Boreel, Adam (1603-1667)
Adam Boreel, Heer van Duynbeke, b. 2 November 1603 at Middelburg in the Dutch province of Zeeland, d. 1667. He was learned and skilled in Hebrew. His idea of the nature of the Christian church, viz., that it should be an invisible church without organization or sacraments, was refuted by the Calvinist professors Maresius and Hoornbeek. His tract, Onderhandeling noopende den broederlijcken Godtsdienst aangevangen in presentie der vrienden in Amsterdam, and several manuscripts were preserved by Galenus Abrahamsz de Haan. Bock, in his book, Historia Antitrinitarioram, considers him a Socinian, following Sand's verdict.
In Amsterdam Boreel, together with Daniel van Breen and Michiel Coomans, led the Collegiant movement. There he also met Galenus Abrahamsz de Haan, whom he influenced; to that extent Boreel was significant in Mennonite history. Galenus' idea that the true church could be found nowhere on earth was certainly nurtured by the anti-church views of Boreel.
Bibliography
Benthem, Heinrich Ludolf. Holländischer Kirch- und Schulen-Staat. Franckfurt und Leipzig : Gottschick, 1698.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon. 4 v. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe; Schneider, 1913-1967: I, 246.
Hylkema, C. B. Reformateurs. Haarlem : H. D. Tjeenk Willink & zoon, 1900-1902: I-II.
Kühler, Wilhelmus Johannes. Het Socinianisme in Nederland. Leiden: Sijthoff, 1912.
Molhuysen, P. C. and P. J. Blok. Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek. v. 1-10. Leiden, 1911-1937: VI, 163-165.
Additional Information
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APA style: Neff, Christian. (1953). "Boreel, Adam (1603-1667)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 06 July 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/B67410.html>
