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99-606: The Dutch Reformed Church was introduced to South Africa by the Dutch East India Company 's settlement at Cape Town in 1652. The first formal congregation was established in 1665 under the jurisdiction of the classis (presbytery) of Amsterdam . Despite the permanent takeover of the Cape Colony by the UK in 1806, the church remained semi-established with congregations supported from government funds. In 1824 an autonomous synod

198-682: A General Assembly that meets every third year. Sermons are primarily given in Afrikaans . It has a presbytery in Namibia and congregations in Botswana , Zambia and Zimbabwe . The church is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches . Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church ( Dutch : Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk , pronounced [ˈneːdərlɑntsə ɦɛrˈvɔr(ə)mdə ˈkɛr(ə)k] , abbreviated NHK [ˌɛnɦaːˈkaː] )

297-669: A 2011 memorial lecture in Leeuwarden Casper Labuschagne highlighted that it was Geyser who had initiated the formation of the Christian Institute and had co-founded the ecumenical newspaper Pro Veritate with Ben Engelbrecht. Labushcagne had been dismissed from the University of Pretoria in 1967 for supporting Geyser, and subsequently emigrated to the Netherlands. In 2014 an annual memorial lecture in honour of Geyser

396-1023: A Professor in the Faculty of Theology of the Church untenable, both for the Church and for himself. In January 1961 two mass protests against the authors of Delayed Action , attended by thousands of Afrikaners, were organised by Pont, then professor of church history in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria. In September 1961 the Broederbond-controlled leadership of the NHK responded to complaints by three students and accused Geyser of heresy and insubordination because of his interpretation of Philippians 2:5–11. The written charges against him comprised 13 pages, accusing him of saying that God's love (agape) knew no racial boundaries; of breaking regulations that prohibited criticism of NHK decisions; denying that apartheid had any Biblical basis; and attempting to organize

495-532: A basis for apartheid. In reaction to a government proposal which in effect would forbid blacks from attending churches in white areas, Geyser warned in a July 1957 letter to Die Vaderland newspaper that "The church must seriously reconsider whether it will allow the re-erection of barriers that have been broken down by Christ." Portions of Geyser's letter were republished in The Star of 24 July 1957. Geyser's Pretoria colleague Ben Marais had made similar statements during

594-456: A doubt that the Broederbond was using the Church for political ends: "My immediate observation was that these people were making the Church, which is the bride of Christ, a servant girl of politics". The Broederbond reported the documents stolen and the offices of Naudé and Geyser were raided by the security police. The fact that the raids were not conducted through normal police operations but by

693-568: A meeting between his students and Catholic seminarians. He was asked to resign his professorship of New Testament Studies because the chair was sponsored by the NHK. While he was acquitted on the charges of insubordination, he was found guilty of heresy by the Synodal Commission of the NHK and expelled in May 1962. It was widely accepted that the NHK used the accusation of heresy in an attempt to remove Geyser because of his opposition to Article III of

792-589: A merger on 7 December 1885 between the NHKA and the NGK seemed successful initially, an increasing number of church members opposed the merging of the two churches and returned to the former NHKA. Reverend M.J. Goddefroy played a central role in the re-establishment of the church. The Anglo Boer War played a major role in South African history and therefore also the history of the NHKA. Many ministers and church members died during

891-719: A minimum age of 23 years for appointment as a minister, Geyser worked in Cape Town until he became eligible in 1941. He was then invited to serve the congregations at Heilbron and at Parys in the Free State , where he was ordained and ministered from 1941 to 1943. In the early 1940s Geyser married Celia van der Westhuisen in Rustenburg and the couple had three sons and two daughters. Geyser continued his studies at Pretoria and earned an MA in Greek and Latin in 1943. He served as minister of

990-543: A minor heart attack. While recovering in hospital he penned a letter to President P. W. Botha urging him to atone for the role played by himself and the National Party in implementing apartheid after 1948. The letter, written in Afrikaans, was headed: "Consensus, conciliation, confidence, confession" and demonstrated that while Geyser was sympathetic to President Botha's reforms he continued to have theological reservations. In

1089-634: A public meeting in Brits in January 1961, attended by about 3,000 people, the contributors to Vertraagde Reaksie were denounced as conspiring with the ecumenical movement to bring about the demise of Afrikaner people. Geyser's colleague from the Theology Faculty, Pont, told participants that the authors were " 'demanding the suicide of the white people in South Africa'." The effect of such attacks by colleagues and

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1188-499: Is not surprising, since a racist lifestyle was firmly embedded in South African social life and accepted as self-evident." The NHK's missionary policy proceeded from the position that as only whites could be members of the denomination , missionary work should aim to establish separate churches for each people group ("nation"). The NHK would be such a volkskerk , providing an exclusive ecclesiastical home for white Afrikaners while adhering to " 'conservative Christian-national values'", as

1287-694: Is one of the oldest Dutch Reformed Church built in America. The largest Dutch Reformed body in North America, the Christian Reformed Church in North America , split off from Reformed Church in America in 1857 under the leadership of Gijsbert Haan . Smaller related denominations and federations include the Canadian and American Reformed Churches , the Free Reformed Churches of North America (FRC),

1386-763: Is revealed by his election in 1951 as one of five international members on the Utrecht Theological Society's committee. He served on the editorial boards of Novum Testamentum and of Supplements to Novum Testamentum . He worked for six months in 1959 at the Faculté de Libre du Protenstantisme at the Sorbonne on the concept of "The Church in the New Testament". In 1959 he was invited to the Papal Institute in Rome to visit

1485-843: Is strongly influenced under the Dutch reformed church, the first known church established in the country is "De Oude kerk" in Batavia in 1640. Christianity in Indonesia, like Sri Lanka, has been nationalised into different branches of Protestantism while retaining many of the reformed church elements, such as Protestant Church in Indonesia . The Dutch Reformed Church went with migrants to the Americas , beginning in 1628 in New Amsterdam . St. Thomas Reformed Church, founded in 1660 in St. Thomas , Danish West Indies , became

1584-808: The Belgic Confession , the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort . The church is part of the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Confentus Reformatus . The NHKA adheres to internal regulations (Church Order) and the General Church Assembly (AKV) allows for amendments every three years which takes place under church vote. Die Hervormer Die Almanak Konteks Blitspos Social Media It has 130,000 members and about 300 congregations, 38 regional Synods that meet annually and

1683-568: The Canons of Dort to the Confessions. The Canons of Dort, together with the previously adopted Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism, were called the Drie formulieren van Enigheid (Three Forms of Unity). Most conflicts and splits in the Church arose because of disagreement over the substance and interpretation of these doctrinal documents. The government of the Dutch Republic , which had instigated

1782-729: The Dutch East India Company and its workers, the Dutch Reformed Church was established in Ceylon in 1642. The Groote Kerk , built in 1755, still stands in Galle . The Dutch Reformed Church of Ceylon officially changed its name in 2007 to the Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka to reflect its Christian identity in the nation, rather than on its Dutch colonial heritage. As of 2007, its membership stands around 5,000, comprising both communicant and baptised members in 29 congregations, preaching stations, and mission outposts. Christianity in Indonesia

1881-670: The Great Trek . The Voortrekkers in this movement decided to split off from the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk in the Cape Colony . The Dutch minister, Erasmus Smit, who sent by the Nederlandsch Zendeling Genootschap from The Netherlands became the first NHKA minister on 21 May 1837. Congregations were founded in the colonies of Natal , the Free State (province) and the Transvaal Colony . In 1841

1980-799: The Heritage Reformed Congregations (HRC), the Netherlands Reformed Congregations (NRC), the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRC), and the United Reformed Churches in North America (URC). The Dutch were mainly Protestant and Catholic before arrival to America, but became dominantly Protestant after settling in America. They spread their religion by forming bonds with the natives in The Ohio River Valley. In 1766, ministers of

2079-602: The Herstigte Nasionale Party in 1969, and unsuccessfully stood for the HNP in the 1970 city council election in Waterkloof, Pretoria. Geyser's actions and writing after 1952 suggests that two factors in post-Second World War Europe may have contributed to his abandonment of race-based nationalism and his lifelong commitment to ecumenism. German churches were having to deal with their support for an ethnic nationalism and with

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2178-798: The Liberal Party (LP). Paton lauded Geyser (with Beyers Naudé) in his opening address to the National Conference of the LP in July 1965 as "brave" for being willing "to suffer for what they believe to be right, and who can see that separate development is the great white myth". In 1988 the 64th issue of the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa was devoted to Geyser's memory, with contributions by former colleagues and students. Concerted efforts have recently been made to restore Geyser's largely forgotten contributions to

2277-726: The Nadere Reformatie , and a number of splits in the 19th century that greatly diversified Dutch Calvinism. The church functioned until 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), a united church of both Reformed and Evangelical Lutheran theological orientations. At

2376-540: The Sunday Express in January 1983 he warned that: "A Church in isolation is doomed to futility. It has no function and becomes a museum piece, because the very concept of a Church is that it should be universal". The last 20 years of his life he formally belonged to no church, but attended services in the Anglican, Presbyterian and Nederlands Hervormde (Dutch Congregation) churches. Geyser was hospitalised in 1985 following

2475-849: The Three Sister Churches of South Africa (the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) ( Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk ), the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NHK) ( Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk ), the Reformed Churches in South Africa ( Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika )), the Afrikaans Protestant Church ( Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk ), and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa ( Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suid-Afrika ). Through

2574-754: The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) congress in Ottawa opened in a dramatic manner when South African Delegates under the leadership of Dr. Allan Boesak refused to take communion with the NHKA delegation. The NHKA sanctioned racial discrimination featured prominently during the meeting and the NHKA was suspended from the WARC. Support for the Apartheid Regime from the NHKA was not uncritically accepted by all, and many dissenters such as professors Adrianus van Selms, Cas Labuschagne, Berend Gemser and Albert Geyser left

2673-602: The 1960s, wanted a single citizenship for all South Africans. By contrast, the National Party came to power in 1948 on the basis of a rejection of co-operation with Britain and proposals to implement apartheid formally. J P Oberholzer argues that by 1956 Geyser was a member of the Suid-Afrikaanse Bond and the Suid-Afrika Eerste Beweging, without providing further explanation. Pont himself helped to form

2772-463: The 19th century, theological liberalism led to splits in the Dutch Reformed Church. King William I of the Netherlands imposed a new form of government for the church, in which the civil authorities selected the commissioners to the National Synod in 1816, making it increasingly difficult for ministers to speak out against perceived errors. In 1834, the minister Hendrik de Cock of the town of Ulrum

2871-453: The Afrikaans media: The recommendations were rejected outright by the Broederbond, the leading National Party and Prime Minister Verwoerd , who claimed foreign powers were interfering with South Africa's domestic policies. As a result of this conflict the NHK and the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) withdrew from the WCC. While Geyser was not a representative at Cottesloe he strongly supported

2970-688: The American missionary Daniel Lindley took over the leadership from Smit who had at that time become very unpopular amongst the Voortrekkers . A Dutch minister, Dirk Van der Hoff , took over the leadership of the church in the Transvaal in 1853. The founding of the oldest South African university ( Stellenbosch University ) and the establishment of the Theological Seminary of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1859 allowed for ministers to be trained locally. While

3069-444: The Arminians' expulsion, subsequently prohibited the Reformed Church from assembling synodically. No Synod was held in the Netherlands until after the end of the Republic in 1795. The 17th and early 18th centuries were the age of the Dutch Nadere Reformatie (best translated in English as the Further Reformation ), led primarily by Gisbertus Voetius and Wilhelmus à Brakel , which was greatly influenced by English Puritanism . In

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3168-433: The Christian Institute of being a front for communist activities. Naudé and Geyser sued Pont and the editor of Die Hervormer for defamation (libel). The editor immediately acknowledged that the offending articles contained "crass, untrue and defamatory statements" and expressed his "deep and sincere regret", but Pont refused to retract his comments. The case was determined in Naudé and Geyser's favour in February 1967 and Pont

3267-418: The Christian Institute. Naudé and the Christian Institute were subsequently banned by the National Party Government in 1977. For Geyser the failure of the Christian Institute was one of the greatest disappointments of his life. Naudé asked Geyser for his advice because the anti-apartheid stance of the Christian Institute was increasingly at odds with his membership of the Broederbond. To help Geyser understand

3366-430: The Commission of the NHK's General Church Assembly noted in June 1967. Geyser's personal political affiliation during this period is unclear. His lifelong adversary, Pont, accused Geyser of having then been aligned with the United Party . The United Party, led by former field marshal Jan Smuts , was for co-operation with Britain, while at home it stood for an informal segregation, opposed geographic separation and, by

3465-433: The Department of Religious Studies) at the University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg . Geyser's first years at the University of Pretoria (i.e. 1946-1952) continued his support for the racial policies of the South Africa government and of his denomination that was evident during his ministry. Writing about the evolution of Geyser's thinking, Pieter de Villiers comments that "Geyser’s support of apartheid [at this time]

3564-512: The Dutch Reformed Church founded Queen's College , which would later become Rutgers College , in the Province of New Jersey . Today, Rutgers University is a major public research institution in the state of New Jersey . As one of nine colonial colleges clustered in the eastern United States, Rutgers serves as a reminder of early Dutch cultural influence in the North American colonies. Former U.S. Presidents Martin Van Buren and Theodore Roosevelt , both of Dutch descent, were affiliated with

3663-430: The Dutch Reformed Church. Albert Geyser Albertus (Albert) Stephanus Geyser (10 February 1918 – 13 June 1985) was a South African cleric , scholar and anti- apartheid theologian. Geyser became an outcast in the white Afrikaner community because of his theological opposition to apartheid and to the Broederbond , the secret male Calvinist organisation that covertly steered South African politics during

3762-419: The English newspaper, The Sunday Times published the Broederbond documents and Naudé was initially blamed for the leak. In reality it was Geyser who had leaked the documents to a journalist at the newspaper. In his statement on 20 November 1963, Geyser said that he had decided to make the documents public because he wanted to frustrate the aims of the Broederbond. According to Geyser the documents showed without

3861-506: The Faculty since 1938. But by 1945 Van Rensburg lacked a doctorate, and although Van Rensburg had been given similar conditions to Geyser's, he fell out of contention as he took much longer than Geyser to complete his doctoral examinations. Van Selms was a prisoner of war in Japanese-held Indonesia, and would only return in 1946. At the May 1945 general assembly of the NHK Greyvenstein requested to continue teaching beyond 1947 and mobilized some of his former students in support. Greyvenstein

3960-454: The NHK constitution and his "deviant" views on racial matters. Geyser felt he was falsely accused and contested the Commission's findings in the Supreme Court. During the subsequent court case the NHK reached an out of court settlement and he was reinstated. However these conflicts continued to be a source of tension and Geyser resigned as minister of the NHK in 1963. Geyser left the University of Pretoria in 1962 after successfully applying for

4059-436: The NHK's Pretoria North-West congregation from 1944–1945. He completed additional courses in Aramaic and Syriac in 1945, adding these to his sound knowledge of Afrikaans, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, German, Dutch and English; meaning that he could "read 10 languages." He earned a Doctor Divinitatis degree with distinction in 1946 on the topic of the genealogy of Jesus , also at the University of Pretoria. Geyser's

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4158-422: The NHK. Van Selms was, with Berend Gemser, one of the dissenters from the NHK's theological justification of apartheid. Geyser's theological interpretations which led to his successful court cases against the NHK and Pont affected the content and style of the NHK's theologians for at least two decades. The denomination's pronouncements, to counter Geyser's, became ever more explicitly aligned with apartheid. In

4257-428: The NHKA since 1979, making it one of the first churches to allow for women to serve as ministers. The first female minister in the NHKA was Professor Yolanda Dreyer. Dr. Elsabé Kloppers was the first female minister to obtain a doctorate in theology. After many years of debate about homosexuality in the church, the 68th General Church Assembly stated that homosexual persons are welcomed, will be comforted and supported in

4356-461: The NHKA. The assembly also stated it will do everything in its power to root out homophobia, gay-hate and any other derogatory behaviour against homosexual persons. Homosexual ministers are welcomed if they remain celibate. The NHKA falls within the Reformed branch of Protestant Christianity . The NHKA confesses three Ecumenical Creeds namely the Nicene Creed , the Apostles Creed and the Athanasian Creed . The church has three doctrinal standards:

4455-421: The Netherlands). It was the larger of the two major Reformed denominations, after the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands ( Gereformeerde kerk ) was founded in 1892. It spread to the United States , South Africa , Indonesia , Sri Lanka , Brazil , and various other world regions through Dutch colonization . Allegiance to the Dutch Reformed Church was a common feature among Dutch immigrant communities around

4554-408: The Protestant movement. Two years later, in 1568, following an attack on the Netherlands by the forces of the Duke of Alba, many Netherlanders fled to the German city of Wesel , where a Synod was convened at which the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism were adopted, and provisions were made for the offices of pastor, elder, teacher and deacon. The first Synod of 23 Dutch Reformed leaders

4653-441: The Republic. Although it remained endorsed by the royal family, the Netherlands never had any public church afterwards. The Reformation was a time of religious violence between the established Catholic Church, Protestants and governments, in some cases. Efforts to form a Reformed church in the southern provinces stemmed from a secret meeting of Protestant leaders at Antwerp in 1566, and despite Spanish repression, many nobles joined

4752-411: The University of Pretoria. Greyvenstein had reached retirement age in 1943, but the Faculty had permitted him to continue teaching until Geyser had obtained his doctorate. Geyser had registered in 1943 for a doctorate in Church History, but in September 1944 switched to New Testament studies with Professor Berend Gemser as doctoral advisor . Geyser's appointment as professor produced controversies from

4851-419: The annual Peter Ainslie Memorial Lecture at Rhodes University on 10 September 1957. In 1955 Geyser joined 13 Afrikaans academics in signing a petition that condemned the National Party government's proposed removal of coloureds from Parliament and the stacking of the Senate with its own politicians to better achieve its aims. As the publication of the petition coincided with the launch of public protests by

4950-412: The apartheid era. He obtained master's and doctoral degrees cum laude , specializing in Greek and Latin . At the age of 27 he was appointed lecturer, and a year later, professor in the Theological Faculty of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk at the University of Pretoria . Geyser contributed to the first annotated edition (1953–1958) of the Bible in Afrikaans , founded the Christian Institute , and

5049-412: The church has had a long and complicated history when it comes to Apartheid. The church defined itself as a "volkskerk" and evangelism was aimed primarily at the "Afrikanervolk". The NHKA was initially an active member of the international ecumenical community but a break from the ecumenical movement came during the Cottesloe Consultation in 1960 which lead to the NHKA's "Fifty Years of Isolation". In 1982

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5148-416: The church, with some like Geyser being accused of heresy. Other theologians and church leaders who remained within the NHKA and opposed Apartheid were stigmatized and harassed with a slew disciplinary actions. After the end of Apartheid, the church increasingly re-evaluated its stance concerning Apartheid and its theological grounding thereof. In 2001, the congress of the church accepted a confession in which it

5247-400: The consequences. Sowetan columnist and political commentator Prince Mashele wrote: " 'True virtue is not when a man defends his own interests, but when he endangers his life in defence of others. This is precisely what Geyser did. It is time for us, black people, to wage a 'Geyser must rise' campaign to protect the legacy of a white man who proclaimed that blacks were human at a time when such

5346-417: The context of the Sharpeville massacre in 1960 Geyser used public media more intensively to castigate the government for its unjust draconian laws. He joined a group of 350 Afrikaans clergy who met secretly in Johannesburg and Pretoria for six months to discuss the nature and effects of apartheid policies on churches. As a direct result of these consultations, a book titled Vertraagde Reaksie (Delayed Action )

5445-426: The democratic processes in South Africa". Commenting on the role of the Broederbond in drafting the policy on apartheid, he wrote: "It was easy for this dark 'think tank' to succeed with its mutual self-promotion in the civil service, government circles, education and church, because it sidestepped the restraining but healthy experimenting station of public debate". Geyser suffered a second, fatal heart attack before he

5544-452: The denomination. Geyser retired from his professorship in 1983 after 20 years of academic work at the University of the Witwatersrand. He continued his public denouncements of apartheid through a number of writings and interviews despite the high price paid by his family, who were ostracised and physically threatened. Geyser himself survived an assassination attempt when the brakes on his car were reportedly tampered with. In an interview with

5643-512: The desire for political self-determination, not the more narrowly-defined racist ideology intent on developing one group at the expense of others. This distinction emerges clearly in a 1969 essay in Pro Veritate in which he pointed out that the Protestant reformer Calvin was not a nationalist. Geyser was responding to claims by the conservative politicians Andries Treurnicht and Albert Hertzog that Afrikaner nationalism, which rejects "English" liberalism, derives from Calvin's teachings. In

5742-415: The excavations under St. Peter's Basilica . As a result of disputes raised by colleagues such as Pont, and some of Geyser's students about his political views and theological interpretations, Geyser was forced to resign from the University of Pretoria in 1961. Rautenbach was instrumental in dismissing Geyser. In 1964 Geyser became the first professor and head of the Department of Divinity (later renamed

5841-418: The eye on the 69th AKV, five ministers of the NHKA (professors Johan Buitendag, Ernest van Eck, Jimmy Loader, Andries van Aarde and Yolanda Dreyer) made a public statement condemning the theological justification of Apartheid. During the 69th AKV, a majority of the church's ministers and elders voted that the NHKA's support of Apartheid was in contradiction to the Gospel. The term "volkskerk" was also removed from

5940-423: The first Dutch Reformed Church in the Caribbean . During the period of Dutch settlement in Brazil in the 17th century colonists organised the Reformed Church in Pernambuco . In Canada and the United States , the oldest and second largest body is the Reformed Church in America , which was the American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Netherlands between 1628 and 1819. The Brookville Reformed Church

6039-455: The founding members of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk (NHK). Albert Geyser attended primary school in Ermelo , and matriculated from the Hoërskool (High School) Ermelo in 1935. With his brother, Hendrik, he was admitted to the University of Pretoria, with both intending to become ministers in the NHK. Albert earned his BA degree in Greek and Latin cum laude in 1938, followed by a BD in 1940. As denominational regulations required

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6138-431: The largest church body in the Netherlands until the middle of the 20th century, when it was overtaken by the Catholic Church . The rapid secularisation of the Netherlands in the 1960s dramatically reduced participation in the mainstream Protestant church. From the '60s onward, a number of attempts were made to effect a reunion with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands ( Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland ). This led to

6237-405: The law demanded that every public official should be a communicant member. Consequently, the Church had close relations with the Dutch government. A privilege of members of the Dutch Reformed Church was that they could have their businesses open on Sundays, otherwise considered a religious day and not one for business. The Dutch Reformed Church was officially disestablished in 1795 with the end of

6336-478: The letter Geyser states "I am sorry Mr President, even if you are now rowing back as hard as what the fear for the Conservative Party (CP) permits you, you are one of the oldest surviving people responsible. Do not regard it beneath you to accept and to confess guilt for your own share during your cabinet and Broederbond years…You can write off reform in South Africa as long as you allow this self-appointed self-propagating Afrikaner aristocracy to circumvent and undermine

6435-505: The media was to isolate Geyser completely. Invitations to preach or to participate in church events decreased dramatically, denying Geyser opportunities to present his views to others. Geyser received international support for his views when, following the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, the World Council of Churches sent a delegation to meet with clerics in the Johannesburg suburb of Cottesloe. The Cottesloe Consultation resulted in 17 recommendations, three of which caused great commotion in

6534-439: The number of churches had increased from 20 to 183 congregations. The church in South Africa also did not remain immune to the wars raging in the rest of the world. World War II affected many members. Most notably, professor Adrianus van Selms (1906–1984) who served in the NHKA at University of Pretoria became a Prisoner of war in Japan where he wrote numerous theological treatises. Due to its Afrikaner Nationalist identity,

6633-423: The official opposition party, Geyser was accused of transgressing the NHK's prohibition that clergy refrain from partisan actions or pronouncements. Geyser's signing of the petition marked a turning point in his relations with those inside and outside the NHK, which worsened as he set out to refute any biblical justifications for apartheid. The NHK initially tolerated his views, permitting him an extensive hearing in

6732-402: The ordinances of the church. The decision led to a backlash from the NHKA's politically right leaning minority and 13 congregations declared themselves independent from the NHKA and members of the "Geloofsbond van Hervormde Gemeentes". Women have been serving in charity work in the NHKA since 1940 under the Nederduitsch Hervormde Sustersvereniging (NHSV) . Female ministers have been serving in

6831-450: The outset, relating to other faculty members, his lack of a doctorate, the selection of a rector for the University and, later, his theological interpretations and political views. His appointment had been subject to the completion of his doctorate. Since 1944 Greyvenstein had wanted his successor to be either his student, S P J J van Rensburg, or the Dutch doctor Adrianus van Selms, lecturer in Semitic languages and Old Testament Studies in

6930-490: The pluralistic nature of the merged church, which they allege contains partly contradicting Reformed and Lutheran confessions. This conservative group also opposes the ordination of women and the blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches , which have been adopted as practices by the merged church. Dutch migrants carried the Dutch Reformed Church with them, planting several Reformed denominations in Kenya (The Reformed Church of East Africa), South Africa , including

7029-514: The position as the first professor and Head of the Department of Divinity (now the Department of Religious Studies) at the University of the Witwatersrand . During the early 1960s Geyser befriended Beyers Naudé and disclosed to him his idea of establishing a movement which would bring together ecumenically minded Christians in Southern Africa with a view to a united witness against the ideology of apartheid and its negative consequences in church and society. The Christian Institute of Southern Africa

7128-1029: The quality of his doctoral dissertation. Only one of his three examiners, Professor J. De Zwaan of the University of Leiden, recommended that the degree should be granted cum laude , but this was the option endorsed by the council of the Faculty of Theology in March 1946. After an initial appointment in 1946, Geyser was permanently appointed in September 1947 as professor and head of the Department of New Testament Science. Geyser insisted on taking all of Greyvenstein's subjects, including practical theology , Christian ethics , and dogmatics , forbidding students from attending Rautenbach's ethics class. Rautenbach aired his displeasure at Geyser's actions in various meetings. According to Adriaan Pont, former undergraduate of Geyser's and later his fiercest adversary, Rautenbach had opposed Geyser's appointment. By 1948 Geyser, along with Gemser,

7227-561: The recommendations and continued to launch fierce attacks on the NHK, particularly on its understanding of the concept of catholicity and on its policy with regard to missionary work. Following the Cottesloe Consultation Geyser became an opponent of Article III of the NHK constitution, which specifically forbids blacks as members. It was inevitable that he would clash with what he saw as the "ideological theology" of his own and other Afrikaans churches. This made his position as

7326-406: The resistance against apartheid. Individual and co-authored scholarly articles by A G van Aarde e.a. (1992, 2014 ) and Van Eck (1995 ) positively assessed his roles in theology, church and society. Geyser's arguments against the theological justification of apartheid, like that of his colleague Adrianus van Selms at Pretoria, lay the groundwork that ultimately led to its complete rejection in 2010 by

7425-505: The security police implied that the actions of the leaders of the Christian Institute were now regarded as a matter of national security. The Christian Institute continued to be a target for security police raids and attacks in the Afrikaans media. During 1964 and 1965 Pont wrote a series of articles in Die Hervormer , the monthly magazine of the NHK in which he accused Naudé and Geyser of various misdemeanours, including: Pont also accused

7524-569: The subsequent genocide of Jews that followed. And in response to a rising need for ecumenism, the World Council of Churches (WCC) was established in 1948 in Amsterdam. During his European stay Geyser was increasingly influenced by progressive ecumenists who had emerged in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Following his return from Europe, Geyser became increasingly critical of the use of theology as

7623-467: The tensions between these two loyalties Naudé provided Geyser with a number of secret Broederbond documents which included minutes of meetings and the names of members of the Broederbond. Unknown to Naudé, Geyser (who was a keen amateur photographer) made photostats of the documents before returning them. Geyser's advice was crucial in Naudé's subsequent decision to resign from the Broederbond. In November 1963

7722-463: The theological journal, Hervormde Teologiese Studies in 1960. Here he launched a scathing attack on the theological justification of apartheid advocated in the book "Eiesoortige Ontwikkeling tot Volksdiens," written by Professor A. B. du Preez, then Professor of Dogmatics in the Faculty of Theology (Section B) at the University of Pretoria. While Geyser by 1960 still identified with those who called themselves Afrikaner "nationalists," he clearly meant

7821-485: The time of the merger, the Church had 2 million members organised in 1,350 congregations. A minority of members of the church chose not to participate in the merger and instead formed the Restored Reformed Church (HHK). Before the demise of the Dutch Republic in 1795, the Dutch Reformed Church enjoyed the status of "public" or "privileged" church. Though it was never formally adopted as the state religion ,

7920-641: The two churches uniting with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( Evangelisch-Lutherse Kerk in het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden ) to establish the Protestant Church in the Netherlands in 2004. The 2004 merger led to a separation in which a number of congregations and members of the Dutch Reformed Church separated to form the Restored Reformed Church ( Hersteld Hervormde Kerk ). Estimations of their membership vary from 35,000 up to 70,000 in about 120 local congregations served by 88 ministers. The Restored Reformed Church disapproves of

8019-518: The war or were sent as Prisoners of war in British Colonies. The British Scorched earth strategy meant women and children were placed in Concentration camps. It also meant that many churches and archival material was destroyed. After the war, the church was re-established and Dutch ministers (like L.E. Brandt) were once again sent to South Africa. This was a period of immense growth and by 1956

8118-524: The world and became a crucial part of Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa. The Dutch Reformed Church was founded in 1571 during the Protestant Reformation in the Calvinist tradition, being shaped theologically by John Calvin , but also other major Reformed theologians. The church was influenced by various theological developments and controversies during its history, including Arminianism ,

8217-617: Was able to finish the letter, but the contents were published by The Sunday Star on 23 July 1985. Despite his estrangement from the NHK his last wish was for his funeral to be held at the Nederlands Hervormde (Dutch Congregation) church in Parktown, Johannesburg. The church granted him this final wish. Geyser was survived by his wife, three of his children and eight grandchildren. Contemporaneous appraisals that lauded Geyser's political involvement included that of Alan Paton , president of

8316-534: Was established at the Cape, removing the church from control from the Netherlands. This autonomous synod would become the NGK. The unwillingness of Dutch ministers to serve in a British-controlled colony meant that Scottish Presbyterian ministers with British sympathies were introduced to the church. In the 1830s, Boers left the Cape Colony and established republics in the interior of South Africa in what came to be known as

8415-506: Was far from unanimous. Disputes about Geyser's appointment continued through various official meetings until September 1946, when Greyvenstein abruptly retired, rendering it moot. With regards Geyser's academic qualifications, a Professor H P Wolmarans was concerned that Geyser's studies neglected theology in favour of classical languages. While Geyser completed the oral and written examinations well in August 1945, his examiners were divided about

8514-483: Was formed in 1963, and Geyser as the chairman of the board of directors had little difficulty in persuading Naudé, then a minister of the NGK, to become its first director. For some years the friendship between Naudé and Geyser endured the direction in which Naudé steered the Christian Institute. But according to one biographer of Geyser's, when Naudé joined Desmond Tutu in agitating for international action against South Africa, this alienated Geyser both from Naudé and from

8613-598: Was held in Dordrecht in 1578. This synodical meeting is not to be confused with the better known Second Synod of Dort of 1618. Large groups of Marranos settled in Emden and converted to Christianity . Mostly all Marranos , many Jewish groups converted to Christianity around 1649 to the Nederduitsche , Niederdeutsche church later on Dutch Reformed Church. In the latter meeting, the Church fathers expelled Arminians and added

8712-621: Was held in October 1571 in the German city of Emden . The Synod of Emden is generally considered to be the founding of the Dutch Reformed Church, the oldest of the Reformed churches in the Netherlands. The Synod both affirmed the actions of the earlier Synod of Wesel, as well as established presbyterian church government for the Dutch Reformed Church. The first Synod to be located in the Dutch Republic

8811-493: Was instituted by the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria. The first such lecture was presented by James Loader, whom the Faculty denied an appointment due to his opposition to the NHK's racial viewpoints. Journalist Benjamin Pogrund described Geyser as demonstrating "awesome intellectual courage and emotional strength" through his willingness to re-examine and reject the religious ideology behind apartheid, regardless of

8910-574: Was involved in the administration and maintenance of the official scholarly journal of the Faculty, Hervormde Teologiese Studies/Reformed Theological Studies. Meanwhile, Rautenbach was confirmed as rector of the University in March 1948. Geyser's position at the University of Pretoria afforded him the opportunity to study in Europe and to broaden his perspectives. The Rijksuniversiteit of Utrecht invited Geyser to lecture in New Testament studies for six months in 1951. Recognition of his academic stature

9009-401: Was not written for politicians or to promote rebellion in church and state. It was not intended as a political pamphlet, but rather as a theological document with political consequences." The Broederbond led a smear campaign against Geyser and the other authors. Geyser was painted as an enemy of Afrikaners by journalists, church leaders, and members of the public, and received death threats. At

9108-421: Was ordered to pay Naudé and Geyser R20,000 damages each and also pay their legal costs (R150,000). At the time it was the largest amount ever awarded in South Africa as damages for defamation. As the NHK never censored Pont but issued a letter supporting him to its congregations, Geyser asked for a meeting with NHK officials, where he called on them to repent, before telling them that he and his wife were leaving

9207-433: Was particularly reluctant to surrender two of his three courses to Geyser, one of which he had handed off to C H Rautenbach in 1939. Another group solidified around Professor S P Engelbrecht in support of Geyser, who would have been left with only one course to teach if Greyvenstein had been allowed to continue. The NHK's General Assembly rejected Greyvenstein's position by a vote of 70 to 55, revealing that Geyser's ascension

9306-474: Was produced, comprising contributions by 11 authors, edited by Geyser and Stellenbosch theologician B B Keet . Constituting "the first formal protest of Afrikaans theologians against apartheid," the book aimed to help churches express their public witness and Christian calling in a context marked by the increasing miseries caused by apartheid legislation. Geyser and Marais clarified in an interview with Die Transvaler newspaper on 21 November 1960 that "the book

9405-506: Was stated that the church takes note of the crimes that were committed under apartheid, even by church members and that the church confesses its guilt before God and fellow human beings. The 67th General Church Assembly (AKV) decided in 2004 to re-apply for membership to the Reformed Ecumenical Council and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches . The 68th AKV refused to take any binding decisions about re-applying. In 2010, with

9504-593: Was the first South African to be elected as a member of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas . Albert Geyser was born to Maria Johanna Albertina ("Nina") Lamprecht and Petrus Geyser on 10 February 1918 on a farm near Naboomspruit , Transvaal province (now the town of Mookgophong in the Limpopo Province). Petrus and Maria had three children, including Albert's brother, Hendrik Johannes Geyser. The Geyser progenitor had immigrated to South Africa in 1725, and Albert's great-grandfather and grandfather had been among

9603-469: Was the first doctorate to be awarded by the Theology Faculty. Geyser's academic career included professorial appointments at the University of Pretoria (1946-1961) and, subsequently, at the University of the Witwatersrand (1962-1983). In August 1944 Geyser was nominated by the Theology Faculty as professor of New Testament Exegesis and successor to Professor J H J A Greyvenstein in the NHK's section at

9702-521: Was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal family and the foremost Protestant denomination until 2004, the year it helped found and merged into the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (the largest Protestant and second largest Christian communion in

9801-630: Was told by church leaders that he could not preach against certain colleagues, who he believed held erroneous views. He and his congregation seceded from the Dutch Reformed Church. In time, the Afscheiding (the Separation) led to the departure of 120 congregations from the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1886, another separation, the Doleantie , occurred, led by Dutch Reformed journalist, theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper . The Dutch Reformed Church remained

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