the dutch church

a dutch community london

In the midst of the City of London stands the Dutch Church. It is a meeting-place for Dutch people living and working in London. It is an independent and ecumenical parish where Dutch worshippers from different religious traditions are welcome.

a brief history

The origin of the Dutch Church goes back to 1550. In that year the English King Edward VI gave protestant refugees from the Netherlands permission to establish their own parish. For their worship they could make use of the nave of the church that had belonged to the Augustine monks (Austin Friars). As in 1550 there was no protestant church in the Netherlands yet, one can say that Austin Friars is the oldest Dutch-language protestant church in the world. It made a decisive contribution to the rise of the protestant church in the Netherlands and was invited to the first synods as the “Mother Church”.

 

Copyright 2007, Frank Dekker