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.

About this series
This book is part of the five-part series 'The Dynamics of the Classical Reformed Liturgy in the Netherlands: its Texts and their History', an academic collaborative project of Utrecht Theological University, Protestant Theological University and Apeldoorn Theological University. Each volume deals with one or more classical Reformed forms from the 16th and early 17th centuries.

The series consists of: (1) Forms and prayers: the texts and their dynamics (2) The baptismal form (3) The sacramental form (4) The marriage form (5) The form to confirm ministers of the Word and the form for confirmation of elders and deacons. A volume on the liturgical writings of Marten Mircon is also in preparation.

Acknowledgements 7

Abbreviations 10

1 Introduction 11
1.1 Theme and Brief Statement of Research 11
1.2 Terminology: Ordination, Installation, or Confirmation? 12
1.3 Survey of Research and Statement of the Problem 14
1.4 The Laying On of Hands 17
1.5 The Scope of the Study 17
1.6 Main Question and Methodology 18
1.7 Outline 19

2 The Decisions of the Synods Prior to 1586 21
2.1 The Office of Pastor 21
2.2 Elders and Deacons 24
2.3 Le Formulaire de l’imposition des mains 26
2.4 Ordination 32
2.5 Three Questions to the Elected 35
2.6 Conclusion 38

3 The Synod of The Hague 1586 on the Two Forms of ‘Bevestiging’ 40
3.1 Why Not Earlier? 41
3.2 The Background to the Form for the Ordination/Installation of Ministers of the Word and the Form for the Ordination of Elders and Deacons 44
3.3 The Form for the Ordination/Installation of Ministers of the Word and the Form for the Ordination of the Elders and the Deacons 59
3.4 Comparison Between the Synod of The Hague’s Form for the Ordination of Ministers of the Word and Chandieu’s Formulaire 74
3.5 Conclusion 77

4 Calvin’s Idea of the Three Offices and Ordination with the Laying On of Hands 78
4.1 The Office of Pastor 78
4.2 The Legitimate Call of a Pastor: Examination, Prayer and Fasting, Election, and Ordination 80
4.3 The Elders and the Deacons 91
4.4 The Ordination of Elders and Deacons 95
4.5 Differences with the Forms of the Synod of The Hague 96
4.6. Conclusion 98

5 Martin Bucer’s View of ordination with imposition of hands and De Ordinatione Legitima 100
5.1 Church Offices 101
5.2 Legitimate Call and Election 102
5.3 The Laying On of Hands as a Sacrament? 106
5.4 Bucer’s Liturgy of Ordination before De Ordinatione 109
5.5 The Ordination Form in De Ordinatione legitima 113
5.6 Comparison with the Dutch Forms for Ordination/Installation 118
5.7 Conclusion 121

6 Zurich and the Church of England 123
6.1 The Zürcher Prediger- und Synodalordnung (1532) 124
6.2 The Ordinals of the Church of England (1550 and 1552) 134
6.3 Conclusion 160

7 The Church Orders of the Strangers’ Churches in England 162
7.1 Valérand Poullain’s Liturgia Sacra 163
7.2 The Forma ac Ratio and De christlicke ordinancien 176
7.3 Conclusion 206

8 Conclusions 210

Appendix - Edition of the liturgical forms 220
Summary 234
Samenvatting 239
Bibliography 244
Index of Names 260
Index of Subjects 262
Biblical References 264
Curriculum vitae 267