Christianity in Suriname: An Overview of its History, Theologians and Sources

By Franklin Steven Jabini

The Republic of Suriname, located in northern South America has a rich and diverse history going back several centuries. This has seen the introduction of Christianity and the establishment and creation of many church denominations. To date, major theological works have failed to provide correct, balanced and informative dialogue on the history of Christianity and its developments in Suriname.
In response to the lack of information available to the academic world this publication aims to provide a survey of the history, a summary of the works of theologians and a guide to reliable sources about Christianity in Suriname. Through overviewing the history of the major denominations in Suriname and focusing on some major issues surrounding Christianity the author delivers a unique single volume for both the general reader and a starting point for further research.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Langham Monographs
• Release date: Nov 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781907713446

Book preview

Christianity in Suriname

Considering that two-thirds of world Christianity is now in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania, local and regional histories of churches and missions are increasingly significant and urgently needed. Dr Frank Jabini offers the world church an invaluable contribution with this history of church, mission and theologians of Suriname. Dr Jabini’s impressive primary documentation and encyclopaedic treatment seeks to set the record straight concerning Christianity in Suriname. This work is a precious gift that fills a serious gap in the history of the church in the Americas. Here, Dr Jabini gives us a marvellously detailed, very readable, highly informative, wonderfully inspiring, and masterfully told narrative of the work of the Holy Spirit in the birth and life of the Christian church in Suriname.

Dr Charles E van Engen

Arthur F Glasser Professor of Biblical Theology of Mission,

Fuller Seminary’s School of World Mission

For the first time in Suriname’s history someone has undertaken the task to document a chronological account of the history of Christianity in Suriname. This fact alone makes this book a unique reading. However, putting this against the backdrop of secular contemporaneous history provides an even clearer perspective of the accounts described. Aware of the laborious investment in research which Prof Dr Franklin S Jabini has put into this book, I can confidently label it the prime source of information on Christianity in Suriname for anyone who endeavours to gain insights in its Christian heritage. What has been preserved in numerous writings, documents, letters and few books has been skilfully brought together with academic integrity in this one volume you now hold in your hand. I happily and highly recommend this handbook on ‘Christianity in Suriname’ for your perusal or study.

Rev Erle S Deira

Executive Director Eradicating Bible Poverty – American Bible Society

Founder and President of Paraklesis Ministries International – Suriname

Church history has two sides, a divine and a human. On God’s part, it is his revelation. Someone said church history is HIS story. In our Surinamese church history we see this part as well. On the other hand church history reveals the part of man. Man with his ups and downs, his highs and lows. In my opinion the first part is absolute, the second full of relativity. The positive side is that we can always learn from mistakes and victories presented to us in church history.

I truly applaud this initiative and I am very content that this time it is a native Surinamer who did the research and wrote this book. Franklin Jabini is one of our theologians who is a good example of someone who invested years of hard work into Bible translation and serving the church in Suriname as a whole. He therefore can be seen as one who understands God’s and man’s part in the developments in the history of the church in general and in Suriname as well. An in-depth study like this will profit us all. It will contribute to not only a greater knowledge of Surinamese church history, but will develop a better insight in the ‘why’s’ sometimes people are struggling with. It was Martin Luther, the great reformer, who cried out: ‘History is the mother of truth’. This is one of the reasons why we need to study history, so that we can become better skilled to answer questions in general or questions we ourselves are wrestling with.

Carl Breeveld

Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Suriname

Dr Franklin Jabini can be called one of the leading theologians of his country, and certainly one of the fittest authors to write such a wonderful and detailed church history of Suriname. No country can afford to forget its history, and a largely Christian country cannot afford to ignore its church history and theology history. A plant cannot be understood without its roots. It was therefore appropriate that someone would undertake to write Suriname’s Christian story, and no one could be better equipped than this son of Suriname’s own soil, Dr Jabini. He did a marvellous job at that. For a Dutchman, the story is particularly touching because slavery played such an important role in it. Also the role of the Jews is of great interest, because Jews constituted such a large part of the White population and because they were slave drivers too (being themselves at the same time persecuted in Europe). All in all, I highly recommend this scholarly work, which for a long time will be the source of reference for the Christian history of Suriname.

Prof Dr Willem J Ouweneel

Evangelical Theological Faculty, Leuven (Belgium)

Christianity in Suriname: An Overview of its History, Theologians and Sources

Franklin Jabini

Langham_Monographs_K.eps

Contents

List of Tables

List of Maps

List of Pictures

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abstract

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1. Surinamese Christianity in academic sources

1.1.1. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions

1.1.2. The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements

1.1.3. Religions of the World

1.1.4. Encyclopedia of Protestantism

1.1.5. Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices

1.1.6. The Encyclopedia of Christianity

1.2. Problem

1.3. Purpose

1.4. Structure and method

PART I. HISTORY

Chapter 2

Background to Surinamese Christianity

2.1. Suriname: its location

2.2. Early colonisation efforts

2.3. The people

2.3.1. The Natives

2.3.2. The Europeans

2.3.3. The Africans

2.3.4. The Asians

2.3.5. Others

2.3.6. Population statistics

2.4. Dividing the history of Christianity in Suriname

2.5. Approach and overview

Chapter 3

The Beginning of the Church of England in Suriname

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Background

3.2.1. Government and the people

3.2.2. The Church of England and its different factions

3.3. Christianity in Suriname in the seventeenth century

3.3.1. The Church of England in Suriname

3.3.2. Christianity, the Natives and the Quakers

3.3.3. The Puritans

3.3.4. Justinianus Ernst Von Weltz

3.4. Conclusion

Chapter 4

The Beginning of Reformed Christianity

4.1. Introduction: The era of Zeeland (1667-1683)

4.1.1. The colony

4.1.2. Reformed Christianity in Suriname (1667-1683)

4.1.3. The colony under new management

4.2. The era of Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck: 1683-1688

4.2.1. Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck

4.2.2. Christianity

4.3. Towards a Christian colony: 1688-1734

4.3.1. People and economy

4.3.2. Christianity

4.3.3. Joannes Guiljelmus Kals

4.4. Conclusion

Chapter 5

Surinamese Protestantism in the Eighteenth Century

5.1. Introduction

5.1.1. Peace treaties and economy

5.1.2. Population

5.2. Lutheran Church in Suriname

5.3. The Protestants in the colony

5.4. The Moravian missions

5.4.1. Introduction

5.4.2. Missions among the Natives

5.4.3. Missions among the Saramaccans

5.4.4. Missions among the slaves

5.5. Conclusion

Chapter 6

The Roman Catholic Church and the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century

6.1. Introduction

6.2. The Roman Catholic Church in Suriname

6.3. Roman Catholics and Protestants

6.4. At the beginning of the nineteenth century

6.4.1. Under British rule

6.4.2. The population

6.4.3. Freedom of religion and new regulations

Chapter 7

Christianity and Slavery in Suriname

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Slavery in Suriname

7.3. Christianity in Suriname

7.3.1. Christianity and slavery

7.3.2. The relation between Afro-Surinamese people and Whites

7.4. Biblical and theological motives used in support of slavery

7.5. Conclusion

Chapter 8

The Era of Growth: 1830-1863

8.1. Introduction

8.2. The Growth of Christianity

8.2.1. Growth of the Lutheran Church

8.2.2. Growth of the Reformed Church

8.2.3. Growth of the Roman Catholic Church

8.2.4. Growth of the Moravian Church

8.3. Conclusion

Chapter 9

The Church in Paramaribo after the Abolition of Slavery

9.1. Introduction

9.2. The Creole Church

9.2.1. The Moravian Church

9.2.2. The Roman Catholic Church

9.3. Beginning of the Baptist, Adventist and Methodist Churches

9.3.1. The Vrije Evangelisatie

9.3.2. The Surinaamse Baptistenkerk

9.3.3. The Seventh-day Adventists

9.3.4. The African Methodist Episcopal Church

9.3.5. The Salvation Army

9.4. Conclusion

Appendix to chapter 9: Jehovah’s Witnesses

Chapter 10

Missions to the Ethnic Groups

10.1. Introduction

10.2. The Indians

10.2.1. The Moravians

10.2.2. The Roman Catholics

10.2.3. Other Churches

10.2.4. Conclusion

10.3. The Javanese

10.3.1. The Moravians

10.3.2. The Roman Catholics

10.3.3. Other Churches

10.3.4. Conclusion

10.4. Maroons

10.4.1. Matawai, Kwinti and Paramaccan

10.4.2. Saramaccans

10.4.3. Ndyuka

10.4.4. Conclusion

Chapter 11

Christendom in the Autonomous Suriname

11.1. Introduction: Nationalism

11.1.1. Killinger, Doedel and De Kom

11.1.2. Rier, Comvalius, Rijts and the Nimrod beweging

11.2. Autonomy

11.3. The Committee of Christian Churches

11.4. Developments within the Moravian Church

11.5. Developments within the Roman Catholic Church

11.6. Conclusion

Chapter 12

The Beginning of Pentecostal Churches

12.1. Introduction

12.2. Full Gospel Church in Suriname

12.2.1. Introduction

12.2.2. Assemblies of God

12.2.3. The Movement Stromen van Kracht

12.2.4. Evangelisch Centrum Suriname

12.3. Conclusion

Chapter 13

Bible Translation Organisations

13.1. Introduction

13.2. The Bible distribution agencies

13.3. Summer Institute of Linguistics

13.3.1. Introduction

13.3.2. Saramaccans

13.3.3. Ndyuka

13.3.4. Sarnami Hindostani

13.3.5. Carib

13.3.6. Sranantongo

13.3.7. Surinamese Javanese

13.4. Gijsbertus Roest and Eddy van der Hilst

13.5. Robert Patton

13.6. Conclusion

Chapter 14

Christianity, Autonomy and Revolution

14.1. Introduction

14.2. Independence

14.2.1. Churches and Independence

14.2.2. Population and religion

14.2.3. Christian movements

14.2.4. Towards Surinamese leadership in the churches

14.3. Christianity during the era of the revolution

14.3.1. Introduction

14.3.2. Christianity and revolution

14.3.3. Christianity and the civil war

14.4. Conclusion

Appendix to chapter 14: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

PART II. THEOLOGIANS

Chapter 15

Survey of Surinamese Theological Scholarship

15.1. Introduction

15.2. Surinamese Moravian scholars

15.2.1. Theodorus Alexander Darnoud

15.2.2. Johan Frits Jones

15.2.3. Ronald Ewald Berggraaf

15.2.4. Karel August Zeefuik

15.2.5. Johannes Rambaran

15.2.6. Toekiman Remanuel Wongsodikromo

15.2.7. Edgar Loswijk

15.2.8. John Kent

15.2.9. Hesdie Zamuel

15.2.10. Frederik Muktisahai Rambaran

15.3. Surinamese Roman Catholic theologians

15.3.1. Aloysius Ferdinandus Zichem

15.3.2. Peter Sjak-Shie

15.3.3. Karel Choennie

15.3.4. Esteban Kross

15.3.5. Kenneth Vigelandzoon

15.3.6. Duncan R Wielzen

15.3.7. Gerda Misidjang

15.4. Others

PART III. SOURCES

Chapter 16

Sources for the Study of Surinamese Christianity

16.1. Introduction

16.1.1. Approaches to the study of theological sources

16.1.2. Approaches in this study

16.1.3. Issues for further research

16.1.4. Limitations

16.2. Challenges

16.2.1. Geographical barriers

16.2.2. Denominational barriers

16.2.3. Linguistic barriers

16.2.4. Methodological challenges

16.3. General sources

16.3.1. Writings on the general history of Suriname

16.3.2. Church-related documents

16.3.3. Church papers and magazines

16.3.4. Political documents

16.4. Denominational sources

16.4.1. Anglican Church

16.4.2. Dutch Reformed Church

16.4.3. Moravians

16.4.4. Lutheran Church

16.4.5. The Roman Catholic Church

16.4.6. Baptist Churches

16.4.7. Pentecostal Churches

16.4.8. Other Churches

16.5. New generation of theologians

Maps

Photos

Bibliography

About the author

Notes

Copyright

List of Tables

Table 1 Population of Suriname in 2004

Table 2 Religions in Suriname in 2004

Table 3 Branches of Christianity in Suriname and their arrival

Table 4 Ethnic missions emphasis

Table 5 Governors of Suriname 1651-1667

Table 6 Caretaker governors of Suriname 1672-1683

Table 7 Government and Administration of Justice in Suriname

Table 8 The Reformed Church membership in 1684

Table 9 Estimated population in 1688

Table 10 Suriname between 1710 and 1730

Table 11 The population in 1738

Table 12 The population in 1791

Table 13 Moravian attempts to establish itself in Suriname

Table 14 Overview of missionary stations among the Natives

Table 15 Overview of missionary stations among the Saramaccans

Table 16 Moravian Church membership in 1791

Table 17 Catholic attempts to establish itself in Suriname

Table 18 Statistics of the Catholic Church: 1817 and 1826

Table 19 Religious population of Suriname in 1862

Table 20 Membership of the Moravian Church

Table 21 Numerical growth of the Catholic Church between 1859 and 1964

Table 22 Pentecostal Churches in Suriname

Table 23 Bible Translations published in Surinamese languages after 1960

Table 24 Religions in Suriname 1964

Table 25 Churches not included on the 1964 census

Table 26 Religions in Suriname in 1972

Table 27 Christians in 1980

Table 28 Similarities between Rāma and Jesus

Table 29 Overview of exegetical interpretations of 2 Cor 5:3

List of Maps

Map 1 Western part of Suriname and Berbice

Map 2 Eastern part of Suriname

Map 3 Location of Suriname in South America

List of Pictures

Picture 1 Interdenominational church service

Picture 2 Interdenominational church service (courtesy U Schalkwijk)

Picture 3 Students of the Evangelical School of Theology with visiting professor

Picture 4 Children’s church outing

Picture 5 Interdenominational Saramaccan church service

Picture 6 Interdenominational celebration of Easter

Picture 7 Interdenominational Evangelistic crusade

Picture 8 Church and government leaders at the inauguration of a church building

Picture 9 Pentecostal Church building (courtesy of S. Djojoseparto)

Picture 10 Pentecostal Church building

Picture 11 Church outing Christian and Missionary Alliance

Picture 12 Church building in Coronie

Picture 13 Children's club among Natives in Bigi Poika (courtesy of A. Van Kampen-Elbers)

Picture 14 Christian men visiting the interior (courtesy C Breeveld)

Picture 15 Javanese traditional dance during evangelistic service (courtesy D Martoredjo)

Picture 16 Day of prayer with President DD Bouterse (courtesy Bishop S Meye)

Picture 17 Newly baptised Indian Christians (courtesy U Schalkwijk)

Picture 18 Ndyuka traditional Gospel Music (courtesy M Dijo)

Picture 19 Young men praying (courtesy. C Breeveld)

Picture 20 Vacation Bible School (courtesy D Martoredjo)

Picture 21 Interdenominational Indian church service (courtesy Mrs U Schalkwijk)

Picture 22 Boarding school Stoelmanseiland

Picture 23 Moravian theology graduate receives his certificate

Picture 24 Men at an interdenominational church service

Picture 25 Author's family with visiting Dutch professor Van Bruggen and wife

Picture 26 Former President Drs R R Venetiaan with church leaders at a national interdenominational leader's conference

Picture 27 Small group discussions at a national and interdenominational leader's conference

Foreword

Writing this foreword to Frank Jabini’s book Christianity in Suriname: An overview of its History, Theologians and Sources is a real privilege and honour to me.

Somewhere in the nineteen nineties, I came in close contact with Frank, who was attending Hebrew and Greek classes at the Moravian Seminary in Paramaribo, as one of the first students from an independent church. After his Master’s degree, he became a colleague at the seminary, and I have enjoyed the cooperation with him on several occasions, due to our collective preference for Bible translation.

Until now one, who wanted to study Surinamese church history, was dependent on historians from abroad who described the history of a specific denomination, e.g., Hermann Georg Steinberg (1932) and Jos Fontaine (1985) on the Moravian Church, and Joop Vernooij (1985) on the Roman Catholic Church. But in this book we find an all-inclusive overview of all the church denominations in Suriname, drawn up by a ‘native son’, descending from enslaved Africans, who in an early stage after their being transferred from Africa to the ‘New World’ escaped to the forests and established there, what is called, maroon societies.

Especially with this book, Frank Jabini is setting a trend, by giving the example how to contribute to the re-writing of our own history. Having come to the conclusion that our history needs to be re-written, he does not start reacting against historians of the past, but he looked for a passable way forward. Here, he only gives an overview, but there is a promise for a more profound and voluminous exercise which is in preparation

It is the first time someone has tried to give an overview of the Surinamese churches and the theological achievements that have been achieved during the period of their existence in this country. To me this makes Frank Jabini one of the forerunners of the necessary reconstruction of our Surinamese history. The first step in that process is, according to David Ndegwah (2007), to collect the facts and then try to look at them in a fresh way without prejudices. And that is just what Frank is trying to do.

With pleasure I, therefore, heartily recommend this book as a reference work for Christianity in Suriname.

Rev Dr Hesdie Zamuel

Paramaribo, June 2012

Preface

Utrecht University is well-known in colonial and postcolonial Suriname. Since the arrival of the West Indian Company in Suriname (1667), Dutch ministers have served the Reformed Church in Suriname. Several ministers were alumni of Utrecht University. In the seventeenth century, Rev Antonius Ketelaer served in Suriname. He refused to accept the segregation between the Europeans and the Africans and for that reason, the authorities removed him from the capital Paramaribo to the remote Commewijne area. In the eighteenth century, Rev Jan W Kals, born in Germany and an alumnus of Utrecht University, argued even stronger than Ketelaer did. After he arrived in Paramaribo he protested against the flourishing slave trade and the expulsion of the Natives. According to him, Non-white Christians should be permitted to attend the church services of the Europeans. For that matter, the colonial authorities regarded him as an undesirable element in their community and sent him back to the Netherlands within two years after arrival. Jan M van der Linde honoured Kals by writing a monograph on his person and work: Jan Willem Kals 1700-1781: Leraar der Hervormden, Advocaat van Indiaan en Neger (1987).

My predecessor at Utrecht University is Jan M van der Linde. He was instrumental in creating Reformed and Moravian theological scholarship in Suriname. He engaged in the establishment of an own Suriname Theological School. Due to a serious illness of his wife, the family Van der Linde came back to the Netherlands earlier than expected. Seven Surinamese students followed him to the Netherlands and studied under his supervision in the Moravian community in Zeist and at Utrecht University. At this university Van der Linde defended his dissertation entitled: Het visioen van Herrnhut en het apostolaat der Moravische broeders in Suriname, 1735-1863 (1956). Subsequently the university welcomed him as the professor of ‘the history of the Unitas fratrum and the Caribbean region’ (1958). In this new capacity Van der Linde supervised the dissertation of Karel A Zeefuik and the MTh thesis of Hesdie Zamuel and others.

The study of Franklin Jabini on Christianity in Suriname, with special reference to Surinamese theological scholarship, is much broader in scope than what Utrecht University in general and Van der Linde especially have contributed to Suriname in the past. First of all, it takes not only the Reformed and the Moravians into account, but all churches: Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals, and others. Secondly, it takes the socio-economic, political, and religious context of the nation very seriously. Today Suriname belongs to the most multicultural and multireligious, and multilingual societies of South America. Surinamese Christians and theologians function in this complex and challenging setting.

Franklin Jabini is the right man to describe and analyse the recent developments in Surinamese Christianity and in Surinamese theology. His survey is unique and contributes to their recognition in the independent nation Suriname, in South, Middle and North America, and in the global setting. I wholeheartedly congratulate him with the results of his hard work to collect the data, and to describe and analyse them properly. With great joy I recommend this new and innovative study to Surinamese citizens and to other people around the globe.

God bless the reading of this book!

Jan A B Jongeneel

Honorary Professor Emeritus Utrecht University

Bunnik, Ascension Day 2012

Acknowledgments

This research has taken more than twenty years to complete and many people have contributed to making it possible. It is not possible to name them all. However, I do want to express my appreciation to:

The Surinamese theologians and or their families who made their works available for review, grantangi; friends and colleagues who wrote a recommendation for the book and made pictures available;

The librarians and archivists who helped in finding resources: Rudi de Groot, University of Leuven (Belgium); Dr Ulrike Mühlschlegel, Ibero-American Institute – Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (Germany); Dr Paul Peucker, Unitätsarchiv Herrnhut (Germany); Carlos Hasselnook and Miss H Doelwijt, Archief der EBGS (Suriname); Paul Tjon Kiem Sang, Archief Rooms Katholieke Bisdom (Suriname); Jenny Sopawiro, Dienst voor Geloof, Cultuur en Communicatie (Suriname); Yvonne Tjin A Kiem - Palis (†) and Mina Gobiend, Surinaams Museum (Suriname); Ingrid A Roderick, British and Foreign Bible Society (UK); Stephen Tabor, Huntington Library (USA);

My friend Dr Kees van der Ziel MA for his helpful comments and recommendations on the entire manuscript;

Dr Robert Brodie for editing the entire manuscript;

Prof Jan Jongeneel and Dr Hesdie Zamuel for their willingness to write a foreword to the book.

I am grateful to my wife Irene and our three children Samuel, Franklin Jr. and Anna for allowing me to write this book and for their willingness to hear the stories over and over again.

I thank Franklin Jr. for drawing the maps.

I thank my brothers and sisters in Christ of the Brethren Assemblies in Suriname for their prayers and support and for allowing me to do research for the kingdom of God;

And last but not least, I thank God who gave me the strength and guided me throughout this long journey and as I continue to try to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that [I] may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Eph 3:18-21 NET).

Abstract

A survey of the articles that appeared in major theological works at the beginning of the twenty-first century revealed a lack of correct information about Christianity in Suriname (South America). This was possibly because the history was not available in English and the works of Surinamese theologians appeared to be unknown to the scholarly community. The purpose of this study therefore is to give a survey of the history, a summary of the works of theologians and a guide to sources about Christianity in Suriname.

The survey of the history (Part I) describes colonial Christianity in Suriname in a chronological way. Colonial Christianity as was represented by the Anglican, Reformed and Lutheran Churches, focused on the European colonists and generally ignored the African slaves and their descendants and the Natives. These Churches’ raison d’être was confined to the needs of the ‘whites’ in the colony. On the other hand, the Moravian and Roman Catholic Churches focused their missions on the people who were ignored by the colonial churches. They provided not only the gospel in the language of the people, but also education and medical and social care. Both Churches faced a unique form of Christianity. Because of their own religious background and the pressure put upon them by laws that forced them to become Christians, the slaves and their descendants developed what was called the Creole Church. Migrant workers from Asia who came after the 1860’s were taken care of in ethnically-established branches of these churches. From the 1960’s onwards churches started their process of becoming independent, Surinamese churches. This struggle was well articulated by the academically-trained theologians who emerged in that period. Part II presents a summary of their works. Part III is an annotated guide to sources that were used in the historical section of the study and should serve as the starting point for the study of Christianity in Suriname and the works of the new generation of theologians.

The work follows a descriptive method. Sources were gathered from writers, libraries and archives. In the case of the Pentecostal churches, where literature was not readily available, some unstructured interviews were conducted.

This work is unique in a number of ways. It is the first of its kind and the first in English. It describes an ecumenical history of all the major denominations in Suriname covering a period of more than three centuries. A work of such a wide scope has its limitations. Firstly, it can only be a brief overview and not a detailed work. Secondly, it can only describe some issues about Christianity, leaving others untouched. Thirdly, I chose not to present a technical work with learned footnotes in which I enter into debates with others. That, I will take on in a Dutch publication, that is forthcoming. A work like the present one provides necessary information about the most important aspects of Christianity in a single volume. It is accessible to a broad reading public and can serve as a starting point for further research.

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1. Surinamese Christianity in academic sources

The first decade of the twenty-first century saw the publication of some major Christian dictionaries and encyclopedias that presented global research on specific branches of Christianity. These include the Evangelical Dictionary of World Mission (Deiros 2000), The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Norwood 2002), the Religions of the World (Melton and Baumann 2002), the Encyclopedia of Protestantism (Freston 2004), the Encyclopedia of Protestantism (Melton 2005), the Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices (Holland 2006) and The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Jap A Joe 2000-2008). They studied movements such as Protestantism, Pentecostalism and charismatics, evangelicals and religions of the world in general.

Most of these sources included references to Suriname. One article about Suriname was written by the Surinamese social scientist Harold Jap A Joe. It appeared in volume five of The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Scholars outside of Suriname wrote all the other articles in the above references. These included articles by Pablos Deiros on ‘Evangelicals’, Douglass Norwood Jr on ‘Charismatic and Pentecostal Movements’ and Clifton Holland on ‘Religion in Suriname’. The articles on the ‘Moravian Church in Suriname’ and ‘Suriname’ in Religions of the World did not include the names of the writers (see Melton & Baumann 2002).¹ The same was true for the article on ‘South America’ in the Encyclopedia of Protestantism.

Remarkably Surinamese Christianity was omitted in A documentary source book on the history of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-1990 (Koschorke et al. 2007). The bibliography of West Indian Church history compiled by Dayfoot and Pierson (2004) listed only a small number of resources on the history of the Surinamese church during the British period (1651-1667).

In this introduction I give a brief but critical review of the presentations about Suriname in these works. I will review them in chronological order of publication.

1.1.1. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions

The well-respected Argentinian scholar, Dr Pablos A Deiros, wrote the article on ‘evangelicals’ in Suriname. The article is very short, one column. Consequently he did not have much space to write. The article therefore could not present a balanced background of Suriname or a clear view of evangelical Christianity in Suriname. The date of the successful colonisation of Suriname by the British was in 1651 and not in 1630. Most of the article was devoted to Justinianus von Weltz (1666-1668) and the work of the Moravians among the Saramaccans. The information presented was not up to date.

1.1.2. The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements

Dr Douglass Norwood Jr, a former American Moravian pastor, wrote the article on Pentecostals and Charismatics in Suriname. He visited Suriname on a number of occasions and held meetings with church leaders. The article’s general background of Suriname was not balanced and full of wrong conclusions. It claimed that Suriname remained one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere; that in the mid-1990’s rioting and civil disturbance were aimed at Hindu store owners. Furthermore, due to the increase of the Muslim population the government declared Suriname an Islamic republic in 1998. The source for his information on these matters was not given.

The article further claimed that Baptists and Lutherans came to Suriname in the middle of the twentieth century. The Baptists started in the 1880’s and the Lutherans in the 1740’s. It attributed the beginning of several ‘small’ Pentecostal fellowships in Suriname (e.g. Pinksterzending and Evangelisch Centrum Suriname) to the crusades held by Karel Hoekendijk in the 1960’s. None of these two denominations was the result of the Hoekendijk crusade. Pinksterzending came out of a split within the Assemblies of God, the first Pentecostal Church in Suriname, which started in 1959. Evangelisch Centrum Suriname started in the late 1960’s as a result of the ministry of the American missionary James Cooper and the Dutch missionary Jan Kool. The article has many factual errors. Its main point however was the reference to two Moravian pastors who held evangelistic rallies in Suriname in the mid 1980’s. The author happened to be one of these two pastors. His ministry in Suriname seemed to have had much more results than that of those who were there before him. As a result of a two-day prayer conference which the writer led in the western part of the country, Christian churches were united.

A stunning development in November 1994 has led to the possibility of more growth and charismatic/Pentecostal unity in Suriname ... More Hindus came to Christ in that one night than in the previous 140 years of mission work. Since that time, attendance in older churches in the region has swelled, and new churches have been established (p. 254).

Sadly, the writer seemed to ignore all the Surinamese charismatic and Pentecostal leaders, who laboured and are still labouring in Suriname.

1.1.3. Religions of the World

The writers of the articles in Melton and Baumann’s the Religions of the World were not stated. The lemma on the ‘Moravian Church in Suriname’ started as follows:

Moravians received an invitation to begin work in the Dutch territory of Suriname in 1836, and two years later missionaries arrived and settled on a plantation on the Berbice River. Their primary work was among the Africans on the plantation and nearby (p. 888).

The invitation to the Moravians came a few years earlier. The first team arrived in 1735 and settled in Suriname, not in Berbice. The article has a lot of factual errors. The Moravians did not translate ‘a portion of the New Testament into the new language, Sranana Tongo, which the Africans had developed’ (p. 889). First of all the whole New Testament and many books of the Old Testament were translated. Secondly, the language is ‘Sranantongo’, and thirdly, it was not developed by the slaves. It was a lingua franca, the language of communication between the colonists and the slaves. Too much credit was given to the missionaries, when the article suggested that ‘King studied with the missionaries over the next four years and was ordained in 1861’ (p. 889). It is a known fact that King spent a few months with the missionaries, after 1861. He studied mostly on his own and depended on the dreams and visions that he received. King did not ‘spend the next thirty-five years taking Christianity to the residents of the interior’ (p. 889). He was suspended by the Moravians for many years and could not minister.² When did the growth in the Moravian Church take place? According to the article ‘some twenty-five thousand former slaves became Moravian in the decade during the transition to complete freedom (1863–1873)’ (p. 889). The growth took place before the abolition of slavery and not afterwards. Actually the years after the abolition saw a decline, when many Moravians left to join the Roman Catholic Church. The article did not say anything about the church’s mission to the other ethnic groups, e.g. Indians and Javanese.

The lemma on ‘Suriname’ in the encyclopaedia shared the same weaknesses as that on the Moravians, as can be seen in the following statements:

‘The Dutch introduced slavery into the colony’ (p. 1233); ‘Christianity was introduced to Suriname in 1683 with the arrival of several Catholic priests’; ‘the Evangelical Lutheran Church … and the Reformed churches … established works in 1741 and 1750’; ‘The Suriname Committee of Christian churches dates to 1960’ (p. 1234).

The British introduced slavery in Suriname and not the Dutch. They also established the Anglican Church in 1651. Christianity was not introduced to Suriname in 1683. The Reformed Church started in 1668 and not 1750. The Committee of Christian Churches dates to the 1940’s and not 1960’s.

1.1.4. Encyclopedia of Protestantism

The absence of Surinamese Christianity in the Encyclopedia of Protestantism (Hillerbrand 2004) is remarkable. Protestant Christianity had a long standing in Suriname. It can be argued that Suriname was the first country of South America that had a permanent presence of Protestantism from 1651 onwards. According to the Encyclopedia of Protestantism, a permanent presence of Protestantism in Latin America ‘was established only around or after independence in the early nineteenth century’ (Freston 2004:1069). This conclusion was probably based on the notion that Suriname was not part of Latin America.³

In a second, one-volume Encyclopedia of Protestantism edited by J Gordon Melton, reference was made to Suriname. In two paragraphs the author stated the following about Protestantism in South America:

Most of South America had become dominantly Roman Catholic by the time Protestants began to develop their missionary programs.⁴ The exceptions were Guyana and Surinam [sic], which were under British and Dutch control, respectively (p. 505, 506).

The author indicated that the Reformed Church had a presence in Suriname since the seventeenth century but served the Dutch settlers. According to him, ‘Moravians arrived in both Guyana and Surinam [sic] in 1738’ (p. 506). This date, as indicated earlier, is incorrect.

1.1.5. Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices

The American scholar, Dr Clifton Holland, served first as a minister and later as a professor at the Evangelical University of the Americas (UNELA) in Costa Rica for many years. He taught in many Latin American countries as part of the extension programme of UNELA.

His article on Suriname was detailed. His presentation was not limited to Christianity, but included the other religions as well (so also Melton & Baumann 2002). He divided the Surinamese from African descent into Creoles and Maroons and made Indians the largest ethnic group in Suriname (see also Melton & Baumann 2002:1233). What was the major religion in Suriname? According to him, Hinduism was. He arrived at that conclusion, because he failed to differentiate the Sanatan Dharm Hindus from the Arya Dewaker Hindus. In the case of Christianity he divided them between Protestants and Roman Catholics. He dated the origin of Protestantism in Suriname to around 1735, even though he acknowledged the Reformed Church to be the oldest. However, he ignored the Anglican Church that came to Suriname in 1651. It was not clear how Holland defined major theologians when he argued that Suriname did not produce any major Protestant theologians.⁵ All the writers in his bibliography were foreigners, none of whom was a theologian.

1.1.6. The Encyclopedia of Christianity

Besides articles on theological themes, the Encyclopedia of Christianity studied various branches of Christianity in different countries. Harold Jap A Joe’s presentation was generally correct. However there are some details that need attention. The Baptists and the Adventists did not arrive in the first decades of the twentieth century, but in 1887 and 1894 respectively. Pentecostalism was not introduced in the 1960’s, but in 1959. The beginning of the Bible Society was not in 1963, but in 1966.

1.2. Problem

Engaging the articles raised some serious questions. Why were foreign scholars, and not Surinamese, asked to write the lemma? Why did the writers not interact with works written about Christianity in Suriname and with Surinamese scholars? It was clear that the work done by Surinamese theologians and on Christianity in Suriname did not receive enough international attention. Secondly, most if not all the works of Surinamese theologians were written in Dutch. Because of this, the access for the international community was difficult or impossible.

1.3. Purpose

This book intends to serve four purposes. First of all it presents an overview, be it brief, of the history of Christianity in Suriname (Part I). Secondly, it gives a summary of some of the most important works of Surinamese theologians and allows scholars to get acquainted with Surinamese scholarship (Part II). Thirdly, it gives the scholarly community the state of the art of research into Surinamese Christianity and fourthly it is a guide to documents for the study of Christianity in Suriname (Part III). Masters and doctoral candidates will find unexplored areas in this brief overview that require further research. Some unexplored fields are identified as such throughout the study.

1.4. Structure and method

The book consists of three parts. The first part presents an overview of the history of Christianity in Suriname. This part describes colonial Christianity. Churches from predominantly European background established Christianity in Suriname. The first recipients were the European colonists, followed by the descendants of Africans and Asians. This part of the work is descriptive and avoids technicalities or learned footnotes. References to resources that were used were kept to a minimum, except for direct quotations.

The second part is a study of Surinamese theologians. These Surinamese theologians, from the second half of the twentieth century onwards, engaged the West European form of Christianity that was brought to Suriname, and called for a Surinamese version. This section summarises the works of Moravian, Roman Catholic and