1618–1619

The Synod of Dort

Maurice of Nassau's faction consolidated power and arrested Oldenbarnevelt and Hugo Grotius. Grotius later escaped in a book chest. The Dutch States General then convened a synod at Dordrecht, which sat from Nov. 1618 to May 1619.

The synod had 84 members, including foreign delegates from England, Scotland, the Palatinate, Hesse, Nassau, Bremen, Emden and Switzerland. French Huguenots were barred by Louis XIII. The Remonstrants were present only as defendants.

Over 154 sessions the synod condemned Arminianism. It formulated the five points later known by the acronym TULIP: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.

Oldenbarnevelt was executed, and about a hundred Arminian ministers were banished. Freedom of worship was restored to the Remonstrants from 1631. A new Dutch Bible translation was also commissioned.

The synod's canons became a touchstone of Reformed orthodoxy. They later influenced the Westminster Confession.