Dutch Reformed Ordination and Installation

Before the Reformation the people in the Netherlands were acquainted with the ordination of priests and other ecclesiastical offices in the Roman Catholic Church. These rituals changed completely during the second half of the sixteenth century. But how did they change, and were the boundaries that separated clergy from laity transcended? Reforming rituals meant rethinking the ecclesiastical offices. Liturgical formularies were written to be read in Church and explain their meaning to the people. This study is focused on the liturgical forms for the ordination of ministers (trained in theology) and of elders and deacons (laymen). The forms contain a biblical instruction on the respective offices and incorporate questions, posed to the candidates on their installation. Each form provides a liturgy for that solemn occasion with prescribed prayers and formulas of dedication and blessing. Special attention is paid the ritual of laying on of hands, performed when a candidate was installed as minister for the first time. It was only at the national synod of 1586, held in The Hague, that the Reformed Churches commissioned the drafting of two forms for the installation of ministers and of elders and deacons. The origin of these forms is studied in the wider context of European theology and Church in the sixteenth century. A critical edition of both texts in the form of manuscripts and editions completes this study.

Moses Lim (1982) defended this thesis at the Theological University Utrecht. As ordained minister he now serves the Southern Ulsan Presbyterian Church, South-Korea.