Remonstrants

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Remonstrants (Remonstrant Brotherhood)

The Remonstrants are a Protestant church in the Netherlands. They began in the early 1600s when some people left the Dutch Reformed Church. They followed the ideas of Jacobus Arminius, so they are often called Arminians. They supported the belief that people have some freedom to choose and that predestination is not fixed. They emphasized freedom of thought and open discussion.

In 1610, Remonstrants published the Five Articles of Remonstrance, outlining their disagreements with Calvinism. Their opponents became known as Gomarists or Counter-Remonstrants. Although the Dutch government tried to keep peace, the conflict became political and tied to power struggles in the Dutch Republic. Some leaders were imprisoned or executed, including Johan van Oldenbarnevelt.

At the Synod of Dordrecht (1618–1619), the Calvinist side won. The synod issued many rules, affirmed the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism, and expelled thirteen Remonstrant pastors, including their main leader Simon Episcopius. Remonstrant ministers were banished or removed. Some Remonstrants fled to Antwerp (1619) and later to Friedrichstadt in Schleswig (1621). In 1621 Episcopius wrote a Confession for the Remonstrants, which became the basis of their faith. After the return of some exiles, the government allowed Remonstrants to live in the Republic again in 1630, but they could not openly build churches until 1795. They met in private “house churches” (Schuilkerken) until then.

In the mid-19th century, the Remonstrant Brotherhood was influenced by liberal theology, led by thinkers like Petrus Hofstede de Groot. Their approach became more philosophical and rational. Arminianism is a smaller current within the Reformed tradition, but it has influenced many other Christian groups, including the Church of England, Methodism, and various other Protestant denominations.

Today, the Remonstrants continue as a church in the Netherlands. They were officially recognized in 1795, and their main congregation is in Rotterdam. In 2016 they had about 5,000 members and friends across more than 40 congregations in the Netherlands and one congregation in Friedrichstadt, Germany. They participate in international church networks and are members of ecumenical groups.

Remonstrants advocate freedom of faith and tolerance. They believe the Gospel should be lived out in justice and peace for everyone. Their core guiding statement is that the Remonstrant Church is a community rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, dedicated to freedom and tolerance, and seeking to worship and serve God. Many Remonstrants also write their own profession of faith when they join. They are a non-creedal church, meaning they do not hold a single unquestionable creed for all members. They have had confessional statements in 1621, 1940, and 2006, but day-to-day belief is left to the individual.