The Dutch Reformed Church

Dutch Reformed Church
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Reformed
Origin	4 October 1571 Emden, Germany Joined the Protestant Church in the Netherlands in 2004
Separations	Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (1892) Restored Reformed Church (2004)
Congregations	1,350 at the time of merger
Members	2 million at the time of merger

The Dutch Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk or NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation until 1930. It was the foremost Protestant denomination, and—since 1892—one of the two major Reformed denominations along with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.

It spread to the United States, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and various other world regions through the Dutch colonization. It has been the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family until being merged into the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, a United church of both Reformed and Lutheran theological orientations. The allegiance to the Dutch Reformed Church was a common feature among Dutch immigrant communities around the world, and became a crucial part of Afrikaner nationalism.

It developed during the Protestant Reformation, being shaped theologically by John Calvin, but also other major Reformed theologians. It was founded in 1571 and functioned until 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. At the time of the merger, the Church had 2 million members organised in 1,350 congregations. A minority of members of the Church chose not to participate in the merger and instead formed the Restored Reformed Church.