Prof. dr. Willem Kooiman

Prof. dr. W.J. Kooiman

The son of a Reformed pastor, Willem Kooiman studied theology in Groningen. In 1925 he transferred to the Evangelical Lutheran Church and graduated from the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary in Amsterdam. He served the Lutheran congregations of Wildervank (1927), Deventer (1929) and Amsterdam (1935-1945).

In 1943, Kooiman received his doctorate with a dissertation on Luther’s church song in the Low Countries and then served as professor at the University of Amsterdam from 1945 until his death and also at the Evangelical Lutheran Seminarium from 1946.

In addition to Luther studies, Willem Kooiman focused on themes from Dutch Lutheran history, such as the connections between Lutherans in the Netherlands and Dutch Lutheran congregations in North America. But liturgy and its practical application in the congregation were also important to him. Tangible examples of this are the Maarten Lutherkerk in Amsterdam, which was consecrated in 1937. As secretary of the building committee, Kooiman was able to translate his liturgical views into the design of the interior of the church, especially in the layout of the choir.

Prof. Dr. W.J. Kooiman taught his students to listen to Luther himself, as a historical figure and at the same time as a theologian who could surprisingly make one forget historical distance in his statements.

Prof. Dr. Sabine Hiebsch was appointed Extraordinary Professor at the Kooiman-Boendermaker Chair in Luther and the History of (Dutch) Lutheranism on Oct. 31, 2017. Click here for more information about this chair.

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