A conference held in the Dutch city of Dort (or Dordrecht) to resolve, largely, the question of the Arminian teaching of human free-will in salvation, though other issues were also involved. The conference ended with the publication of the Canon of Dort which came out in favour of Calvinism and which became the doctrinal standards of the Dutch Reformed Church.
The Reformation had sparked in its wake some terrible wars and divided Europe into a new mosaic of so-called Protestant and Catholic nations and polities. The Netherlands had chosen the Reformed path (represented then by the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism) and by 1570-80s was just beginning to settle into a more secure but still uneasy pace of national existence. It was in this setting that a godly and highly esteemed Calvinist teacher, Jakob Hermanszoon, better known as Arminius began to find flaws in the accepted Calvinism being taught at that time. His teaching quickly spread, and soon conflicts broke out between Arminius's followers. Though Arminius had died in 1609, his followers drew up and submitted to the Estates (parliament) a Remonstrance (a strong formal protest; henceforth, the Arminians were call the Remonstrants) setting out five points against the Calvinism in the hope that it would soften the doctrinal position of the Dutch Church on the matter. The Calvinists submitted their counter-Remonstrance. When it seemed like the country was beginning to slide down towards possible civil war—it had by then turned political and militant as well—the Estates decided to convene the Synod in Dort; it included not only delegates from the Dutch churches, but also Swiss, German, and English representatives, making it "the most representative gathering ever seen in the Protestant Reformation." Instead of judging whether the Calvinist confessions needed to be revised or not, the synod chose instead to decide whether the points of the Remonstrance were orthodox or not. The Canon of Dort summed up the decision of the synod and it reaffirmed the five points of Calvinism. The synod ended officially on 9 May 1619.
In the aftermath of the synod, Remonstrants were ejected from their pulpits, their leaders official exiles as 'disturbers of the peace,' and one statesman on whom the Remonstrants had placed high hopes of support, Jan van Oldenbareveldt, executed afterwards.
Further Reading & Resources:
Michael Dewar, "The Synod of Dort, the Westminster Assembly and the French Reformed Church 1618-1643," Churchman 104.1 (Spring 1990): 38-42. Pdf N (Open on Phone)
Michael Dewar, "The British Delegation at the Synod of Dort: Assembling and Assembled; Returning and Returned," Churchman 106.2 (Summer 1992): 130-146. Pdf N (Open on Phone)
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Reformation. Europe's House Divided 1490-1700. London: Penguin, 2003. Esp. pp.373-8.
A. W. Harrison, The Beginnings of Arminianism to the Synod of Dort. London: 1926.
The text of The Canon of Dort is available from the Christian Classic Ethereal Library. Pdf N (Open on Phone)
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