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Done thus in our regular Coetus, held at New York, beginning the 7th and ending the 14th of October, 1755.
Witnessed by us, in name and by authority of the Rev. Coetus, in regular session Johannes Leydt, p. t. Praeses. J. C. Freyenmoet, h. t. Scriba.
Collata Concordat quod testor,
Theodore Frielinghuysen.
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No. 277; II. [This is a Classical annotation, as well as the following, as it seems.] A Minute of the Acts of the Regular Coetus, as it is here called, held Oct. 7 and days following, 1755.
Praeses, Rev. J. Leydt. Scriba, Rev. Freyenmoet.
Wherein, 1, Rev. Theodore Frielinghuysen was chosen to go on a mission to Hol- land in the interest of the New York Classis and Academy.
2. Rev. Minema, on certain conditions, resigned his ministry.
3. Rev. A. Curtenius, for his illegal call and departure to the five villages in Kings County was suspended from his ministry.
4. Rev. Ritzema was asked in vain to deliver the Coetus Minute Book, papers and Coetus Funds. The last two, it is to be noted, did not recognize that Coetus.
SUSPENSION OF REV. ANTHONY CURTENIUS BY THE COETUS, OCTOBER 11, 1755.
No. xiv. New York, October 11, 1755.
Reverend, Learned Sir :-
The Assembly of the Rev. Coetus, having given careful atten- tion to your conduct, as it has a right and is in duty bound to do, finds itself, to its heartfelt sorrow, obliged, according to the 79th and 80th Articles of the Church Order, to suspend you from your ministry, as it hereby does, on account of your disobedience to our truly christian and fraternal exhortation, schism and intrusion into another's office. We pray that God Almighty may give you a proper view of the evil you have done, clothe you with all humil- ity, in order that you may walk worthy of the Gospel. With this we remain, Your Rev's. obedient servants, In the name of the Coetus ordinair,
John Leydt, p. t. Praeses. Joh. Casparus Fryenmoet, p. t. Scriba.
Assembled at New York.
Subscribed: That this is a true copy of the sentence which the Coetus sent to Rev. Curtenius testifies,
John Leydt, Praeses.
OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
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CORRESPONDENCE FROM AMERICA.
Rev. John Ritzema to the Classis of Amsterdam, October 13, 1755. Portfolio " New York ", Vol. ii. Extracts, xxiii, 430.
Reference, xxiv, 51.
To the Very Rev. Classis of Amsterdam.
Very Rev. Sirs, Fathers and Brothers in Christ: Although no one stands or falls by the mere judgment of one man, yet it is a fact that a favorable judgment pro- duces in one to whose ear it comes, love and inclination, while the opposite causes aversion. I, therefore, feel myself in duty bound to defend my good name against Rev. Theodore Frielinghuysen. Like his brother [John] before him, according to reports of certain of my friends in Amsterdam, he has, by letters, made it appear as though I, also, had, in a special manner taken up a position against true piety; that I was no longer what I seemed to be on my first coming here. This cannot but cause grief and sadness to those who once knew me in the Fatherland; to those who, according to the custom of love, have thought differently concerning me, even as they still do, and will continue to do, unless an opposite opinion can be pounded into them with heavy blows.
There is nothing that I am less inclined to do, than that which I am now com- pelled to do. And this is so because Rev. Theodore Frielinghuysen could not gain me over to his plans. He has, therefore, taken umbrage at me, although at first, he had thought well of me, in that matter of properly maintaining God's cause. But it subsequently happened, to his deep regret, that I chose, and have now for a long time continued to adhere to the side of the enemies of God and his people. I must confess that that opinion of his grieved me not a little; not that my own heart con- demned me at all therein, but because such a charge came from a ministerial brother. I could have wished that he had practised piety a little better among his own followers; and that he had, moreover, shown it in his letters especially in that one, among others, of Jan 30, 1755, to Rev. Haaghoort, (who was so kind as to send it over to the Synod of North Holland); but that letter consisted remarkably with his own interests.
But let me give another instance. His Rev. having laid his plans for a Classis and an Academy also before our New York Consistory, I remarked, in consistory, concerning them:
1. I could not as yet thoroughly understand Rev. Frielinghuysen's proceedings.
2. As regards his proposal for an [American] Classis, I held that our consistory could not consent to it, because it had already represented to the Classis [of Amsterdam] the inexpediency of such a Classis here.
3. Nor could we give our consent to the proposal for an Academy because we had already made request for a Professor of Theology in the College [King's College] which the government was about to establish here. That for such reasons, not to speak of others, Rev. Frielinghuysen's proposal ought to be refused. Upon my advice this was at once done.
Whereupon the second day after, bis Rev. came to my house, and immediately expressed himself in words like these: "How sad and pitiful it is, that in such a salutary and pious work, we cannot agree. But I suspected that I would here meet Tobias and Sanballat, etc." Who would not shudder and tremble at such allusions! If it were necessary, I could produce other instances of the same kind; but I turn aside from such things to pass to my more immediate object.
Let me now give your Revs. another example of my piety and impiety, according to Mr. Frielinghuysen's judgment.
I acknowledge that, immediately after my arrival in this country, I took sides with the little village of Gravesand, [Gravesend, L. I.] As I then understood things, and still understand them, this village was oppressed, by being put under censure, and deprived of every religious observance, by Arondeus and his party. But I tried to free it from that censure, and to bring it into union again with the churches [of King's County], as it was before. When this effort proved to be fruitless, I continued to use my liberty occasionally to preach there, until an oppor-
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tunity for its restoration to its former conditions might occur. Such opportunity I sought at once, when Rev. Ulpianus Van Sinderen came. As the Rev. Classis may remember, the little village was excluded from his call. He was called to the five villages, to the exclusion of Gravesend. Then, with the elders, I went to Van Sinderen and asked him to take charge of it, although it had no part in his call, etc., but he refused to do so. Later on, Van Sinderen got into a dispute with his consistory and congregation about calling Arondeus a second time. Then, the people of Gravesend quietly fell into line, and subsequently, came out openly in all the proceedings against Arondeus. I deemed this course in them not to be right. For, as union had been refused in times of peace, it seemed that place ought not now to be received into a sort of union for the mere purpose of meeting, so to speak, violence with violence; especially since it was outside of the union of the five vil- lages, and still is, so far as the calling of Van Sinderen was concerned. Also Van Sinderen has never yet preached there. Inasmuch as I neither could nor would justify those proceedings, I was at times subjected to every insult and contempt; my love and services were met with disfavor, and therefore, I am now declared to be an enemy of piety.
1
Similar treatment fell to my lot in connection with the troubles in Queens County, where Thomas Romeyn is now located. I had been commissioned by the Coetus, to try to heal the breach there, in accordance with the resolution of the Rev. Classis, to appoint a consistory acceptable to both parties. The trouble and labor which this cost me in dealing with each party cannot be described; for one wanted one thing, and another, another. If some agreement was reached in relation to Oyster Bay, to the effect, that in case the arrears on Goetschius' salary were raised, all would at once be well; notwithstanding the fact that the amount was but fifteen or sixteen pounds, and that no one felt himself obliged to pay it, the notion was suggested that, as these were but money matters, those who were in favor of peace for the church should, each of them, according to his ability, contribute his share voluntarily; that no obligation should be laid on any one; and that the amount which then might be still lacking, I should seek to persuade Goetschius to raise there. [Where?] To that end I undertook that difficult journey of between thirty and forty miles. I preached a sermon, exhorting, [to the best of my ability] each one, to love and peace; and at the close of it, I invited the congregation to come in front of the pulpit. I set a good example myself, by putting twenty shillings in my hat. This was followed by only two or three others, who together did not give as much as I had done alone. Whereupon I again addressed the assembled com- pany, but only with this result, that some one of the so-called pious ones objected: "They would have nothing to do with the work of Simon, the Sorcerer; they were not inclined to buy the gifts of the Holy Spirit with money." With the utmost scorn and contempt I was turned away; so that, without having either food or drink offered me, I had to get home again as best I might. A letter was sent after me, to be read in the Coetus, a copy of which I herewith enclose.
I come now to Jamaica, not to speak of other places, because the troubles there are without end. In regard to those who at first submitted to the Coetus, and asked its help in choosing a consistory; (for Arondeus had, with a part of the Con- sistory, broken away from that church); and the first referred to did not know what else to do under the circumstances; it was, therefore, my object that those two consistories should be united into one; or else that both being dissolved, an alto- gether new consistory should be chosen. This was also the object of the Rev. Classis, as well as my own. Therefore, the heading, announcing the election, ran thus: "The Consistory chosen for the separate part of the church of Jamaica, on the etc." Rev. Joh. Frielinghuysen having in the meantime come into the Coetus, and things remaining as they were before, he together with others, wanted that election, at which I had assisted, to pass for legal; and that consistory to be held the legal one for that village, thus setting aside the other. Because I could not do that, and because I showed how it conflicted with the very facts of the case, Goet- schius cried out in the Assembly, that I was one who strengthened the hands of the ungodly. Yet, this Goetschius owes his restoration to the ministry chiefly to me. And this is the consistory with which he called Thomas Romeyn, and which, subse- quently, was by a majority vote, [in the Coetus] declared to be legal. Behold, then, Sirs, a fresh instance of my taking sides with the ungodly!
I should not know where to begin, much less where to end, if I were to give other instances of what has, from time to time, occurred in the Coetus. They were
OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
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1755
things which, I felt in my conscience before God, I was bound to oppose, because, although carried by a majority vote, they went against resolutions previously adopted by the Coetus, and the guilty were left unpunished. Such things made a meeting of the Coetus disgusting to me. This was one of the chief reasons why the , church of New York as well as others came to be more and more averse to the Coetus. But I shall leave that matter entirely alone, until I am more urgently compelled to take it up. Nor shall I go into the matter relative to the case of Rev. Curtenius, whom I installed over the churches of Kings County.
Now as to the rest. As regards my state before the Lord, I do not stand in judg- ment before any man. This I may say, however, to the glory of His grace, that it has pleased Him to look upon me graciously, although so unworthy. For twenty- nine years already I have been gaining experience in the way of righteousness. By His grace I still stand, and, I trust that, by His power, I shall continue to stand. I exercise myself, that I may have a conscience void of offense before God. If testi- mony to that effect is required, I dare call upon my whole church, especially upon the godly people in it, and even upon such as are yet outside, to give it.
And I send this letter to your Revs. with no other object than that your Rev. Assembly-(before which Rev. Frielinghuysen, who leaves here against the will of his own church which called him and to which he has ministered for nine years,- of which, perhaps something more, later-expects to appear to seek the furtherance of his interests,)-may know that-(averse, as I am to all discord and quarreling, and desirous of having no difference with anybody,)-I differ with the brethren, not from favoring or opposing true piety, (there being rothing of that sort in the whole dispute,) but concerning their dealing with matters, which, I believe, ought to be carefully handled, according to Church Order). This should be done as far as it is practicable to apply such Church Order, as well as according to the resolutions and regulations adopted by ourselves. And this should be done with out respect to persons, whether one bears the name of being pious or not; because our action does not concern one's inward experiences, but one's actions, so far as these are known, and, (as I understand it) might come within the province of a Court of Justice.
Moreover, our condition [under the English Government] requires that we do not deprive any by our ecclesiastical decisions, of his civil rights; certainly not without the utmost carefulness. For, otherwise, we might get ourselves involved in diffi- culties from which it would be impossible to extricate ourselves without great losses. Thus, also, we might not only give occasion for, but even cause our own disruption. If, therefore, we cannot [safely] exercise such [ecclesiastical] judg- ments, I consider it to be much better to have no Ecclesiastical Assembly here at all. Let each church govern itself as well as it can. If a dispute arises, let it call in its neighboring churches. If the matter can not be settled thus, let it be laid before the Classis, and let both parties submit to its decision. Thus peace and unity will be preserved, and the bond with the churches of the Fatherland will remain unbroken.
Should Rev. Frielinghuysen [when in Holland] still speak of piety being involved, as I suppose he will, then I hope that the things already proved against his Rev., and others that can and will be proved, may exhibit most clearly what that piety of his really is.
Furthermore, I commit the cause of God, so far as it relates to my good name, which to me also is better than ointment, and more excellent than great riches, to the Lord, and to your Revs., to the extent to which it may come before your Revs. for defense. Labor and sorrow have well nigh exhausted me. I still catechize three times a week. One week I preach twice, and the next week, three times, without any assistance. Besides, there are many other things to do. And then, these diffi- culties, of which Rev. Frielinghuysen is the chief cause, yea, the sole author, grieve me most of all. I hope that, so far as I am concerned in them, they may come to an end before long, even if the Lord granted only a year's respite to me. But as long as I am able, I will try, in the strength of the Lord, to be faithful. He has thus far strengthened me and will further enable me to be faithful unto death.
With much respect, Rev. Sirs, Fathers and Brethren in Christ, I now sign myself, Your Very Revs.' obedient servant and brother,
Johannes Ritzema, V. D. M. at New York.
New York, October 13, 1755.
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ECCLESIASTICAL RECORDS
CORRESPONDENCE FROM AMERICA.
The Coetus [or American Classis] to the Classis of Amsterdam, October 14, 1755.
Portfolio, "New York ", Vol. ii. Extracts, xxiii. 431-2.
Very Rev. Sirs, Fathers and Brethren:
The Rev. Coetus, not hating the light, has thought it necessary to expose, accord- ing to truth the state of things pertaining to the Dutch Church of God in these regions, as is hereby done.
Heretofore, some years back, our churches were governed only by the consistory. Each one stood by itself. In later years, government by means of a Coetus was added thereto, etc. These things are all well-known. Notwithstanding, it has become abundantly clear to us, that government by a Classis has now become neces- sary, as reasons given in a previous letter, show. Hence the business was at once set in motion; but, as it met with more or less opposition, and that largely without the knowledge of the Coetus, the following simple account is herewith given to its origin and progress. The occasion, as causa prima movens in the Coetus, for seek- ing the organization of a Classis, was a proposition made by Rev. Gerardus Haag- hoort, in the year 1753. He proposed to drop his protest which he had brought against Rev. du Bois and the Coetus, on condition that the Coetus devise some measures for the improvement of its organization. This proposition was adopted, as can be seen from the Minutes of that year's session. When the matter came up in the year 1754, a large majority of the votes of the churches were in favor of asking for a Classis etc.
Rev. Johannes Ritzema, however, in his reply, urged a return to the old economy, etc .; but, as he could do notning, when it came to a vote, he, too, voted for a Classis; so that there was actually but one vote in the negative. On this basis, the matter was further acted on, and a letter to the churches drawn up, making the result known, and asking for signatures, etc. It was then ordered that the Special Scribe, Rev. Ritzema, should send a copy thereof to each of the churches, and a Committee was appointed to receive their replies by the following April, [1755]. Then all the particulars were to be sent over, in a communication, to the Classis and to the Synod.
In the meantime, as we have been informed, (though we have not been allowed to see the paper), it pleased Rev. Ritzema, as well as the Consistory of New York, immediately upon the adjournment of the Coetus, untimely as that appears, to draw up a declaration, as they called it, and send it to the Rev. Classis. In this, they objected to a Coetus or a Classis or any kind of ecclesiastical body over here. Besides this, the Special Scribe, when sending the Plan of the Rev. Coetus, in its name, [to the churches] was so kind as to affix, by way of a postscript, a copy of the protest of the New York Consistory, accompanied by other letters discouraging approval, etc.
The following is an extract of one of these letters:
"To Rev. Ulpianus Van Sinderen: I send you the action of the Coetus to the church. Be not in too great a hurry about asking your church's consent; for I believe that there are other churches, besides that of New York, which will have nothing whatever to do with such a Classis. And to speak the truth, I myself think it is better to have no Classis than to have one. Especially for your Rev., it does not seem to me to be safe to give your consent, so long as the matters in your con- gregation are not settled." He wrote to others, in like manner ; to how many, we do not know. Is this acting in good faith, and in honor, etc .?
I need not mention other matters, perhaps worse, of the same kind. But when this and similar things became known, Rev. Theodore Frielinghuysen took occasion to go around and visit all the churches. To the proposition for a Classis he now added that of a school for training young men for the ministry. To this, nearly all the churches, which he visited, gave their consent. This effectually thwarted the design of Rev. Ritzema. To him, now, Rev. Haaghoort seemed to have joined him- self. They pitched upon one thing and another in opposition, but they dwelt chiefly
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OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
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upon the circumstance of Frielinghuysen's operations, claiming that thereby, "he had broken up the Coetus", etc.
The disruption of the Coetus was after all, the chief object; but accusing others of it, was the artifice employed. For before this, it had, in many ways been insisted (gewronge en gedronge, wrenched and urged) that the Coetus was dis- rupted; and this also seems to have opened the way for the wrong doings of Revs. Curtenius, Ritzema and Haaghoort. The one organized a church within a church at Hackensack, etc .- a case which, further explained and acted on, is now upon the table of the Classis. The other has accepted a call among the followers of Arondeus, with a consistory which the Coetus had emphatically declared to be illegal; and that without any approach to union between the parties. In every way and in every circumstance, it was as in the case of Arondeus, whom the Classis and the Cætus declared to be an illegal minister, there, etc. The third did, by advising, and yielding, (raadgevinge en inlyvinge) fall in with it, [the plan for a Classis], etc. It became altogether necessary now to say, "There is no more any Coetus;" for otherwise things would come to light before the opening of Classis, and previous resolutions would take effect, etc. At this stage of the case a Convention was held last May [1755] for the purpose of inquiring whether the matters of a Classis and Seminary ought to be laid before the Synod, as the minutes of that meeting show. At this Rev. Haaghoort rises up with a protest against the meeting, against what had been done, what was being done, or what might ever be done. He had taken a great deal of trouble, also, to get his party to protest, but had not succeeded, save with the Trustees, the new heads at Hackensack. But the consistory of Paramus, its minister being absent, and his own consistory were not willing to protest. And he is still writing letters to consistories against their ministers, so as to cause divisions where there yet is peace. Such action had some foundation, in Rev. Frie- linghuysen's going around among the churches, without having been appointed thereto by the Coetus, etc. But the idea especially sought to be conveyed, is, that the very object of the Coetus is broken up, by seeking the organization of a Classis; whereas it is, on the contrary, thereby confirmed and advanced. But this man is known of old, for his protesting character, and making trouble in the Coetus; yea, he is a man, who, from the moment of his arrival, has dealt deceitfully with churches; is filled with the love of honor and power, and is known to be an idle glutton. Being that kind of a man, the result is, that his church has nearly dwindled away; and another call he cannot get, much as he has sought it.
By reason of the restlessness mentioned, and the zealous urgency of the com- plainants, the Convention [of May, 1755] found itself, in conscience, obliged to call a special meeting of the Coetus. The character of this meeting the minutes indi- cate. The cavilers then fell upon that. It had not been legally called; the Coetus was thereby broken up, etc. But we thought differently, and we proceeded with the business as the circumstances required. Rev. Ritzema then, too, said, "There was still a Coetus, or there ought to be." But, as he has, more than once, acted and spoken deceitfully, or because he changed his opinion again, when he found that the Coetus would be held again at the regular time, he raised a new objection, which he made known in a correspondence with Rev. Leydt. To a friendly ques- tion proposed to his Rev., whether it would not be well for his Rev., as Special Scribe, to send a Circular Letter to all the brethren, members of the Coetus, to urge them to union again; and among other reasons, to press the importance of union with heart and soul, in order to seek the welfare of God's Church: to this he gave the following answer: "In reply to your question, this must serve as an answer; that, although I am still the Special Scribe of the Coetus, I neither shall, nor am I able to call a Coetus, for the Coetus has been broken up by you all. Do you still call yourself a Coetus? but call the child by its right name, for you are Frielinghuysen's Coetus; and, since you are such, the letter from the Classis belongs to us, and not to you; and will, as I trust, be opened by us, and afterwards used, etc." He took this position for reasons which are, possibly, best known to himself. In this state of mind the regular Coetus still found him; for, a week before the regular session, he, with two or three other brethren, had held a sort of a session. Consequently, he refused to send us, when assembled at the regularly appointed time, any of the books or papers that belonged to the Coetus, as appears from our minutes. He was told by the other brethren not to do it, [not to send books etc.], Which matter, therefore, we bring before the Rev. Classis of Amsterdam. When by letter asked to appear before us to explain his part in counseling Rev. Cur-
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