Doopsgezinde Bijdragen

Doopsgezinde Bijdragen was an annual publication of the Mennonites of the Netherlands 1861-1919. In 1975 a new publication by the same title began publication under the auspices of the Doopgezinde Historische Kring in Amsterdam.

In 1837 Samuel Muller published his Jaarboekje voor Doopsgezinde Gemeenten in de Nederlanden in Amsterdam. It was to be a continuation of the Naamlijst, which ceased publication in 1829—to furnish a list of ministers and congregations in the Netherlands. Muller added two sections to this list of names, one headed Kerknieuws (Church News), and the other Doopsgezinde Mengelingen (Mennonite Miscellany). Three issues of this significant yearbook appeared (1837, 1840, and 1850). Four years later D. S. Gorter published his Godsdienstige lectuur voor Doopsgezinden, also in three issues (1854, 1856, and 1858).

A need for such a publication concerning major events and information on church affairs had been established. Three years later (1861) the ministers D. Harting in Enkhuizen and P. Cool in Harlingen sought to meet this need by publishing the Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (Mennonite Contributions). They sent a circular to the Mennonite congregations stating the purpose of the new periodical; viz., "to cultivate and strengthen the spirit of brotherly communion among die Dutch Mennonites by means of historical information on the life and work of our forefathers, fraternal discussion of church affairs and concerns which can exert an influence on the welfare of our brotherhood, and finally collecting such reports from one another to promote acquaintance with one another and interest in the present status of the brotherhood."

The project soon grew beyond its original plan, becoming the most important periodical of the Dutch Mennonites. It gave reports not only on changes in ministerial charges and other events in the congregations, but also presented important scholarly articles on all sorts of questions from history and current affairs, so that the periodical became a mine of information for the research scholar and is thereby of permanent value.

It was originally printed by Frederik Muller in Amsterdam; 1868-1870 by H. Kuipers in Leeuwarden; 1872-1880 by G. L. Funke, Amsterdam, and H. Kuipers in Leeuwarden; and 1881-1919 by E. J. Brill at Leiden. In 1866 and 1871 and 1913-1915 it did not appear. In 1870 J. G. de Hoop Scheffer became the editor. After his death in 1893, it was edited by Samuel Cramer 1894-1912. In consequence of certain difficulties no further issue appeared until 1916, when W. J. Kühler took it over. The final issue appeared in 1919, when the project was discontinued. An exhaustive index of the first fifty volumes (1861-1910) was prepared by K. Vos and was published in 1912.

The original Doopsgezinde Bijdragen, an annual volume of small format with a scholarly content of 110-190 pages, was the first Mennonite scholarly periodical to be published in any country, has the longest record of publication, and is one of the most valuable sources of printed information on the Dutch Mennonites.

Bibliography

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 465.

Author(s)	Christian Neff
Date Published	1956

Cite This Article

MLA style

Neff, Christian. "Doopsgezinde Bijdragen." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Doopsgezinde_Bijdragen&oldid=147305.

APA style

Neff, Christian. (1956). Doopsgezinde Bijdragen. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Doopsgezinde_Bijdragen&oldid=147305.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 87. All rights reserved.

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