children. This infuriated the clergy from the other congregations, who in turn notified the authorities. It was, in fact, this issue that De Cock's colleagues brought in protest against him at Classis. In his defense he wrote a pamphlet defending what he and his consistory believed to be the truth. This sparked off much debate and as a result the Dutch Reformed Church suspended him as a minister on 13 December 1833. in order to maintain law and order in the Reformed Church, to protect the name and honour of the ministers of the Gospel, and to prevent more disorders, divisions, and revolutions in several congregations in our Fatherland; . . . if preachers as DeCock were not halted in their reckless enterprise, this Board fears the worst. Hendrik de Cock submitted to his suspension and stayed off his pulpit, but tensions continued to rise. They reached a kind of climax when Rev. Heinrich Scholte (later to settle and establish a colony in Pella, Iowa), who was known to be friendly to him, was forbidden to preach in Hendrik de Cock's church. In this way, a modernist could occupy the pulpit instead. The congregation did not take kindly to this and the police were called in to prevent what was a near riot. Hendrik de Cock refused to recant, and finally, with his congregation, officially parted (seceded) on 13 October 1834 from the Dutch Reformed Church. The next day they signed the Act of Secession or Return (1834). The first two years under de Cock saw the formation of over 200 churches that quickly developed out of local Bible studies called, "oefeningen," with a leader who served as the "oefenaar," that were meeting in homes. Here believers had been reading together from the "Old Writers" (17th century Further Reformation" pastors and theologians) who emphasized not only mindful apprehension of Reformed doctrine but also personal appropriation of these Calvinist truths. Other churches also left the Dutch Reformed Church to join Hendrik de Cock in the Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (CGKN). These churches and their members would be called the "Secessionists" or "Seceders". The Secession (Afscheiding) The Dutch Reformed Church and the Dutch government made the Seceders suffer terribly for their convictions. Their meetings were often broken up by mob violence; they were fined and imprisoned. On 25 October 1834 a company infantry (104 soldiers) were sent by the Dutch