The Reformed Churches in South Africa () is a Christian denomination in South Africa that was formed in 1859 in

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a town at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West (South African province), North West province, South Africa (549 ...

. Members of the church are sometimes referred to as ''Doppers''.

History of the Gereformeerde Kerke in South Africa

In the early 19th century a new hymnbook was introduced in the Dutch churches in the Netherlands, which was implemented in the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) 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 famil ...

in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. Many of these songs contradicted the teachings of the three confessions accepted at the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was a European transnational Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. ...

in 1618/1619 (

The Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its o ...

, the

Belgic Confession The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a confession to which many Reformed churches subscribe as a doctrinal standard. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity, which are the official subordinate st ...

and the

Canons of Dort The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled ''The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands'', is an exposition of orthodox Reformed soteriology against Arminianism, by the Nat ...

). Some of the church members could not accept these doctrines. When they refused to sing the hymns, they were threatened with excommunication. They held the view: ''In Gods huis Gods lied'' (''In God's house God's songs''). The main founders of the denomination were particularly concentrated in the vicinity of

, in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. In 1859, 15 brothers decided to separate themselves from the Dutch Reformed Church. These 15 members held a meeting on 10 February 1859 under a seringboom at Rustenburg. At this meeting, 300 members enrolled as members of ''Gereformeerde Kerke''. The spot is marked today by the Syringa Tree Monument. The Gereformeerde Kerke founded a seminary for theological studies and teacher training in

Burgersdorp Burgersdorp is a medium-sized town in Walter Sisulu in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In 1869 a Theological Seminary was established here by the '' Gereformeerde Kerk'', but in 1905 it was mov ...

in the Eastern Cape. It was moved to

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

in the early 20th century, where it became the Potchefstroom University College for Higher Christian Education, now the North West University. One of the faculties is the seminary for training their ministers.

The Gereformeerde Kerke today

The official name of the church body today is ''Die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika'' (GKSA), translated into English as ''the Reformed Churches in South Africa'' (RCSA). It has 415 Congregations ministering to people in all 11 official languages of South Africa. There are congregations in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Lesotho. The ''General Synod'' meets every third year in

. It has ecumenical ties with churches on all continents except Antarctica.

Songbook of Gereformeerde Kerke

The Gereformeerde Kerke today uses only hymns from the Bible: the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

as well as ''Skrifberymings''. ''Skrifberymings'' are hymns based on passages from the Bible. Besides the Psalms and ''Skrifberymings'', the hymnal contains the following: *

Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by man ...

, which consist of the

, the

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

and the

. * The liturgical forms for the baptism of children, public confession of faith, the baptism of adults, the

holy communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

, confirmation of elders and deacons, confirmation of ministers, and the marriage ceremony. * The Church Order. * A number of prayers.

Theology

Creeds

Apostles Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed—also called the ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes"—is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christolo ...

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

Confessions

Church government

The Reformed Churches have a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

–

Synodal A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

system of church government. The church consists of the Eastern Regional Synod, the Bushveld Synod, the Northwest Synod, the Regional Synod of Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, the Southern Regional Synod, and the Randvaal Regional Synod.

Seminary

The Reformed Churches in South Africa have their own Theological Seminary "Die Teologiese Skool" in Potchefstroom.

Missions

The Reformed Churches in South Africa has a number of growing local congregations. The denomination has local outreaches in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. There are churches that support missionaries in

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. The Reformed Church in Rustenburg, South Africa has agreement with Koshin Presbyterian Church in Korea to support evangelism, and establishing new multicultural churches in Rustenburg area. The church cooperates with the

Presbyterian Church of Brazil The Presbyterian Church of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil'', or ''IPB'', ''PCB'' in English) is an Evangelical Protestant Christian denomination in Brazil. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, havin ...

in missions in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and

. It is also involved in a Reformed church plant in

Hanoi, Vietnam Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. Through membership in the World Reformed Fellowship, Gereformeerde Gemeenten collabotates WRF's works, also for example in the International Institute of Islamic Studies.

Relations with other Reformed churches

Reformed Churches in South Africa is a member of the

World Reformed Fellowship The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical, Protestant Christian fellowship that advances partnerships among confessional Reformed churches around the world. History The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches was formed in 1994 by ...

and the

International Conference of Reformed Churches The International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC) is a federation of Reformed or Calvinist churches around the world. The ICRC convenes international meetings every four years. The ICRC was founded in 1981 at Groningen in the Netherlands ...

The Gereformeerde Kerke has sister church relationship with the : *

Christian Reformed Churches The Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands () is a Protestant church in the Netherlands. History The original name of the church was Christian Reformed Church in the Netherlands (''Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk in Nederland'', CG ...

in the Netherlands *

Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) () was an orthodox Calvinist federation of churches. This church body arose in 1944 out of the so-called Liberation (') from the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, when many pastors and me ...

Netherlands Reformed Churches The Netherlands Reformed Churches (, NGK) was a conservative Reformed Protestant Christian denomination in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The denomination was formed in 1967 following a schism within the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Lib ...

*Reformed Churches in Botswana * United Reformed Church in Congo *

Christian Reformed Church in North America The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA or CRC) is a Protestant Calvinist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was found ...

Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyte ...

Christian Reformed Churches of Australia The Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA), formerly known as the Reformed Churches of Australia (RCA) is a Christian denomination established in Australia belonging to the Reformed/Presbyterian tradition. Background This denomination h ...

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

Reformed Churches of New Zealand Reformed Churches of New Zealand is a Calvinist denomination in New Zealand. The denomination is constituted of 22 member churches, the first seven of which were formed in 1953. Total membership as of 2023 stands at 3,530. Form of doctrine The d ...

Reformed Church in Japan The Reformed Church in Japan is a confessional Calvinist denomination in Japan. It was formerly a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, but it chose to suspend its membership. Origin The Reformed Church in Japan was formed in 1946 ...

Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin) The Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea, also called Korea-pa, is an Evangelical Reformed and Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of South Korea. Although, congregations have spread all over North America and in many other countries. The ...

. * General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines * National Capital Region Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines

Footnotes

References

* "Professor Dirk Postma (1818–1890)", Dr. G.C.P. van der Vyver, Pro Rege Pers, 1958 * "Handleiding vir die studie van Kerkgeskiedenis" (''Guide for the Study of Church History''), Prof. S. du Toit, Pro Rege Pers, 1970

External links

Official website

Reformed Church in Rustenburg, South Africa

Reformed Church in Pretoria, South Africa
{{Authority control Protestantism in South Africa Reformed denominations in Africa Members of the World Reformed Fellowship Religious organizations established in 1859 1859 establishments in South Africa Establishments in the South African Republic 1859 in the South African Republic 1859 establishments in Africa Dutch-South African culture