We present here a shortened version of a speech given by Dr. Sinnema at the 2018 CRTS Conference. He presented the speech in first-person, dressed — and bearded — as the illustrious chair­man of the Synod of Dordt.

Vale! Goede morgen! I am Johannes Bogerman, the es­teemed, but most humble, president of the great Synode van Dordrecht. I am also a dominie of the church of Leeuwarden, in the most wonderful province of Friesland.

I have come today to lead you on a tour of this most ven­erable synod. It was the most significant synod of the whole Dutch Reformed tradition. And I was there at the helm!

This venerable synod has just concluded — a mere 400 years ago — so my memory of events is still very fresh.

The occasion for the Synod⤒🔗

The Synod of Dordt was convened in the Dutch city of Dordrecht, primarily to settle the Arminian controversy that had agitated The Netherlands for about twenty years. The controversy centred on the teachings of Jacobus Ar­minius, mainly about predestination and related points. The controversy arose in the 1590s, when Arminius was a pastor of the church of Amsterdam, and it became more heated after he became a professor of theology at Leiden University in 1603. At Leiden, Arminius clashed with his colleague Franciscus Gomarus. Arminius taught that pre­destination was based on God's foreknowledge of a believ­er's faith; Gomarus taught that predestination was simply a sovereign decision of God's will, with no consideration of the fall into sin.

After Arminius died, his followers drew up a document summarizing his views in Five Articles. It was called the Remonstrance of 1610. Because of this document, the Ar­minians became known as Remonstrants. Their Five Arti­cles were at the heart of the controversy, as it escalated all the way to the Synod of Dordt. The controversy spread from the university to the churches, to broader Dutch society, so much so that even the fish mongers in the Leiden market were arguing over predestination. The controversary be­came entangled with political issues, so that the country was even under threat of a civil war, with Johan van Old­enbarnevelt supporting the Remonstrant cause, and Prince Maurits of Orange supporting the Contra-Remonstrant or orthodox Reformed cause.

Convening of the Synod←⤒🔗

After almost a decade of strife at various ecclesiastical and political levels, the States General (the Dutch federal government) decided that a national synod would be held to settle the matter. The States General paid for most of the six and one-half month expenses, including travel ex­penses, room and board, and a daily stipend for the foreign delegates. It cost the States General well over 100,000 guil­ders. The Dutch provincial synods had to pay the expenses of their own delegates.

The Synod itself met in the Kloveniersdoelen, a grand building that was part of an armory of the local civic guard (or musketeers guild). Special benches were installed on the second floor for over 100 delegates. And each delegate was given the real luxury of a foot warmer with coals to ward off the bone-chilling cold of our dank Dordrecht winter. You might say it was a health hazard to attend our synod, as four of our delegates died in those months!

Participants at the Synod←⤒🔗

Eleven Dutch delegations came to our synod from the provincial synods and five Dutch academies. So, there were over fifty Dutch delegates. Some twenty-eight foreign del­egates from the Reformed churches in eight foreign territo­ries in the areas of present-day Switzerland, Germany, and Great Britain also attended. We even had a British bishop in attendance, the honourable George Carleton! The French king refused to let his Reformed theologians attend the synod, so we left their benches empty to show deference to them. The States General also sent eighteen delegates, to give directions about procedure and to ensure that the Synod did not impinge upon political affairs. The Dutch ministers, elders and theologians, as well as the foreign theologians, all had voting rights.

Thirteen leading Remonstrants (later fifteen) were also present, but not as delegates; rather, we summoned them be­fore the Synod to have their views examined and judged. We had to judge whether or not their views were in accord with the Word of God. Each delegate swore the following oath:

I promise before God, whom I believe and whom I wor­ship, as being the now present searcher of minds and hearts, that during the whole course of the proceed­ings of this synod, which will examine, judge and de­cide not only the Five Articles and all the differences resulting from them but also any other doctrine, I will use no human writings, but the Word of God alone as the sure and undoubted rule of faith. And during all these discussions, I will only aim at the glory of God, the peace of the Church, and especially the preserva­tion of the purity of doctrine. So help me, my Saviour, Jesus Christ! I beseech him to assist me always in this by his Spirit!

Language of the synod←⤒🔗

We conducted this venerable synod in the Latin lan­guage, since that was the only language everyone knew. It was most unfortunate that the foreign theologians could not speak our Dutch language! Latin was the language of the universities where our ministers were trained, whether at Leiden University, the Geneva Academy, Heidelberg Uni­versity, Cambridge, and even at our most renowned Frisian University at Franeker.

Actually, my preference was that we speak Fries at the synod; Fries, ah, the language of the Garden of Eden! But, since all sinners were cast out of the Garden, now only the good Frisian people know the language.

Phases of the Synod's proceedings←⤒🔗

Our venerable Synod met for six and a half months from November 13, 1618 to May 29, 1619 — twenty-nine weeks, in a total of 180 half-day sessions. The general pro­ceedings of the synod consisted of four phases:

1. In the Pro-Acta sessions, which lasted for just over three weeks before the cited Remonstrants arrived, we fo­cussed on several non-doctrinal ecclesiastical matters such as a new Dutch Bible translation, the baptism of slave children, theological education, and catechizing.
2. After the arrival of the cited Remonstrants on Decem­ber 6, the Synod was largely entangled in procedural de­bates with them for five weeks, until I expelled them from the synod on January 14.
3. After their expulsion, for almost four months we fo­cussed on examining Remonstrant writings and preparing the Synod's response to the Remonstrant case. Based on advice from each of the nineteen delegations, the Synod issued its judgment, the Canons of Dordt. Ah! A document dear to my heart! We also addressed other discipline cases, and there was a review of the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism.
4. In the Post-Acta sessions, after the foreign theologians returned home, the Dutch delegates focussed on vari­ous ecclesiastical matters of relevance to the Dutch churches, especially a revision of the church order.

Debates with the Remonstrants←⤒🔗

The procedural debates that took place between Decem­ber 6 and January 14 were very contentious. And I had to manage it all!

On December 7, Episcopius delivered a long and te­dious speech to explain the motives and background of the Remonstrant position. After the speech, I asked him for a copy, but he said he had no other copy. Then we found out he had another rough copy, so I naturally accused him of lying, which he strongly denied. He contended that he had said he had no other copy "neatly enough written out." But, if you ask me, I never heard him say that, and he was right there in front of me!

Episcopius said the Remonstrants wanted to have a conference on the points in dispute. I firmly reminded him that the intention of the Synod was not to hold a conference between equal parties; rather, the Remonstrants were cited before the Synod to have their views judged. A few days lat­er, they demanded that twelve conditions be met before they could recognize the Synod.

The next day, the Remonstrants came with a formal protest that categorically rejected the authority of the Syn­od as a legitimate judge of the controversy. We considered their protest and declared it groundless. For the Synod, the crux of the issue was whether the church has the right, in a case of ecclesiastical discipline such as this, to judge doctri­nal views that deviate from our confessional standards. Of course, we had the right, and solemn obligation, to guard the church against false teaching!

Still, for all of December, the Remonstrants kept rais­ing procedural objections. They would not explain their views. Then the States General, on January 1, 1619, ap­proved the actions of the Synod and ordered the Remon­strants to submit; if they would not do so, the States Gen­eral resolved that their opinions should be examined from their writings.

We delayed implementing this decision by still try­ing to get the Remonstrants to answer questions about their views on the floor of synod. After two more weeks of procedural wrangling, I finally lost my patience. I angrily expelled the Remonstrants from the Synod in a most pas­sionate speech. I rehearsed the Synod's dealings with the Remonstrants, and accused them of great obstinacy, deceit, and lies. Finally, I expelled them with the words, "In the name of the state delegates and the Synod, you are dis­missed. Get out! Get out!" As they were leaving, I overheard one of the Remonstrants mutter, "Out from this assembly of the wicked." They were not a bit happy; but I believe we gave them a fair chance to explain themselves, and they simply did not want to cooperate.

Formulating the Canons of Dort←⤒🔗

After the Remonstrants were expelled, our venerable Synod spent more than three months carefully examining their views from their writings and preparing our judgment on the Remonstrant case - popularly known as the Canons of Dort.

I would love to tell you about the elaborate process that was followed by the Synod in drafting the Canons. At first, I took it upon myself to draw up an initial draft, but the Synod saw fit to appoint a drafting committee. Each part of the Canons then went through three drafts, and all nine­teen delegations, including the foreign delegates, had the opportunity to suggest changes to each draft.

This whole process took our committee three weeks. Then in mid-April the venerable Synod again met in full session. Together we made some final changes to chapter II - some sticky points there. At long last, on April 23, every delegate approved and signed each chapter of the Canons. We, again with the foreign delegates, also reviewed and fully affirmed that the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism fully agree with the Word of God.

With thanks to God, on May 6, we ended this phase of the Synod with a solemn procession to the Grote Kerk of Dordrecht. After I offered a half-hour long Latin prayer, the secretaries of the Synod took turns reading aloud, until they were hoarse, the whole text of the Canons, plus the names of all who had signed. Each man doffed his hat as his name was mentioned. It was such a relief to be done. Soli Deo Gloria!

After the Canons were adopted, our venerable Synod drew up a sentence deposing the cited Remonstrants from their offices in the ministry. After the Synod, the provin­cial synods deposed 200 more Remonstrant ministers. But, alas, they soon formed their own separate church, the Re­monstrant Brotherhood.

A few days later, we dismissed the foreign theologians with generous words of thanks for their willingness to come and help us deal with our crisis here in The Netherlands. Then followed a magnificent banquet. The whole Synod was plentifully treated with meat and drink, and their ears were entertained with agreeable stringed music, and women singing from behind the curtains. The state delegates pre­sented each of the foreign theologians with a costly gold medallion displaying a picture of our venerable Synod.

Post-Acta sessions←⤒🔗

After our main work was done and the foreign delegates had departed, we revised and added some articles to the previous church order of 1586. The result is our wonderful Church Order of Dort, which would govern church life for many generations.

We also approved a form for calling ministers, and a form for the baptism of adults. We made rules for Sabbath-keeping which we asked the States General to implement. We drew up new forms of subscription, which stated that our Canons of Dort, along with the Catechism and Confes­sion, fully agree with the Word of God. Finally, we request­ed that the States General approve the convening of the next national synod. Sadly, that did not happen for about 200 years!

The Acts of the Synod←⤒🔗

After the Synod, the official documents of the Synod were gathered together and bound in seventeen folio vol­umes. These were kept in a large kist (trunk) that was secured with eight locks. Each of the seven provinces and the States General were given keys. Once every three years, representa­tives from these eight bodies would come with their keys to The Hague to open the kist and check the condition of the archives for mold or vermin. (Now these official documents of Dort are kept in the Utrechts Archief and all of the original documents are at last being edited and published under the oversight of a certain Dr. Don Sinnema and two other schol­ars, who manage a large team of transcribers.)

We hope you enjoyed getting a feel for the illustrious Syn­od of Dordt that met 400 years ago. If you are interested in the full version of this speech, please visit the CRTS website and you will find the video under our "Resources" section.