1834 Dutch Reformed Church split

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The 1834 Dutch Reformed Church split, or the Secession of 1834 (Dutch: Afscheiding van 1834), known simply as Afscheiding ("Separation, Secession, Split"), refers to a split that occurred within the Dutch Reformed Church in 1834. The federation of churches resulting from the split, the Christian Reformed Churches, still exists in the Netherlands. The Free Reformed Churches are the North American counterpart.

Leading up to Secession

The Secession of 1834 began in Ulrum, a town in the north of the Dutch province of Groningen. Before the secession, their pastor, Reverend Hendrik de Cock had been forbidden by the government to preach and had orders not to warn people against what he believed to be the erroneous teachings of some of his colleagues. Hendrik, along with other ministers, publicly opposed some of the heresies that were being tolerated by the churches. They also rejected the introduction of new hymns into worship in place of the use of the Psalms. He was also forbidden to baptize the children of believers who had refused to have their children baptized own ministers who they believed to be unsound in the faith.

Outcome

On 14 October 1834, a large majority of the congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in Ulrum, signed the Act of Secession and Return" and broke away from the State Church.

The Secession would play a role in the 1857 Dutch Reformed Church split between the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church in North America. There were three major principles that went along with the split. They withdrew from the "false" church, gave loyalty to the three reforms and the Order of Dort, and wanted to make connections with other churches with the same values and beliefs. Various churches came and left the movement, but the ones that stayed united under the Christian Reform Church.

Many of those trying to secede were treated poorly so they looked for a way to partake in their religion in peace. Some reformers decided it was time to move and so migrated to America, with some going to New York and Michigan. In 1857, the Christian Reformed Church was created in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After more trouble and the leaders not accepting and wanting to preach certain aspects, they formed the Christian Protestant church. These two denominations flourished when a spike in Dutch immigration occurred at the end of the Second World War.

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