The Reformed Church of Surinam was founded in 1668 after the arrival of Rev. Basseliers. It was from the beginning a church for the Dutch colonists. Most church activities took place in Paramaribo, the capital city of Surinam, and around the various plantations in the countryside. In the second half of the 18th century, as owners of plantations started to move to Paramaribo, the “country churches” which had served them began to disappear. Until the 1850s the church was a state church (the state was paying for pastors and church upkeep) and existed almost exclusively for the elite of the country. The language was Dutch, and the pastors all belonged to the mainline Reformed Church of the Netherlands. Over the following decades this proved to be an asset as numerous streams and splits hit the various Ref denominations in the Netherlands. None of them had any significant influence on Surinam.
After the 1850s the church opened itself to the lower classes and to African slaves alike. “Negro-English” — a pidgin language used by the latter — was introduced in worship services. This was particularly evident in the border town of Nickeri.
In 1876, when a liberal stream created turmoil within the Reformed Church of Surinam, a number of members joined other churches but did not create a new independent church. Through various steps (new rules in 1884 and 1957) the church became fully independent from the Netherlands Reformed Church. The central church building also functions as the auditorium of the University of Surinam. Here the first president of the state took oath when Surinam became independent in 1975.
 

Note: We did not manage to contact this church. Therefore, we cannot exclude that its address has changed or that the church does not exist any more.
Whoever has information about this church may contact us. We will be happy to update our information.
 

 
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• Dutch

• Apostles´ Creed
• Canon of Dort (1618/19)
• Heidelberg Catechism (1563)