Hendrik de Cock (12 April 1801 – 14 November 1842) was a Dutch minister responsible for the 1834-35 Dutch Reformed Church split due to his incarceration and suspension from office for his Calvinist convictions. Hendrik de Cock protested against the perceived theological liberalism in the Netherlands government-controlled Dutch Reformed Church in the 19th century. This protest led to the Secession (Afscheiding) of 1834. He is sometimes called the father of the Secession of 1834. Early life Hendrik de Cock was born in the city of Veendam, Groningen, the Netherlands on 12 April 1801 to father Regnerius Tjaarda de Cock and mother Jantje Kappen. His grandfather Regnerus Tjaarda de Cock was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church around 1750. His parents were associated with the Dutch Reformed Church. Shortly after de Cock's birth his family moved to Wildervank, Groningen. In 1824 he married Frouwe Venema (b 1803 - d 1889). Education He entered into the University of Groningen to study to become a minister of theology. In 1823 he graduated from this university. He was called to the congregation of Eppenhuizen, Groningen and (shortly after his marriage in 1824) was ordained there as a Minister. He would serve this congregation for three years until in 1827 he became Minister in Noordlaren, Groningen for two years. History In 1829, Hendrik de Cock (who is also known as the father of the Secession) became minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in the town of Ulrum, near the city of Groningen. He was not evangelical but his congregation was. One of the members gave him the Canons of Dordt to read. This, plus his own discovery of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, led to a great change in his preaching. This change in his preaching attracted many people from other congregations to his worship services. Later these same people requested Hendrik de Cock to baptize their new babies. They could not, in good conscience have their babies baptized in their own churches, partly because the old Baptism Form had been replaced with, in their view, other heretical practices and liturgy, and partly because if the old Form was still used they could not answer "Yes" to the question whether they "believed the doctrine taught in their church was the truth of God's Word". After careful consideration, consultation with his consistory and others, and through anxious prayer, De Cock did baptize these