Kooiman-Boendermaker Chair

Prof. Dr. Sabine Hiebsch was appointed on 31 October 2017 as Professor holding the Kooiman-Boendermaker Chair for Luther and the History of (Dutch) Lutheranism. The title of her inaugural lecture was *Luther and the Netherlands: Past – Present – Future*.

Prof. Dr Hiebsch passed away unexpectedly on 14 April 2026. The chair has been vacant since then.

The special chair was established at Theological University Utrecht by the Kooiman-Boendermaker-Luther Foundation.

The Kooiman-Boendermaker-Luther Foundation aims to promote research, education, and the dissemination of knowledge about Martin Luther and his theology, as well as about the history of Lutheranism in general and the history of Lutheranism in the Netherlands in particular.

The chair is named after Prof. Dr. W.J. Kooiman (1903–1968) and Prof. Dr. J.P. Boendermaker (1925–2018), two renowned Luther scholars who played a defining role in Dutch scholarship on Luther and the history of the Dutch Lutheran tradition during the second half of the twentieth century.

The remit of the Kooiman-Boendermaker Chair for Luther Studies and the History of (Dutch) Lutheranism is to research, teach, and promote the public dissemination of knowledge concerning:

1. The theology of Martin Luther and the traditions that played a role in its development.
2. The reception of Luther’s theology and its development, particularly in the Low Countries.
3. The history of Dutch Lutheranism and the religious life of Lutheran congregations, including their relationship with global Lutheranism.
4. The relationship between Lutheranism and other religious movements in the Low Countries, particularly Reformed Protestantism.

The special chair is affiliated with the Centre for Dutch Reformation Studies (CDRS).