Heyst, David van (1675-1746)
David van Heyst, a Mennonite minister, born 1675 at Amsterdam, died 23 May 1746 at Maarsen, married Rebecca Leeuw and through this marriage became a man of means. He was a preacher of the Amsterdam Zonist congregation 1701-1716. A conflict with his colleague Harmen Reynskes van Overwijk, who accused van Heyst of sympathizing with the ideas of Spinoza, caused the dismissal of both preachers. Van Heyst accepted a call to Rotterdam in September 1718, but here too he soon experienced some difficulty, being charged by his deacon Jan Suderman of heterodoxy. Van Heyst was called to account for his Spinozism by the burgomaster of Rotterdam and had to present a confession of his faith to the Reformed ministers. This confession was approved in 1719. He seems to have given some offense to his congregation by his sympathy with the Moravian Brethren (Hernhutters) and the Collegiants; especially his holding meetings on each Monday evening for young Mennonite women who were Collegiants was severely criticized by a large part of the congregation. In 1726 van Heyst resigned. The following books by van Heyst were published: Onzydig onderzoek uit de H. Schriften van de wyduitgestrekte verlossing door Christus' Rantsoendood (Haarlem, n.d.); Onderwys nopens de voornaamste leerstellingen van den Christelyken Godsdienst (Amsterdam, 1753); Verzaameling van eenige uitgeleezene Predikatiën (Amsterdam, 1759).
At the end of his life his sympathy seems to have turned to the Reformed Church; his grandson David van Heyst was a Reformed minister.
Bibliography
Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: I, Nos. 713, 927; II: 2, No. 458 h.
Molhuysen, P. C. and P. J. Blok. Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek. Leiden, 1911-1937: VIII, 769.
Visscher, H. and L. A. van Langeraad. Het protestantsche vaderland: biographisch woordenboek van protestantsche godgeleerden in Nederland, 8 vols. Utrecht, 1903-1918: IV, 22 f.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Heyst, David van (1675-1746)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Heyst,_David_van_(1675-1746)&oldid=82019.
APA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1956). Heyst, David van (1675-1746). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Heyst,_David_van_(1675-1746)&oldid=82019.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 737. All rights reserved.
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