German Reformed Church (U.S.). Coetus

The Coetus of the German Reformed Church (U.S.) was the first organizational structure of the denomination. It was established by Michael Schlatter by the authority of the Synods of North and South Holland and the Classis of Amsterdam in 1747. The Coetus remained the governing body of the denomination until it became independent of the Dutch synods in 1793 when it formed the congregations into a synod.

There were German Reformed congregations in American from the early 18th century with the first Holy Communion service held at Falkner Swamp in 1725. These early congregations were under the guidance of the Dutch synods with reports and letters regularly sent back and forth. During this period, there was no formal denominational organization but the few clergy did meet to discuss problems and handle the funds sent from the Dutch synods.

This collection consists of transcriptions of early correspondence, reports, and minutes to and from the German Reformed congregations in American from the pre-Coetal period (1686s-1747) and from the Coetal period (1747-1793). These transcriptions were made in the late 19th century from the original records held by the Dutch Reformed Church in the Netherlands. A number of people worked on the transcriptions: William J. Hinke, Merle de Frere Zacharias, Henry Dotterer and James I. Good. Most of the original records extant in the U.S. are held at the archives at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis. Initial conversation has been had with Eden about transferring the records to the Society but these conversations need to be pursued (this is as of 5/12/2014).

German Reformed Church (U.S.). Coetus. This collection consists of volumes of hand transcribed proceedings, reports and correspondence relating to the German Reformed Church (U.S.). The original records are in the archives of the Dutch Reformed Synods of North and South and the Classis of Amsterdam in Holland. The transcribing was done by Merle Zacharias and William J. Hinke in the late 1890s during their several trips to Holland and the Continent to do research on the history of the German Reformed Church in the United States.

Some original records were gathered by various Reformed Church clergy in Pennslyvania in the 19th century, most notably, Lewis Mayer, Henry Harbaugh, Joseph Dubbs, James I. Good, and several others. Most of these eventually ended up in the hands of James I. Good who wrote several volumes of history on the Reformed Church. Although pledged to return them to the Synod, Good kept the documents, and as he moved from Ursinus School of Theology when it merged with Heidelberg Seminary to form Central Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, the documents moved with him. After the 1934 merger of the Reformed Church in the United States with the Evangelical Synod of North America, Central Theological Seminary was merged with Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis and Good's library and the original Reformed Church documents became part of the Eden archives.

Because of the devastation in the Palatinate and other regions of Germany as a result of the Thirty Years War and subsequent invasions by the French as well as crop failures, the Reformed Church in Germany was not able to financially support the newly forming German Reformed congregations in the American colonies. They appealed to the Dutch Reformed Synods to provide financial aid, help supply pastors and generally oversee the work and development of the churches. The Dutch synods engaged in such support from the 1720s through most of the 18th century.

It was not until 1747 when Rev. Michael Schlatter arrived in America that the individual German Reformed congregations were organized into the Coetus. This body of clergy and lay representatives met annually to discuss problems, distribute the funds from the Dutch synods, seek ways of supplying the growing number of congregation with clergy, and generally discuss the state of the church.

The Revolutionary War made communication, transfer of funds, and travel difficult forcing the the German Reformed churches in America to find ways to support themselves. Finding enough pastors was a constant problem and the American congrgations sought the authority to ordain qualified men. With the increasing need for pastors, the improving financial picture of the American congregations and the dwindling financial support from the Dutch synods, the German Reformed Church in American became independent in 1793.

This record group includes transcriptions of records from the pre-coetal period, 1600-1747 which pertain to the establishment of both Dutch and German Reformed congregations in the American colonies, reports from clergy, and correspondence between the Dutch synods and the American congregations.

There are also transcriptions of minutes, reports, and correspondence during the Coetal period, 1747-1793.