Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Calvinism
Holland's Protestant movement followed the stern reformer
John Calvin more than the beer-drinking German Martin
Luther. Calvin's French followers, called Huguenots, fled
religious persecution in the 1500s, finding refuge in tolerant
Amsterdam. When Catholic Spain began persecuting them in
Holland, they entered politics and fought back.
Calvin wanted to reform the Catholic faith by condemn-
ing corruption, simplifying rituals, and returning the faith to its
biblical roots. Like other Protestants, Calvinists emphasized
that only God's grace—and not our good works—can get us to
heaven.
He went so far as to say that God predestined some for
heaven, some for hell. Later, some overly pious Calvinists
even claimed to be able to pick out the lucky winners from
the unlucky, sinful losers. Today, the Dutch Reformed Church
(and some other Reformed and Presbyterian churches)
carries on Calvin's brand of Christianity.
Next to the organ, the painting
Evan-
gelist Matthew with an Angel
(
De Evangelist
Mattheus,
c. 1625, by Jan Lievens) features
the wrinkled forehead and high-contrast
shadings used by Lievens' more famous
colleague, Rembrandt.
• Stairs next to the organ lead to the...
Upper Balcony
Looking down from this angle, the small
church really looks small. It can accommodate 150 seated worship-
pers. From here, the tapering roofline creates the “attic” feel that
gives the church its nickname.
• At the back of the upper balcony is the
...
Canalside Room—Religious Art
This kind of religious hardware is standard in Catholic church
services—elaborate silver and gold monstrances (ornamental
holders in which the Communion wafer is displayed), chalices
(for the Communion wine), ciboria (chalices with lids for hold-
ing consecrated wafers), pyxes (for storing unconsecrated wafers),
candlesticks, and incense burners. “Holy earth boxes” were used
for Catholics denied burial in consecrated ground. Instead, they
put a little consecrated dirt in the box, and placed it in the coffin.
Admiring these beautiful pieces, remember that it was this
