Conservatives in Dutch Reformed Church Oppose Church Merger
Golden Compass

On December 6, it became clear that the conservative right wing of the Dutch Reformed continues its resistance to the forthcoming United Protestant Church in the Netherlands (VPKN). If needed, the conservatives will continue separately when the merger of Reformed, Reformated, and Lutherans takes place. Ds. L. Ruijgrok, one of the conservatives, appealed to have a voice in the practical regulations of the church order, a draft of which was accepted at the start of this year.

In November, the three merging churches (Reformed, Calvinist-Reformated and Lutherans) made a final step to unification and decided to establish the United Protestant Church in the Netherlands, which will become much more than just cooperation. The church union should be established in a period of five to ten years, but it is opposed by the conservative right wing of the Dutch Reformed, which fears that the Calvinist tradition will disappear in the VPKN. The unification should be completed by the year 2002, but some say that the year 2010 would be more realistic.

Information in this article was supplied by IKON and CIP.