Synod of Dort

The Synod of Dort was a National Church Assembly of the Dutch Reformed Church, with the participation of foreign Reformed churches, to May 9, 1619 was held from November 13, 1618 in Dordrecht.

History

The standing at the head of the States-General governor Maurice of Orange led a final decision into a major controversy, which had the Calvinist doctrine of predestination to the object. Maurice of Orange stood on the side of the Contraremonstranten (obtained by the Leiden theologian Franciscus Gomarus formerly called Gomarists ).

Even towards the end of the 16th century, some preachers were occurred in Delft with the assertion that the divine predestination full draw with regard to the Fall. Went even further, the distinguished professor of theology Jacob Arminius in Leiden. He denied absolute predestination, and taught a predestination due to the foreknowledge of God; Christ died for all mankind and the grace WOULD not irresistible. He found numerous adherents who were called after him as Arminians; after submitted by it to the States of Holland and West Friesland 1610 Creed Remonstrance they also called Arminianism, their opponents after Arminius 's colleagues and main opponent Franz Gomarus " Gomarists ".

The aim of the General Synod was to resolve these doctrinal issues that were in 154 meetings to negotiate. The judgments given in all countries reformed invitation to participate was provided also 28 theologians from England, Scotland, Germany and Switzerland sequence; Brandenburg did not participate and France banned the feed.

The pre-charged to account Remonstrants with Simon Episcopius, Professor in Leiden, at the top, handed over the foreign theologians an apology and defended themselves before the Synod, but were expelled by their refusal to the decisions to submit the same in the 57th meeting. Later, they were excommunicated and removed from their ecclesiastical offices. The Heidelberg Catechism, the Netherlands ' Creed and the Confessio Gallicana were unanimously accepted as orthodox confession and doctrinal writings.

During the discussion of the five disputed articles of the opposition of the Anglican and German deputies prevented any open and clear statement supralapsarischer theses, so the view before the Fall, God had determined that a majority of people will be discarded, so that eventually the synodal canons only a much infralapsarischen Prädestinationsbegriff, ie the divine predestination is effective only after the Fall, could set up.

Negotiating issues included the condemnation of the liberal doctrine of Arminianism, the new Dutch Bible translation ( Dutch: Statenvertaling, States Translation ), among others, by Wilhelm Baudaert and the church order of the Church, which later became the Nederlands Hervormde Kerk ( Dutch Reformed Church ) was. The Synod accepted essentially the doctrine of predestination by John Calvin.

Resolutions of the Synod, the Canons of Dort so-called, are still relevant today not only for the Reformed churches, but for the Church 's history.