Synod of Dordt Conference

  • Friday, September 14, 2018
  • 12:00 PM–5:00 PM
  • Calvin Theological Seminary
  • $25

More information

This two-day conference to commemorate the Synod of Dordt and its work brings together a range of experts who will explain in accessible presentations what the Synod did, why this gathering was significant at the time, and how this four-hundredth anniversary should be commemorated in churches and communities today.

About the Conference

Four hundred years ago, in November 1618, eighty-seven delegates from across Reformed Europe came together in the Dutch city of Dordrecht to hold one of the largest and most significant international Reformed gatherings in the early modern era. Although the Synod of Dordt is most well-known today for affirming double predestination, rejecting the teachings of Jacob Arminius, and producing the Canons of Dordt, its work encompassed a broad range of issues, including church order, catechisms, Bible translation, theological training, and more. This two-day conference to commemorate the Synod of Dordt and its work brings together a range of experts who will explain in accessible presentations what the Synod did, why this gathering was significant at the time, and how this four-hundredth anniversary should be commemorated in churches and communities today. Presentations are geared to the general public and will include visuals, music, panel discussions, and a special exhibit of Statenbijbels, the official Dutch Bible commissioned by the Synod and first published in 1637.

This conference is open to pastors, faculty/staff, undergraduate students, graduate students, and general community members. It will be held on the afternoon of Friday September 14 and the morning of Saturday September 15 at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. The conference registration fee of $25 includes Friday night dinner. (Registration fee is waived for students/staff/faculty at Calvin College/Calvin Theological Seminary/Western Theological Seminary.)

Co-sponsored by the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, Calvin Theological Seminary, Western Theological Seminary, the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and the Calvin College Seminars in Christian Scholarship

Registration

  • To Register Click Here
  • Registration Fee: $25 (fee is waived for faculty/staff/students of Calvin College/Calvin Theological Seminary/Western Theological Seminary)
  • Payment Methods: Mail check to Meeter Center, 1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 OR pay by cash or check upon arrival at the conference

Conference Participants and their Topics Include:

~Donald Sinnema (Emeritus, Trinity Christian College): "A Virtual Tour of the Synod of Dort"

~Paul Fields (Curator, H. Henry Meeter Center): "The Statenbijbel and its history"

~Keith Stanglin (Austin Graduate School of Theology): "The Remonstrant perspective"

~Randall Engle (North Hills CRC): "Song of the Synod"

~Fred Van Lieburg (Vrije Universitaet): "Church Polity and the Synod"

~Suzanne McDonald (Western Theological Seminary): "The Canons of Dort for the Church Today: Polemics, Pastoring, and Pulling up TULIPs"

~Matthew van Maastricht (RCA pastor), Kath Smith (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship) and Karin Maag (Director,H. Henry Meeter Center): "Commemorating the Synod of Dordt Panel Discussion"