Pieter Datheen, Latin Petrus Dathenus, English, Peter Datheen, (Cassel, Nord, c.1531 - Elbing, 17 March 1588) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian, the 16th century reformer of The Netherlands, who accomplished many things for the advancement the Reformed Church liturgy and ecclesiastical polity.
First, he translated the Heidelberg Catechism into Dutch. Second, using the singing work of John Calvin, Theodore Beza, Peter Marot, and Louis Bourgeois, Datheen set the Psalms and psalter to verse and tune in Dutch (1566), though his settings were overshadowed by those of Philips Marnix van St Aldegonde. [1] Third, he translated the famous "Form for the Administration of Holy Baptism" from Heidelberg with its very orthodox emphasis on the Covenant of Grace containing two parts. Fourth, he translated the equally famous "Form for the Administration of the Lord's Supper," also from the Palatinate, still used by orthodox Reformed churches today. Fifth, he was President of the Convent of Wesel in 1568, which expressed hope for the Reformed Churches to be free from the awful persecution of Spanish Roman Catholics, and more significantly President of the 1578 Synod of Dordt, which, among its significant decisions, also paved the way for the Statenvertaling. Sixth, at this latter Synod he helped write, edit, and approve the long-revered Church Order (more famously known as the 1618-1619 Church Order of Dordt) with its 84 articles. Seventh, he developed the liturgy (order of worship) used by orthodox Dutch and American Reformed Churches with the singing, alms, prayer, and preaching at the required places. Eighth and finally, during Roman Catholic Spain's very intense persecution of the Lowlands region, resulting in the deaths of 100,000 - 200,000 Reformed Christians, Datheen was a field preacher carrying his pulpit on his back and then orating to crowds of 15,000 in a blunt eloquence that was intense and captivating. [2]
In his theological-political writings Datheen displays the typically optimistic view of early Calvinist writers in the Netherlands regarding the state, [3] although his very strong views on making sure to avoid all compromise with Roman Catholic guided countries, like Spain, put him at great odds with Prince William the Silent (of Orange) and led to Datheen's multiple political ostracizations from his fatherland. Datheen was one of the Calvinist preachers who supported Jan van Hembyse, the popular leader of the Calvinist Republic of Ghent, in 1577 and 1578, in the most radical phase of that regime.
Peter Datheen married a former Roman Catholic nun, Benedicta. Together they had one daughter, Christiana. [4]
Recent research based on stylometry mentioned him as a possible author of the text of the Dutch national anthem Wilhelmus. [5] Dutch and Flemish researchers (Meertens Institute, Utrecht University and University of Antwerp) discovered by chance a striking number of similarities between his style and the style of the national anthem. [6] [7]
Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. It emphasises the sovereignty of God and the authority of the Bible.
"Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", usually known just as "Wilhelmus", is the national anthem of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572, making it the oldest national anthem in use today, provided that the latter is defined as consisting of both a melody and lyrics. Although "Wilhelmus" was not recognized as the official national anthem until 1932, it has always been popular with parts of the Dutch population and resurfaced on several occasions in the course of Dutch history before gaining its present status. It was also the anthem of the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 to 1964.
Dordrecht, historically known in English as Dordt or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after Rotterdam, The Hague, Zoetermeer and Leiden, with a population of 118,654. The municipality covers the entire Dordrecht Island, also often called Het Eiland van Dordt, bordered by the rivers Oude Maas, Beneden Merwede, Nieuwe Merwede, Hollands Diep, and Dordtsche Kil. Dordrecht is the largest and most important city in the Drechtsteden and is also part of the Randstad, the main conurbation in the Netherlands. Dordrecht is the oldest city in Holland and has a rich history and culture.
The Synod of Dort was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on 13 November 1618 and the final meeting, the 180th, was on 29 May 1619. Voting representatives from eight foreign Reformed churches were also invited. Dort was a contemporary English term for the town of Dordrecht.
Philips of Marnix, Lord of Saint-Aldegonde, Lord of West-Souburg was a Flemish and Dutch writer and statesman, and the probable author of the text of the Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus.
The Dutch Reformed Church was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation until 1930. It was the foremost Protestant denomination, and—since 1892—one of the two major Reformed denominations along with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.
The Remonstrants is a Protestant movement that had split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his original views called Arminianism against the proponents of Calvinism. Condemned by the synod of Dort (1618-1619), the Remonstrants remained in a small minority in the Netherlands. In the middle of the 19th century, the Remonstrant Brotherhood was influenced by the liberal Dutch theological movement.
The Reformatory Political Federation was a minor Protestant Christian political party in the Netherlands.
Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) was a Dutch Reformed theologian and churchman. He was a significant scholar in the Calvinist tradition, alongside Abraham Kuyper and B. B. Warfield.
Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature is the literature written in the Dutch language in the Low Countries from around 1550 to around 1700. This period saw great political and religious changes as the Reformation spread across Northern and Western Europe and the Netherlands fought for independence in the Eighty Years' War.
The history of the Calvinist–Arminian debate begins in early 17th century in the Netherlands with a Christian theological dispute between the followers of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius, and continues today among some Protestants, particularly evangelicals. The debate centers around soteriology, or the study of salvation, and includes disputes about total depravity, predestination, and atonement. While the debate was given its Calvinist–Arminian form in the 17th century, issues central to the debate have been discussed in Christianity in some form since Augustine of Hippo's disputes with the Pelagians in the 5th century.
Calvinism originated with the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo but was propagated by John Calvin in the 16th century. The Reformation in Switzerland when Huldrych Zwingli began preaching what would become the first form of the Reformed doctrine in Zürich in 1519.
The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) are an orthodox Reformed, Protestant 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 members refused to go along with the General Synod's demand to hold to "presumed regeneration of infants" at their baptism. Klaas Schilder played an important role in the Liberation. There are currently 270 affiliated local congregations with a total of about 120,000 members in 2016.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Breda is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands.
The Compromiseof Nobles was a covenant of members of the lesser nobility in the Habsburg Netherlands who came together to submit a petition to the Regent Margaret of Parma on 5 April 1566, with the objective of obtaining a moderation of the placards against heresy in the Netherlands. This petition played a crucial role in the events leading up to the Dutch Revolt and the Eighty Years' War.
Reformed scholasticism or Reformed orthodoxy was academic theology practiced by Reformed theologians using the scholastic method during the period of Protestant orthodoxy in the 16th to 18th centuries. While the Reformed often used "scholastic" as a term of derision for their Roman Catholic opponents and the content of their theology, most Reformed theologians during this period can properly be called scholastics with respect to the method of theology, though they also used other methods. J. V. Fesko describes scholasticism in this sense as "a method of doing theology that sets out to achieve theological precision through the exegesis of Scripture, an examination of how doctrine has been historically defined throughout church history, and how doctrine is expounded in contemporary debate."
Jean Taffin (1529–1602), was a Dutch Walloon minister and theologian.
Petrus is a Latin name derived from the Greek meaning "rock", and is the common English prefix "petro-" used to describe rock-based substances, like petros-oleum or "rock oil." As the source of Peter, it is a common name for people from antiquity through the medieval era. In the Netherlands and South Africa it remained a very common given name, though in daily life, many use less formal forms like Peter, Pierre, Piet and Pieter.
Jan van Hembyse or Hembyze was a Flemish politician and popular leader, with a demagogic tendency, who together with François van Ryhove brought about the Calvinist Republic of Ghent and for two periods led that regime in the early stage of the Dutch Revolt and the Eighty Years' War as it unfolded in the County of Flanders.