Willem Teellinck was an influential Dutch pastor during the Further Reformation in the Netherlands.

Biography

Willem was born to Joost Teellinck, a mayor of Zierikzee, and Johanna de Jonge in 1579. His father died when he was 15. Willem received an excellent education. He studied at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and then received a doctorate from the University of Poitiers in France. He then lived among the Puritans in England for a time. It was at this time that he became a Calvinist. In England Willem met Martha Greendon. She was a Puritan woman, and the two were married. It was while in England that Willem also decided to become a minister and give up the pursuit of law.

Ministry

Willem studied theology at the University of Leiden under both Franciscus Gomarus

Franciscus Gomarus

Franciscus Gomarus , was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius , which was formally judged at the Synod of Dort .-Life:His parents, having embraced the principles of the Reformation, emigrated to the Palatinate in 1578, in order...

 and Jacob Arminius. At first he tried to stay neutral in the controversy although he personally was a Gomarist. Teellinck was ordained in 1606 and began serving a parish in Duiveland. Teellinck stayed in contact with his English Puritan friends, especially John Dod

John Dod

John Dod , known as “Decalogue Dod”, was a non-conforming English clergyman, taking his nickname for his emphasis on the Ten Commandments. He is known for his widely circulated writings...

, Arthur Hildersham

Arthur Hildersham

Arthur Hildersham was an English clergyman, a Puritan and nonconforming preacher.-Life:Arthur Hildersham was born at Stetchworth, and brought up as a Roman Catholic. He was educated in Saffron Walden and at Christ's College, Cambridge. Through the patronage of Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of...

, and Thomas Taylor

Thomas Taylor (clergyman)

Thomas Taylor was an English clergyman.-Life:He was born in 1576 at Richmond, Yorkshire, where his father,was known as a friend to puritans and silenced ministers in the north. He distinguished himself at Cambridge, became fellow and reader in Hebrew at Christ's College, proceeded B.D. 1628, and...

. Teellinck brought the English Puritanism to his ministry in the Netherlands. He stressed repentance, practical godliness, and willing to address current events in his sermons. In 1612, he was sent by his Classis to the Hague to have the government call a National Synod to resolve the growing conflict between Calvinism and Arminianism. This would eventually result in the Synod of Dort

Synod of Dort

The Synod of Dort was a National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618-1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on November 13, 1618, and the final meeting, the 154th, was on May 9, 1619...

.

In 1613 Willem Teellinck took a call to the pastorate in Middelburg. He served here until his death in 1629. The church grew under his leadership, and he gained quite a reputation as a very godly minister. Even going as far to continually visit the sick even during an outbreak of pestilence and plague. At the age of 50, Willem Teellinck died. Thousands mourned his passing.

Works

Teellinck wrote at least 127 manuscripts including 20 full length books, although not all were printed and some were printed after his death. His first work was published in 1608, and was entitled The Love of the Fatherland. It was about the need of the government to enact laws to help restrain sin. Most of his works however, dealt more with personal piety or exegesis

Exegesis

Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...

 of the Bible. This includes his longest work, The Key of Devotion, which is about 800 pages. However, Teellinck did also write works against the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 and Arminianism

Arminianism

Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic followers, the Remonstrants...

. His book The True Path of Godliness has recently been translated into English.

Sources

• Introduction to the Path of True Godliness by Joel Beeke