Subordination and Autonomy in the Reformed Churches In the Middle Colonies, 1720–1748

Abstract

The creation of a Dutch empire in the seventeenth century required the establishment of Dutch Reformed congregations in its colonies, which were formally independent of ecclesiastical assemblies in the Netherlands. Such assemblies nevertheless supported the church abroad, particularly by sending ministers. The assembly that took the strongest role in New Netherland affairs was the Classis of Amsterdam. This formal independence was forgotten in the eighteenth century, as ministers on both sides of the Atlantic created a new vision of colonial subordination within and for the church in North America. However, as the Dutch Reformed church was built on the principles of collective, regional self-governance, "subordination" across long distances became an ambiguous and contested concept. Ecclesiastical conflicts in the colonies of the former New Netherland resulted. These conflicts were exacerbated by the growing role of the Dutch Reformed in the affairs of the Reformed congregations in Pennsylvania, as well as the involvement of an unexpected new voice in colonial affairs, the Classis of Schieland in Rotterdam. The result was a thick web of inter-colonial, classical, denominational, and ethnic entanglements that produced endemic conflict over church governance throughout a significant segment of the eighteenth century.