8 - The Synod of Dort

Summary

The Synod of Dort, which met in the United Provinces of the Netherlands from November 1618 to May 1619 to settle theological issues threatening to plunge that country into civil war, was convened with the encouragement of King James and attended by representatives of the Church of England. These representatives played an active part in the synod and helped to formulate its decrees. On their return home, they received approbation and tangible rewards from the king, who expressed considerable satisfaction with their work. As spokesmen for a theological tradition which had developed for over a half century at the two English universities and in the Church of England, they had reason to feel that theirs was the faith of a broad section of English Protestants. Yet within a few years the synod had become the focus of a bitter controversy that threatened to split the English Church while it coincided with a political and constitutional crisis of ominous proportions. Despite the attention given in recent years to the synod and its consequences in England and the Netherlands, it is still not entirely clear why King James sent British representatives to Dort and what he hoped to achieve by doing so. Compelling evidence in contemporary documents suggests that these actions were a significant part of his larger plan for religious and political pacification.