This publication is the third installment of a projected nine-volume series. The nine volumes of the series will undoubtedly include more than that number of physical publications, however, as this present installment is the first of two parts comprising volume 2.
To say that this series is ambitious is an understatement. The goal of the series is to publish modern, critical editions of all of the published acts and proceedings of the Synod of Dordt as well as the vast body of supplementary materials, including unpublished reports, conference working papers, diaries, correspondence, and contemporaneous narratives. Many of these are available only in manuscript form, and so a great deal of effort is involved with transcribing, correcting, and formatting these materials.
Moreover, the scope of these sources is vast. To date, three physical volumes have been published. The first, appearing in 2014, contains the Acta Authentica of the Synod, published for the first time. The volume also includes the Acts of the Synod published in 1620, which were significantly edited and abridged from the Acta Authentica. Other materials appear, including an authorized topical summary (Acta Contracta) as well as the minutes of the synodical delegation from the Netherlands. Together these materials, with editorial front matter and reference apparatus, exceed 500 published pages.
The second published volume appeared in 2017 and is actually the second part of volume 2. This publication includes texts related to the early sessions of the Synod, covering issues related to a variety of aspects of church life, including the baptism of the children of slaves, catechetical instruction, and Bible translation. These materials conclude with the earliest sessions relating to the most famous controversies of the Synod relating to the Remonstrants and disputes over matters related to predestination, justification, and salvation more broadly. These early sessions focus mostly on procedural matters, presentations and engagements with the views of the Remonstrants, and feedback from the various delegations as to how to proceed. This volume exceeds 900 pages of material, most of which is appearing in published form for the first time.
The latest volume published in 2023 is the first part of volume 2 and covers resolutions from the States General relating to the convening of the Synod as well as various matters forming the context for the need for the Synod, notably including the case of Johan van Oldenbarneveldt (1547–1619), communications from various governments and officials relating to civil and theological controversies, and invitations to send representatives and form delegations to an international synod. This volume also includes the invitations that were sent to the delegations from various nations and principalities, including the British, French, Palatine, Hesse, Swiss, Bremen, Genevan, and others. There are also materials related to the financing of the Synod and its mandate, as well as the location in Dordrecht. These materials (including editorial apparatus and introductory texts) exceed 800 pages, which most certainly demonstrates the wisdom and practical necessity of dividing the contents of volume 2 into two separate parts.
The materials published in these volumes are critical editions where appropriate (e.g., there is some variation among source materials and stages of publication). Many of the letters, diaries, and notes are transcribed from hand-written texts. As the Preface to this publication indicates, for instance, “Volume II/1 is undoubtedly the most complex one in this series. This is due, first of all, to the major challenge of transcribing the very difficult hand of the States General Griffier Cornelis van Aerssen – a task capably done by Dr. Johanna Roelvink – but also to the challenge of locating a considerable amount of correspondence, scattered in a variety of archives in the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland, relating to the invitations of foreign lands to send some theologians to aid the synod” (XXV).
The texts included and reproduced in these volumes are presented in their original languages, most often Latin and Dutch but also occasionally English and French as well as others. Each of the selections helpfully includes details about the material. Letters, for instance, include dates, the archival source, and summaries of omitted sections and brief summaries of the contents.
The Synod of Dordt is undoubtedly one of the most infamous and misunderstood ecclesiastical assemblies in Christian history. It is known for being the occasion for the refutation and sanction against the views of the Remonstrants, associated with the theology of Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609). However as indicated by these already published volumes – as well as those still projected to be finished – the contexts, contents, and consequences of the Synod of Dordt are much more complex and substantive than understood in popular and even some scholarly imaginations.
A dramatic picture emerges of controversies and challenges relating to matters of eternal significance, but also of more mundane issues of diplomacy, international relations, social status, and cultural tradition. The Synod of Dordt not only codified canons contradicting the Articles of the Remonstrants but also forged a Reformed confessional identity around the Three Forms of Unity (Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dordt). It also formalized a church order that would be influential down to the present day, as well as a Dutch-language Bible that would also exercise great religious as well as cultural influence in the Netherlands and beyond. As these documents make clear, the Synod engaged with many more issues beyond these as well.
The Synod of Dordt was perhaps the highpoint of international Reformed ecclesiastical cooperation and unity in the early modern period. It is an assembly that continues to have significance today and these volumes open up important new avenues of research into this understudied and underappreciated gathering. We can only hope that this ambitious project will one day come to full realization.
