Afgedankt als godsdienstonderwijzer

The Dutch Protestant catechists of the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century, are a many-coloured party, equally diverse as Dutch Protestantism itself. In this article the many-sided modernist catechist Hendrik Tillema (1829-1908) is introduced. As an orphan he was trained for farmhand. He, however, worked himself up into the position of a member of the ‘lower clergy’. In the beginning was as such active as the catechist of the Leiden Dutch Reformed orphanage. After being accused of modernism by the board of the orphanage, he resigned from his post. At the outset, his liberal religious conviction wasn’t an impediment to be active as a catechist in the Leiden Reformed parish. When, however, the balance of power within the consistory swinged to the orthodox party, Tillema’s position was challenged. Finally, he was discharged. In several writings Tillema manifested his abhorrence of the orthodox believers and his compassion for the orphan-children. He denounced the evil practices in the orphanage and did suggestions for improvement.