The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled ''The Decision of the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was a European transnational Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. ...

on the Five Main Points of

Doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

in Dispute in the Netherlands'', is an exposition of orthodox Reformed

soteriology Soteriology (; ' "salvation" from wikt:σωτήρ, σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and wikt:λόγος, λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of Doctrine, religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special sign ...

against

Arminianism Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was origina ...

, by the National Synod held in the Dutch city of

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

in 1618–1619. At the time, Dordrecht was often referred to in English as in local dialects as ''Dort'' or Dordt. The Canons are of a similar nature to the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

, in that they were written to settle a theological controversy (

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

in the case of the Nicene Creed and the Arminian controversy in the case of Dort), affirming and vindicating the orthodox position.

Background

These canons are a judicial decision on the doctrinal points in dispute in the Arminian controversy of that day. Following the death of Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609), his followers set forth in 1610 the

Five Articles of Remonstrance 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

. The five articles formulated their points of departure from the Confessional Reformed beliefs of the Belgic Confession that they had sworn ministerial oaths to teach and uphold. The Canons of Dort represent the judgment of the Synod against this Remonstrance. The Synod consisted of eighty-four Reformed divines (fifty-eight of whom were Dutch) and eighteen lay assessors. The States General of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

requested the attendance of foreign representatives from countries with significant Reformed populations. In later years, Arminian theology received official acceptance by the State and has since continued in various forms within Protestantism, especially within the Methodist churches.

Content

The Canons consist of four chapters which serve as a response to the five points of the Remonstrance (the response to the third and fourth articles are combined), offering a detailed explanation of the Reformed perspective on five 'heads' of doctrine, each head consisting of a positive and a negative part, and a conclusion exhorting Christians to humility and reverence for the doctrine of predestination. * First Head of Doctrine: ''of Divine Predestination.'' * Second Head of Doctrine: ''of the Death of Christ and the Redemption of Man thereby.'' * Third and Fourth Heads of Doctrine: ''of the Corruption of Man, his Conversion to God, and the Manner thereof.'' * Fifth Head of Doctrine: ''of the Perseverance of the Saints.'' Cornelis de Man - Interior of the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam - 856 - Mauritshuis

Cornelis de Man - Interior of the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam - 856 - Mauritshuis

The canons were not intended to be a comprehensive explanation of Reformed doctrine, but only an exposition on the five points of doctrine in dispute. The five points of Calvinism, remembered by the

mnemonic A mnemonic device ( ), memory trick or memory device is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory, often by associating the information with something that is easier to remember. It makes use of e ...

''TULIP'' ( total depravity,

unconditional election Unconditional election (also called sovereign election or unconditional grace) is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people t ...

, limited atonement,

irresistible grace Irresistible grace (also called effectual grace, effectual calling, or efficacious grace) is a doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those wh ...

and perseverance of the saints) and popularised by a 1963 booklet, are popularly said to summarise the 1618 Canons of Dort. While related to the 1618 Canons of Dort, the five points of Calvinism do not actually come from the 1618 document itself but from an earlier document and correction against the Arminians during the same controversy. The five points of Calvinism comes from the Counter Remonstrance of 1611.

Significance

Today the Canons of Dort form part of the Three Forms of Unity, the confessional standards of many of the Reformed churches around the world, including the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Their continued use as a standard sets apart the Reformed Churches from those adhering to the doctrines of Jacob Arminius, the Remonstrants. W. A. Curtis in his ''History of Creeds and Confessions of Faith'' describes the merits of the Canons thus.

he Canons'tone is as admirable as their eloquence is noble and sustained. Their ethical sensitiveness and zeal for the Divine glory, even at the cost of man's dignity, are manifest. Their courage in facing the problems of election and sin in the light of Scriptural revelation—problems which practically all non-Calvinistic systems discreetly elude or ignore—is worthy of the high spirit and noble ardour of the Dutch nation then emerging from their long struggle for independence.

References

External links

Christian Reformed Church: The Canons of DortThe Canons of Dort in Latin, Dutch, English, Russian and UkrainianThe Canons of Dort in Vietnamese Giáo Luật của Dordt (Dort) bằng Tiếng ViệtAudio Recording of the Canons of Dort (mp3)
1619 works 17th-century Christian texts Synod of Dort Three Forms of Unity Texts in Latin {{Calvinism-stub

Background

Content

Significance

References

Further reading

External links