The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by many Calvinist churches.

History

From 1618 to 1619, the Dutch government on behalf of the Dutch Reformed Church, called and convened 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. ...

. Dutch delegates, along with twenty-seven Calvinist representatives from eight other countries, met at this

, where they collectively summarized their views in what was called the " Canons of Dort". This same Synod then added these Canons to two other documents, both of which were in common use by the Dutch Church at the time: the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and the Belgic Confession (1561). In so doing, the Synod sought: # to formalize their understanding of the

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

teachings on the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

, the

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

, predestination, justification, and the church; # to allow members to gather together in unity around fundamental, shared beliefs; # to relegate certain non-essential ideas (political positions, educational platforms, etc.) to a lower status to prevent the churches from needlessly splittingthe forms also provide a basis upon which ecumenical efforts can proceed based on whether a body accepts the essentials laid out in these forms The different documents each serve different purposes. *The

Catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

is written in a question-and-answer format to help explain biblical teaching to children and those new to the faith. *The Confession explains various biblical teachings. *The Canons are a series of technical responses to specific theological controversies raised by the Dutch Remonstrants (see History of the Calvinist-Arminian debate).

Four Forms of Unity

Some Reformed denominations have included the

Westminster Confession The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it beca ...

to their confessional standards. These include the Christian Reformed Church of Australia and the Reformed Churches of New Zealand.

References

External links

* Text and description of the Three Forms from Philip Schaff's ''Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches'' at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library:
Belgic Confession
(in the original French with a translation into English)

(in the original German with a translation into English)

(in the original Latin with a translation into English)
Audio Recordings of the Three Forms of Unity
in MP3 format {{reformed confessions