Johannes van Santen
| Johannes van Santen | |
|---|---|
| Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht | |
| Church | Old Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Utrecht |
| In office | 1825-1858 |
| Predecessor | Willibrord van Os |
| Successor | Henricus Loos |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | November 13, 1825 |
Johannes van Santen served as the fourteenth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1825 to 1858. He was part of the last attempt of the Church of Utrecht with the Roman Catholic Church at that time.
Before serving as Archbishop of Utrecht, van Santen served as a parish priest in Schiedam.
Two days after the consecration of William Vet as Bishop of Deventer on June 12, 1825, an event that enjoyed the approval of King William I of the Netherlands, the Chapter of Utrecht chose van Santen as bishop-elect. He was consecrated Archbishop of Utrecht in the cathedral of St. Gertrude in Utrecht on November 13, 1825.
In 1827, Archbishop van Santen attended a series of meetings with Monsignor Capaccini, the papal nuncio of the Roman Catholic Church, in an attempt to reconcile the two churches. C.B. Moss says: “The first conference was entirely occupied by compliments paid by Capaccini to the ‘Jansenists’ in general and to Archbishop van Santen in particular; he praised their steadfastness in a Protestant country, their firm adhesion to Rome, the stand they had made against lax casuistry, the carefulness and prudence of the archbishop.”
During the second meeting, van Santen refused to sign the Formulary of Alexander VII that was presented by Capaccini, thus condemning five propositions purportedly contained in the Augustinus and affirming the authority of the pope. According to C.B. Moss, van Santen replied: “I know that the Five Propositions, as condemned, are not contained in that book; how can I, then, as an honest man and a Christian, sign a declaration which denies the fact? I must obey God and my conscience, even in the Pope and the whole Church are misinformed.” Purportedly asking, “Is Catholic unity to be maintained by perjury?”, van Santen is likened by many to Martin Luther, for their stands against the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
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