The Lutheran Synod also has representatives in the General Synod.[6]

Separations

Only those congregations belonging to the former Reformed Churches in the Netherlands have the legal right to secede from the PKN without losing its property and church during a transition period of 10 years. Seven congregations have so far decided to form the Continued Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.[4] Two congregations have joined one of the other smaller Reformed churches in the Netherlands. Some minorities within congregations that joined the PKN decided to leave the church and associated themselves individually with one of the other Reformed churches.

Some congregations and members in the Dutch Reformed Church did not agree with the merger and have separated. They have organized themselves in the Restored Reformed Church. Estimations of their membership vary from 35,000 up to 70,000 people in about 120 local congregations.[citation needed] They disagree with the pluralism of the merged church which maintains, as they see it, contradicting Reformed and Lutheran confessions. This group also considers same-sex marriages and female clergy unbiblical.

Involvement in the Middle East

A PKN supported organization, Kerk in Actie[7], employs an individual to represent them in Israel who works at the Palestinian Christian non-profit Sabeel in Jerusalem[8], which promotes the Kairos Palestine document and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. In addition, Kerk in Actie works together with Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation[9] also involved in controversial anti-Israel activities.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Statistische jaarbrief 2010 in Dutch
  2. ^ a b Nieuwe kerncijfers van 5 kerken in Dutch, website Kerkbalans, 13 jan 2011
  3. ^ Statistische jaarbrief 2010
  4. ^ a b GoDutch.com, "Three-way PKN Union Drastically Changes Dutch Denominational Landscape: Two Groups of Merger Opponents Stay Out", May 24, 2004. Accessed July 13, 2010.
  5. ^ Church Order of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. Article I, p. 1. Accessed July 13, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Organisation of the PKN. Accessed July 14, 2010.
  7. ^ Official Website for Kerk in Actie
  8. ^ Faith in Progress, 2009, page 24
  9. ^ Faith in Progress, 2009, pages 15-16
  10. ^ Bashing Israel on behalf of the Protestant Church
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Protestant_Church_in_the_Netherlands&oldid=440706711"