The Dutch Reformed Church (in Afrikaans, the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk or NG Kerk) came to the Cape with the Dutch East India Company in 1652 [IC]. It was the church of the company and of the colony’s Dutch-speaking farmers [IC]. In this valley, its ministers opposed Georg Schmidt’s baptisms in 1742, and its congregation in Greyton, NG Gemeente Greyton, was founded in 1918 [IC]. This page tells its history in the valley.
What the letters in square brackets mean
Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.
- [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by at least two sources that do not depend on each other, or by an official record.
- [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from the institution’s own records, histories, or statements, or from one community’s own sources. It has not been checked against sources that do not depend on them.
- [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.
At a glance
| At the Cape | From 1652; first ordained minister in 1665 [IC] |
| In the valley | Greyton congregation founded on 7 May 1918 [MS] |
| What it is | A Reformed church with a presbyterian structure of church councils, presbyteries, and synods [IC] |
| Today | About 1.1 million members in southern Africa (2013) [IC] |
The church of the colony
Most of the company’s people at the Cape belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church, and its first ordained minister arrived in 1665 [IC]. For most of the company’s rule it was the colony’s official church [TBV]. Its first synod met in 1824 [IC].
The church and the first mission
When Georg Schmidt began to baptise Khoekhoe people at Baviaanskloof in 1742, the Cape’s Dutch Reformed ministers objected that he had no right to baptise [IC]. On 4 September 1742 the company’s Council of Policy banned him from baptising any more [TBV]. He left the Cape in 1744 [IC]. The Moravians could not return until 1792 [IC].
Separate churches
In 1857 the church’s synod decided to allow separate services for coloured members, citing “the weakness of some” [IC]. In 1881 this led to a separate Dutch Reformed Mission Church for coloured members [IC]. The church supported apartheid, and in 1982 the World Alliance of Reformed Churches suspended it for this reason [IC]. In 1986 the Mission Church adopted the Belhar Confession, on unity, reconciliation, and justice, and in the same year the Dutch Reformed Church’s synod opened its doors to people of all races [IC]. In 1994 the Mission Church and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa united as the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa [IC].
In Greyton
Before 1918, Dutch Reformed members in Greyton received communion once a month from visiting ministers [MS]. The NG Gemeente Greyton was founded on 7 May 1918, in the Caledon circuit of the church’s Western Cape synod [MS]. Its first church building in Greyton later became the Moravian church [IC]. Its present church, on the corner of High and West Streets, was built in 1964 [MS].
What is still open
- Whether the building now used by the Moravian church was the NG congregation’s first church, and when it changed hands.
- Whether there was a Dutch Reformed Mission Church congregation for coloured members in Greyton or Heuwelkroon, and what happened to it during the removals.
- How the congregation remembers its history in the valley.
Related
References
- Wikipedia. Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK). The first minister, the 1824 synod, 1857, 1881, 1982, 1986, and membership.
- Wikipedia. Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. The 1857 decision, the Mission Church, Belhar, and union in 1994.
- Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Schmidt, Georg. The dispute over his baptisms.
- Muatze (Mansell Upham). Georg Schmidt prohibited (1742) from baptising (2022). The Council of Policy ruling of 4 September 1742.
- GoGreyton. Greyton Village Walk. The church of 1964.
- NG Gemeente Greyton’s entry in the Register, drawing on the congregation’s own history. The founding date and monthly communion before 1918.