Petrus Hofstede de Groot

Petrus Hofstede de Groot (8 October 1802 - 5 December 1886), Dutch theologian, was born at Leer in East Friesland, and was educated at the Gymnasium and University of Groningen.

Petrus Hofstede de Groot (1851/52)

For three years (1826-1829) he was pastor of the Reformed Church at Ulrum, and then entered upon his lifelong duties as professor of theology at Groningen. With his colleagues Louis Gerlach Pareau, Johan Frederik van Oordt, and Willem Muurling, he edited from 1837 to 1872 the Waarheid in Liefde. In this review and in his numerous books he vigorously upheld the orthodox faith against the Dutch "modern theology" movement.

Many of his works were written in Latin, including:

• Disputatio, qua ep. ad Hebraeos cum Paulin. epistolis comparatur (1826)
• Institutiones historiae ecclesiae (1835)
• Institutio theologise naturalis (1842)
• Encyclopaedia theologi christiani (1844)

Others, in Dutch, were:

• The Divine Education of Humanity up to the Coming of Jesus Christ (3 vols, 1846)
• The Nature of the Gospel Ministry (1858)
• The "Modern Theology" of the Netherlands (1869)
• The Old Catholic Movement (1877)

He became professor emeritus in 1872, and died at Groningen on 5 December 1886.

---

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hofstede de Groot, Petrus". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 566.