English Mennonites at the Bakehouse: John Smyth, the “Short Confession of Faith,” and the “English Section” of the Waterlander Congregation

In 1608, John Smyth and a group of other English migrants moved to Amsterdam together. Like some other English Puritans and Separatists, they were seeking out religious tolerance. Smyth, who had been a cleric in the Church of England, had become a Brownist. Then, in the Netherlands, he came to question infant baptism. He baptized himself, and then baptized Thomas Helwys, and others who were within his congregation.

Shortly after their arrival, the Smythites began gathering in a building that had been the former Grote Bakhuis (Great Bakehouse) of hardtack for the Compagnie van Verre, which was a forerunner of the VOC (Dutch East India Company). Many also lived in cottages on the premises. By 1610, the Bakehouse property was in the hands of Waterlander Mennonite merchant and ship owner Jan Munter of the Toren congregation. At the time, this part of town was a fairly inexpensive area with a smattering of houses, warehouses, and distilleries.

Smyth and his followers soon communicated their desire to formally join the Waterlander Mennonite congregation. The ministers Lubbert Gerritsz. and Reynier Wybrandtsz. brought in fellow Waterlander leader Hans de Ries from Alkmaar to help with the union. The “Short Confession of Faith” was drawn up as the basis for exploring their shared beliefs. Some of the Waterlanders had their hesitations, and Helwys was particularly outspoken in his disagreement about the merger. He ultimately went back to England with a small portion of the English group, and they founded the first English Baptist church. Finally, in 1615, a few years after the deaths of both Smyth and Gerritsz. in 1612, the Waterlanders welcomed thirty English members into membership.

Known as the “Engelse afdeling” (English section) of the Waterlander congregation, the group continued to worship at the Bakehouse under the leadership of Thomas Pigott. Pigott, who had taken over from Smyth, was ordained by Waterlander elder Pieter Andriesz. Hesseling in 1620 and served until his death in 1639. By then, the Dutch language barrier was not such a big issue for most of the migrant group, and the congregation soon began attending the Dutch services at the Toren. The Waterlander church took ownership of the Bakehouse property from around 1640 until 1709 and the property became a Mennonite house for the poor.

While the Bakehouse quickly became integrated into Mennonite life within Amsterdam, the earliest portions of the story, surrounding Smyth and Helwys, continue to be celebrated as key historical moments among the Baptists and other Free Church groups who practice Believer’s Baptism.