Brussels Protestant Church

Brussels Protestant Church (Église Protestante de Bruxelles) is a Brussels-based Protestant Christian congregation formally constituted in 1804 and whose roots go back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

The origins of Protestant Christianity in Brussels go back to before 1523 when Henri Voes and Jean Van Esschen were martyred at Brussels for their new-found Protestant faith. In 1535 English Bible translator, William Tyndale, was captured at Antwerp and burnt at the stake in Vilvorde (near Brussels). The Belgian Protestant churches were subjected to intense persecution during the Counter-Reformation and as a result Protestants met in private.

From 1656 churches were again constituted and in 1781 obtained a measure of freedom under Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor.

From 1783 to 1789 a Protestant group met in rue Ducale led by a Genevan pastor, Isaac Salomon Anspach.

When in 1802 the French Republic granted freedom of religion, the Lutheran and Reformed Christians of the city petitioned the authorities to be able to conduct services freely. The two confessions were granted use of a single building, the court chapel on Place du Musée, designated 'Protestant church' and were to be served by a single minister. Napoleon subsequently confirmed the congregation's right to assemble in 1804.

Jean-Pierre Charlier (1775–1822) served as the first pastor 1804-1822, holding services in French and German on alternate weeks. After a one-year vacancy Genevan preacher of Le Réveil, Merle D'Aubigne, was called as pastor and served 1823-1830. One of the members of d'Aubigne's congregation strongly influenced by his pastor was Groen van Prinsterer, who become a leading light in the Dutch Het Réveil.

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