Graaf, Volkert de (18th century)
Volkert (de) Graaf was a Dutch Mennonite preacher, serving 1728-1737 at Zwartsluis and 1737-1764 at Blokzijl. Influenced by Joannes Deknatel, a Mennonite preacher of Amsterdam, he became a follower of Count von Zinzendorf and the Moravians, in the Netherlands usually called "Hernhutters." With the Hernhutter preacher Lorenz, a clothmaker, de Graaf traveled through Friesland preaching; as a result a small Hernhutter congregation was founded in Blokzijl, which met for a time in de Graaf's house. De Graaf seems to have entertained the desire to be a Moravian missionary to Surinam, but for some reason this desire was not realized. In 1755 de Graaf left the Hernhutters; a number of members of the Blokzijl Mennonite congregation, among them the deacon Arie Stuurman, however, held to this group.
Bibliography
Liitjeharms, W. Het philadelphisch-oecumenisch streuen der Hernhutters in de Nederlanden in de achttiende eeuw. Zeist, 1935: 62, 82, 84, 103 f., 135.
Naamlijst der tegenwoordig in dienst zijnde predikanten der Mennoniten in de vereenigde Nederlanden.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 559. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.
©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.
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MLA style: van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Graaf, Volkert de (18th century)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 November 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/graaf_volkert_de_18th_century>
APA style: van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1956). "Graaf, Volkert de (18th century)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 November 2008 <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/graaf_volkert_de_18th_century>
