Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit

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Interior of the Doopsgezinde Kerk in Utrecht
Interior of the Doopsgezinde Kerk in Haarlem

The Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit (in German: Allgemeine Taufgesinnte Gesellschaft ) is the Mennonite Church in the Netherlands . The church was founded in 1811 as a merger of several Mennonite churches such as the Friese Doopsgezinde Sociëteit ( Frisian baptismal people ) founded in 1695 .

The church is a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Mennonite World Conference , the Conference of European Churches and the Dutch Ecumenical Council of Churches (Raad van Kerken in Nederland) and in 2009 had around 9,700 members in 119 congregations.

history

The first Dutch Anabaptist congregation was founded in Leeuwarden around 1530 . The main impetus for the establishment of Anabaptist communities came from the reformer Melchior Hofmann, who worked in Emden . After the failure of the apocalyptic and militant Anabaptists of Münster , Dirk and Obbe Philips, as well as Pastor Menno Simons , who came from the Dutch Friesland , collected the moderate part of the Anabaptist movement and formulated a consciously pacifist theology. Under Menno Simons, new parishes emerged in the north of the Netherlands (Friesland and Groningen) and in northern Germany in the 1540s.

After Simons' death, the Dutch Anabaptist movement became increasingly fragmented. Unlike the Evangelical Reformed Church , the Congregational Mennonites could not build on a solid church structure. Waterland, Frisian and Flemish communities were formed in the 16th century. After 1664 more conservative ( Sonnists ) and more open ( Lammists or Remonstrant baptismal groups) emerged. It wasn't until 1801 that the two factions came to an agreement. The Flemish congregations agreed on the Dordrecht Confession as early as 1632 , which was later adopted by many other congregations and is still of great importance for the Amish , who split off from the Swiss Mennonites .

After the introduction of tolerance in the northern Netherlands under William of Orange in 1579, the Dutch communities again openly called themselves baptismal people (Doopsgezinde). In the 17th and 18th centuries, at a time of economic and cultural prosperity ( Golden Age ), the Dutch Mennonites as well as z. B. the remonstrants increasing acceptance in the state and economy. A Mennonite seminary has existed in Amsterdam since 1735 for theological training . Since 1925, several seminar houses have been built as brotherhood houses (Broederschapshuis). The largest church is the Singelkerk in Amsterdam.

In 2013 the Dutch Mennonites, together with other Protestant churches in the Netherlands ( Protestant Church , Remonstrants , Liberals and others) published a joint ecumenical hymn book (Liedboek - zingen en bidden in huis en kerk) .

Web links

Commons : Mennonite churches in the Netherlands  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

credentials

  1. ↑ Stichting Doopsgezinde Monuments in Friesland ( Memento of December 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file; 2.25 MB)
  2. ^ Mennonite World Conference ( Memento of May 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Horst Penner : Worldwide brotherhood. A Mennonite history book . Weierhof 1984
  4. ↑ Liedboek.nl