proper form after the return from the Raretans), it can be hereafter amended. We will also, after you have been reconciled to Rev. Van Sinderen, and received a lawful call, make no objections to recognize you as co-pastor with him. How much pleasanter it would be, if both of you could labor in harmony! Then would the congregations also, after your example, live in peace, and further offences be prevented. We can only now commit the matter unto Him in whose hands are the hearts of all men, and who is able to turn yours in a way which shall be pleasing to Him. We have satisfied our consciences by these efforts of ours. We trust that you will lovingly follow our advice, that we, with you, may hereafter with confidence stand before the Son of Man, when he shall come and bring to light the hidden things of darkness, even the counsels of the heart. Concluding with such wishes, we subscribe ourselves, Signed as before. Amsterdam, 1751 March 2, 1751. ACTS OF THE CLASSIS OF AMSTERDAM. Surinam, New York and Pennsylvania. 1751, April 5th. Art. 6. 1. The Committee ad res Exteras received a letter from Surinam, signed August 3, 1750, with the Acta of the Conventus. An extract from said Acta was read by them, as well as their report, (pre-advice), and drafts of letters prepared by them as a reply (to be sent) thither. The first was addressed to the Conventus of Surinam; the other was to be understood as an appendix, clearing up a certain matter that had come up subsequently. The Rev. Assembly gladly allowed these letters to be approved, and despatched. 2. A letter also had arrived from New York, signed (by) Rev. du Bois August 14, 1750, together with accounts of excessive maltreatment of Rev. Schlatter at Philadelphia. His enemies had dismissed him, and called Rev. Steiner as pastor in his place. With this came also the Acta of the Coetus (of New York). 1751 3. At the next Classis further report will be given as also of a letter from Kingston, of April 26, 1750, as well as of another letter, to be written to Rev. Schlatter. xii. 235. CLASSIS OF AMSTERDAM. Correspondence from America. Rev. Theodore Frelinghuysen, of Albany, to Rev. Classis of Portfolio "New York", Vol. ii. Extracts in Vol. xxxiii, 247; and Reference in Vol. xxiv, 12. Addressed: To the Very Reverend and Highly-learned Messrs., the Members of the Very Reverend Highly-learned Sirs and Brethren, The Members of the High Rever- The great esteem and reverence which I ever feel towards the High Rev. Classis, compels me to make the profession which I herewith do, of the gratitude which I owe you, for the favorable compliances which you have granted to my various humble requests. These have been made by one who will always endeavor with the most hearty desire and with the greatest circumspection, to be one of the most submissive and obedient servants of the High Rev. Classis. Therefore it was with this end in view, that I, from time to time, although with but little fruit, have exerted myself to the utmost, to make the business of the Rev. Coetus acceptable to the Consistory of Albany; but I am now almost in despair of ever being able to succeed, unless a great change in their feelings should occur. From my very heart do I express my gratitude for the order which the High Rev. Classis has been pleased to give for the ordination of Mr. Samuel Verbryck. I do this not on my own account, but on account of the benefits which Zion will obtain through him. For some time already he has labored in the Lord's harvest in the Church of Tappan. He has done this diligently, watchfully, faithfully, and not without a blessing. It was, therefore, not without pain, that I found in the letter of High Rev. Classis, wherewith I have been honored the following:-"that the manner in which I requested that the Classis would be pleased to give orders for the examination and ordination of that gentleman, and the arguments used by me to strengthen that request, appeared questionable to the High Rev. Classis." If the reasons for this "questionableness" had been mentioned, I might have been able with more success, to remove the ground for the same; with more success than I can now do, by merely declaring, that I had no idea of writing to Classis at all about this matter, until Mr. Verbryck informed me by a letter, that the Rev. Coetus did not wish to write unless I also wrote. This letter I received just as the yacht, that sails between Albany and New York, was about to depart, and which could barely catch the ship at New York. I must therefore confess that I wrote this letter for Mr. Verbryck in the greatest haste, and with some displeasure; nevertheless I am not conscious that I had any other end in view than the prosperity of Zion. The Classis have been pleased to express itself, that it will not again easily consent to an ordination in this country. For this reason, three young men, whom according to my ability I have instructed in the languages, philosophy and theology, are about undertaking the voyage to Europe, in order to be examined and ordained by the Classis itself. Of their qualifications, the Classis itself will be better able to 1751 judge, than it would become me, to describe the same. These young Nazarenes Very Reverend and Highly-learned Sirs and Brethren, Your Very Reverends' and Albany, May 1. No. 153. Received, July 3, 1751. Theodorus Frielinghuysen. Extracts in Vol. xxxiii, 247; and Reference in Vol. xxiv, 12. Rev. N. Hormius (or Wormius?) 1751, May 3rd. Art. 3. He requests to go as minister to New Netherland. He was directed to report himself to our Depp. ad res Exteras, so that the same may send his address to Revs. Depp. Utriusque Synodi. xii. 236. LETTERS FROM ABROAD and for AboARD. 1751, May 3rd. Art. 7. The letters from New York and Kingston, mentioned April 5th, were now read, in extracts, as also the replies to the same. The latter were approved, and are to be forwarded. At this same time it was reported in a letter from Rev. Wynstok of Harderwyk, that P. de Wind, examined here recently for ordination, and installed as minister on Staten Island (and Bergen), was not really a candidate at all, and had therefore exhibited forged certificates to the Coetus of New York. The Coetus sent to our Classis only a copy of these certificates. Therefore it was resolved to communicate further with Rev. Wynstok in refer ence to the time and the documents which are mentioned in these copies. On receiving perfect certainty from him concerning these forgeries, the Coetus of New York will be immediately cautioned to attend to this piece of rascality with all earnestness and prudence, and to take care that they get possession of these forged documents, and send them over to Classis. xii. 237. 1751 CLASSIS OF AMSTERDAM. Acts of the Deputies and their Correspondence. The Classis of Amsterdam to the Coetus of New York, May 3, 1751. Vol. 30, page 205, No. 123. To the Rev. Coetus of New York: Reverend, Godly and Learned Gentlemen and Beloved Brethren: A copy of the Acts of your Rev. Coetus, held Sept. 11, 1750, and following days, same safely to hand. We heartily thank you for your friendly and fraternal communication. We hope that these ecclesiastical gatherings of yours may be CODtinued, and that the Rev. members although most of them must undertake a long and difficult journey, as the agreeable letter of Revs. Ritzema and Du Bois accompanying these Acts inform us--will not allow themselves to be deterred from attending these Meetings. They can console themselves for all their trouble by the profit which may be anticipated, as we believe from such fraternal gatherings. We trust also that the Lord may command his blessing upon them, which may each of the brethren experience as well as the greater blessing of Eternal Life. The report which was made to us by our Deputati ad Res Exteras concerning the Acts of the Coetus, as well as the peace and unanimity existing among all the members, was heard by us with much satisfaction and joy. What we shall take the liberty to remark thereon need be very little. We trust that our approbation of your decision in the case of Rev. Arondeus has already reached you. We are also anxious to learn that our ratification of your decision has had a proper effect upon said minister, cum suis, so that he has come to a better mind. May the business be put in such a shape, according to Church Order that the unpleasant divisions may fully come to an end. The case is not very clear to us regarding the exact position of the members of the Consistory of Oyster Bay, who were ordained by Rev. Goetschius. We think that this ordination was performed by his Reverence upon an order received from the Coetus. We therefore suppose that the Coetus has acknowledged the legality of their election and ordination. This, however, is not quite certain from the Minutes, but we trust that the matter is not of much importance. The Rev. Van Hoevenberg has been properly dealt with. He is an unfortunate individual who deserves pity rather than censure. Yet his conduct in many things, as well as toward us, was of such a kind as to excite just displeasure. He complains greatly to us about his maltreatment in New York, especially in reference to the annulling of his call. But we have good reasons for refusing to be troubled any further about him. Your acts in reference to Tappan, your decisions in the case of Muzelius, the completed examination of Verbryck with his ordination and installation, have all met with our entire approbation. We trust that with God's blessing he may greatly edify that people by his teachings and example. We next notice that your Rev. Meeting has declared the conduct of John Van Driessen to have been very dishonorable, especially that he should have declared that he was reconciled to the Coetus, according to what appears in a certain letter. The letter of Revs. Ritzema and Du Bois give us additional information about him: "He does not belong to the Dutch Church; his extraordinary conduct is known everywhere," etc. All this we confidently assume as true, without being able just at present to examine our old Retro-Acta. We doubt not, however, that the Brethren do well and act in a Christian spirit, to keep a sharp lookout on him, following up the warnings given to us long ago. But let not the Rev. Assembly be offended when we say that we cannot reconcile matters in our mind, under these circumstances, with the fact that Rev. Goetschius annulled the censure put by the Consistory of Kingston upon certain members at (New) Paltz for their stubborn adherence to Van Driessen by administering the Lord's Supper to them. This was reported to us by way of complaint by parties in Kingston. Rev. Goetschius, who is a member of Coetus, must have done this, as we suppose, according to the required qualifications. Of this, however, nothing was represented to us. Neither do we observe that his Reverence has received any correction therefor in Coetus. Yet we cannot suppose that Rev. Mancius and his Consistory would have told such a thing if it had not happened. If Mr. John Van Driessen, according to former intimations, is a man to be avoided; if his conduct is unworthy and offensive; then certainly a censure put upon a class of people who pay no attention to warnings, and obstinately persist in adhering to such a man, cannot be considered unlawful. Nevertheless, the Rev. Goetschius has virtually declared this censure null and void by administering the Lord's Supper to those under such a censure. Yet this appears quite incomprehensible to us. And we say this the more strongly, because the three reasons given by the church of Kingston to Rev. Ritzema, to prove that the Paltz belongs to that congregation, seem to us not at all unacceptable. We could have wished that the Rev. Coetus had not left the decisive judgement upon a matter of such importance, viz., as to whether the Paltz did or did not belong unto Kingston, to one person only; and also had not given him the right to act, according to his own pleasure, without further consultation with the Coetus, and to this end, giving him not a copy of the reasons alleged, but the entire letter of the Rev. Mancius. The matter seems to us to be very uncertain. It seems unreasonable that the Paltz, because of its growing population as well as its distance from Kingston, should [not?] have a pastor of its own, if such is desired. But you can easily understand that such a schism as was begun there by John Van Driessen, and which seems to have been countenanced by Rev. Goetschius, is by no means in harmony with Church Order, and does not deserve to be commended. We trust, therefore that your Rev. Coetus, within the bounds of Christian prudence, will remove the reasons of complaint by Kingston, if such reasons are well founded; otherwise those brethren will only be encouraged by Coetus in their persistent, and to us, painful opposition. We have also another matter of importance to refer to, viz., what we have learned about P. De Wind, after his departure from us. We prefer, however, to present this in Rev. Wynstok's own words. He is pastor at Harderwyk, and we send you a copy of his letter, which will astonish you not a little, as it did us. From it we perceived with deep anguish of soul that it is only too probable that both yourselves and ourselves have been basely deceived by him. We hope that the letter sent subsequently by Mr. Kloppert arrived in time to prevent the installation of such a man, and that you will have the opportunity to bring him to a stern account. By no means permit his installation, until the truth or falsehood of the suspicions against bim shall have further appeared to us. It would be a matter of gravest moment, Brethren, if one should be able to press himself into the ministry of the Gospel by means of forged certificates. May God give you all needed wisdom and prudence in this case, to combine a holy zeal in preventing such a crime, with that caution, so necessary to guard the Church of Christ from injury in those distant regions. We conclude with the wish and prayer for all grace to rest on your Reverences, esteemed by us, and upon your Sacred Ministry. In our Assembly, May 3, 1751. We remain, Signed as before. P. S.-We request you, if possible, to obtain the original certificates of Rev. P. De Wind, and to send them to us. Rev. Harderwyk has promised to send us authentic copies of the Acts of the Classis of Neder Veluwe, and a further report with information in reference to P. De Wind. When we receive them, we will also send them to you. POSTSCRIPT. Resolutions of the Classis of Neder Veluwe, May 12, 1751, concerning Peter De Wind, Vol. 30, page 207, No. 137. Article 47. Strict Examinations: It was represented to this Meeting, that in the Journal of January 1751, it was reported that a certain Peter De Wind was peremptoir examined by the Rev. Classis 1751 |