The Dynamics of the Classical Reformed Liturgy in the Netherlands: Its Texts and and their History

Abstract

In this article, I present a project that recently emerged at the Protestant Theological University (PThU: NL Amsterdam-Groningen). It focuses on the classical reformed liturgy in the Netherlands, its texts, rituals and their history, especially in the 16th and early 17th centuries. The collection of these texts, passed on through generations, is known as, among others, The Liturgy. I demonstrate it has been observed since the middle of the 17th century that The Liturgy is not a collection of prayers and forms of which the extent and the texts can be clearly defined. Still, a critical edition of The Liturgy has not yet been produced. I argue that a critical edition with attention to its origins, its various releases, its reception in the Netherlands Reformed Church and its effects on other liturgies is needed for an in-depth study of the history of both the reformation period and the reformed liturgy. Subsequently, I outline the method to produce such an edition. Because of the complexity of the matter, each part – for example a form or a collection of prayers – needs to be studied separately. Nevertheless, for each part similar steps have to be taken in which the involved scholars can work together. The critical edition of a part can be published in its own right. The final result is a merging of the releases into a critical edition of The Liturgy as a whole.