Hendrikus Berkhof

Hendrikus Berkhof (11 June 1914, Appeltern, Gelderland – 17 December 1995, Leiderdorp) was a professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Leiden.

Berkhof was educated in Amsterdam, Leiden and Berlin, before taking up a pastorate in the Dutch town of Lemele in 1938. In 1944, he moved to another pastorate in Zeist. In 1950, he began working for the Church and World Institute of the Dutch Reformed Church at Driebergen. The subject first published Christ and the Powers in 1953 which sought to understand the operation of spiritual and social forces especially in light of the world wars. In 1960, he became a professor at the University of Leiden. Bekhof was also active in a number of ecumenical organisations, including the World Council of Churches, serving on its Central Committee from 1954 to 1975. He was also involved in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and served as president of the Ecumenical Council of the Netherlands from 1975.