The Synod of Dort

to 29 May 1619
Location: Dordrecht, Holland, Nederland
Surnames/tags: religion netherlands belgium

Contents 1 Goals 2 About the Synod itself 3 What even is a Synod anyway? 4 Why was the Synod of Dordrecht called? 5 Participants 5.1 Dutch Delegates 5.1.1 Dutch Theologians 5.1.2 Delegates from the Dutch provincial synods 5.2 Dutch lay commisioners 5.3 Remonstrants 5.4 Foreign Representatives 5.4.1 Great Britain 5.4.2 Imperial Delegates 5.4.3 France 5.5 Observers 6 Why I started this project 7 Sources

Goals

The goal of this project is to provide information on the Synod of Dort/Dordrecht, the participants of it, the motives behind it, the various ideologies at the time and the outcomes. I aim to create a profile of all the participants. Ideally they would all be connected to the tree but given the time period that may not be possible.

About the Synod itself

What even is a Synod anyway?

A synod is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word synod comes from the Greek: σύνοδος [ˈsinoðos] meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word concilium meaning "council". Originally, synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism,[citation needed] Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not. It is also sometimes used to refer to a church that is governed by a synod. ^[1]

Why was the Synod of Dordrecht called?

The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on 13 November 1618 and the final meeting, the 180th, was on 29 May 1619. Voting representatives from eight foreign Reformed churches were also invited.

The acts of the Synod were tied to political intrigues that arose during the Twelve Years' Truce, a pause in the Dutch war with Spain. After the death of Jacob Arminius his followers presented objections to the Belgic Confession and the teaching of John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and their followers. These objections were published in a document called The Remonstrance of 1610, and the Arminians were therefore also known as Remonstrants. They taught conditional election on the basis of foreseen faith, unlimited atonement, resistible grace, and the possibility of lapse from grace. The opposing Calvinists or Gomarists, led by Franciscus Gomarus of the University of Leiden, became known as the Contra-Remonstrants.

The Arminians were accused of propagating false doctrine and perceived as ready to compromise with the Spanish, whereas the Dutch Calvinists were not, so Arminianism was considered by some to be not only theologically unsound but also political treason; in 1617–8 there was a pamphlet war and Francis van Aarssens expressed the view that the Arminians were working for Philip IV of Spain. Planning for a National Synod was begun by Adriaan Pauw in March 1618. Before that, there had been a debate as to whether the synod should be national, as the Contra-Remonstrants wished, or provincial for Holland, as the Remonstrants argued. This decision was worked out in 1617, with outside input from the English ambassador Dudley Carleton.

Participants

Dutch Delegates

Dutch Theologians

Delegates from the Dutch provincial synods

Dutch lay commisioners

Remonstrants

Foreign Representatives

Great Britain

Imperial Delegates

France

Observers

Why I started this project

I'm Alex Fransen, and I have a special interest in this project because I have a passion for church history and genealogy. I have recently been studying this Synod so I thought why not make a project for it?

If you're interested in this, or are related to someone who participated in this Synod, please let me know, as I would be very interested to hear it.

Sources