The term church asylum first appeared in 1978, but the principle was already advocated in the 6th century on the basis of the biblical text Exodus (21:13) and put into practice by Bishop Gregory of Tours (FR). In the Middle Ages, the church was often used as a sanctuary during feuds and wars. In 1986, the Groningse Council of Churches and later also the Dutch one, declared that church buildings could be opened to refugees. In 1988, the ‘Groningen Charter’ was signed by several European churches. (Groningen is a province in the North).

Between 1978 and 2000, church asylum was granted 52 times in the Netherlands. After 2000, the need for asylum decreased, because asylum seekers who had exhausted all legal remedies were hardly actively deported. However, there have been cases of church asylum again in recent years, possibly due to the tightened asylum policy and the long road to a children’s pardon.

In 1995, a group of rejected Zairian asylum seekers were given shelter in the Oranjekerk in Amsterdam. This is when the term ‘relay church service’ (or marathon service) appeared for the first time. In the Bethel Church in The Hague, a marathon service was held by more than eight hundred pastors between September 2018 and January 2019 to prevent the deportation of an Armenian family. The relay service of 97 days and nights was ended because politicians agree to a broader arrangement for the children’s pardon. The action was supported by the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.

Although church asylum does not officially exist, it is a valuable principle from the time when the church still had the privilege of receiving refugees. The Dutch government has stated several times that it does not consider itself bound by church asylum, but there has been no forced eviction from churches. This special shelter can temporarily stop deportation and stimulate an thorough discussion about the child pardon* and expansion of the asylum policy.

*an arrangement whereby asylum seekers are still granted a previously denied residence permit, in this case for children of asylum seekers who have lived in the Netherlands for more than five years and actually have to leave the country.

Sources (in Dutch): Kerkasiel is een eeuwenoud fenomeen en Kerkasiel op Wikipedia