Dean Christakos« Dutch Terminology Explained | Main | Stuff You Can't Make Up »
March 6, 2006
Religion in the Netherlands
The Netherlands has an interesting religious history, being majority Dutch Reformed/Calvinist, but with a significant Catholic population. In the Begijnhof courtyard, one can see them side-by-side. Begijnhof was the site of a religous community of Catholic women called the Beguines. When the Netherlands sided with the Reformation, a number of churches and monasteries were appropriated by the government, but the homes of the Beguines at Begijnhof remained in the hands of the Beguines because their titles were the property of the residents. However, the Catholic church in the middle of the courtyard was taken over by the government and handed over to the English-speaking Presbyterians:
The Catholics were allowed to practice as long as they didn't have any public displays of their faith, so their church got moved into a house across from the church that was taken from them with the stipulation that there be no visible indication that it was a church:
Now, of course, Amsterdam being a port city, you get plenty of immigrants, including Russians who have a Russian Orthodox Church on 48 Lijnbaansgracht:
The courtyard in the main entrance makes it look rather small and modest:
Around the corner, however, the church looks like a well-protected fortress:
Clearly, I'm sure the Russians fortified this whole area in order to protect themselves in case of another outbreak of rampaging Dutch Calvinists. :)
Posted by Dean at March 6, 2006 4:06 PM