A CHRONOLOGY OF PROTESTANT BEGINNINGS:
FRENCH GUIANA

by Dr. Clifton L. Holland

(last revised on June 12, 2003)

Historical Overview:

Discovered by the Spanish: 1544

Under Spanish and French control: 1604

Territory disputed by the Dutch, French and Portuguese until: 1676

Under French control: 1676

Number of North American Protestant Agencies in 1997: 5

Indicates European society*

Significant Protestant Beginnings or Other Key Events

1624 - First French Protestants arrive; this is considered to be the origin of the Evangelical Church of French Guiana, which was officially established in 1997.

1636 - *Roman Catholicism established by the Spanish and French; the Diocese of Cayenne was established in 1956.

1900s - *Early 20^th century arrival of the Christian Brethren (the Open Plymouth Brethren)

1940 - Seventh-day Adventists

1982 - Southern Baptist Convention

1986 - The Evangelical Church of the West Indies (West Indies Mission, now World Team)

1988 - The Church of the Nazarene

1991 - Church of God of Prophecy

Date of Origin Unknown:

NOTES:

(1) Dates listed indicate the earliest recorded ministry or in case of discrepancies, the date most frequently indicated.

(2) North American Agencies include U.S. and Canadian.

SOURCES:

(1) Daryl L. Platt, "Who Represents the Evangelical Churches in Latin America? A Study of the Evangelical Fellowship Organizations." Pasadena, CA: an unpublished Doctor of Missiology Dissertation, School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary, June 1991. Used by permission of the author.

(2) PROLADES (Latin American Socio-religious Studies Program), international headquarters in San José, Costa Rica: www.prolades.com, prolades@racsa.co.cr

(3) John A. Siewert and Edna G. Valdez, editors: Mission Handbook of U.S. and Canadian Christian Ministries Overseas (MARC 1997).

(4) Jean-Jacques Bauswein and Lukas Vischer, The Reformed Family Worldwide (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999).