Belgium, Christianity in

Belgium, Christianity in. In the mid-4th cent. the first Bp. of Tongres attended the Councils of Sardica and Ariminum, but the area was more lastingly evangelized in the 7th cent. by St Amandus and St Eligius. A large number of monasteries were founded and throughout the Middle Ages there was religious fervour which found expression in the movements of Beguines and Beghards and in the writings of mystics such as J. van Ruysbroeck and Hadewijch. After the Reformation Spanish repression kept what was to be Belgium within the Catholic sphere of influence. In the 17th cent. Jansenism was the object of bitter controversy. When Belgium became independent of the Netherlands in 1830, the separation of Church and State was enshrined in the constitution, but tensions have still been reflected in recurrent problems over the financing of Catholic schools and other matters. Belgium is predominantly a RC country, and in modern times the Belgian Church has played an international role, e.g. the part of Card. J. D. Mercier in the Malines Conversations and the influence of Card. L. J. Suenens at the Second Vatican Conference. There are Protestant and Orthodox minorities.