The events of the Synod of Dordt in 1618-19 only make sense within the larger context of the Reformation. Here are some of the most important dates that shaped the course of the Reformation right up to the time of the synod.

  • 1516 Erasmus publishes Greek New Testament
  • 1517 Luther publishes his 95 theses on indulgences
  • 1520 Charles V becomes ruler of the Netherlands
  • 1522 The Inquisition is set up in the Netherlands
  • 1527 beginnings of Anabaptism in the Netherlands
  • 1534 Henry VIII declares himself head of the church in England
  • 1536 Calvin arrives in Geneva
  • ~1544 the first Reformed churches emerge in the Netherlands
  • 1561 Guy de Bres writes the Belgic Confession
  • 1563 the Heidelberg Catechism appears in print
  • 1566 Wonderyear: Dutch Calvinists hold open-air preaching and destroy religious images
  • 1567 Duke of Alva sent by Spain to root out heretics and those responsible for iconoclasm
  • 1567 Guy de Bres is martyred in the southern Netherlands
  • 1571 first Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church meets in Emden, outside the Netherlands
  • 1572 outbreak of the Dutch revolt against Spain
  • 1573 Philip II recalls the Duke of Alba after 5,000 executions
  • 1573 Dutch revolt leader William of Orange moves from Lutheranism to the Reformed faith
  • 1579 formation of the Union of Utrecht - seven northern Dutch provinces band together
  • 1587 around one tenth of the Dutch population belongs to the Reformed church
  • 1591 Jacobus Arminius begins preaching on Romans 7
  • 1605 Calls for revision of the confessions and catechism of the Dutch Reformed Church
  • 1607 Oldenbarnevelt thinks he has the momentum to call a synod to revise the Belgic Confession
  • 1607 Utrecht guildsmen form militia to purge the town council of regents with Arminian leanings
  • 1609 Start of twelve-year truce between Spain and the Dutch Republic
  • 1609 Jacobus Arminius dies
  • 1610 Remonstrant Conrad Vorstius succeeds Arminius as theology professor at Leiden
  • 1610 Arminians ask for freedom to preach, issue Remonstrance to the States of Holland"
  • 1612 Simon Episcopius becomes theology professor in Leiden
  • 1617 Oldenbarnevelt leads Holland and West Friesland to issue The Sharp Resolution arguing they can levy their own armies as sovereign provinces and requiring officials, magistrates, and soldiers to sign an oath of obedience to the states of Holland
  • 1618 Coup led by Prince Maurice of Nassau purges Arminians from town councils
  • August 29, 1618 detention of Oldenbarnevelt and dismissal of his soldiers by Maurice of Nassau
  • November 13, 1618 Synod of Dordt opens
  • January 14, 1619 Arminian faction dismissed from the Synod of Dordt
  • April 23 adoption of the Canons of Dordt
  • May 13, 1619 Oldenbarnevelt beheaded
  • May 29 Synod of Dordt closes
  • 1619 around two hundred Remonstrant pastors deposed
  • 1621 war with Spain begins again
  • 1626 Simon Episcopius returns to the Netherlands to be the pastor of a Remonstrant church in Rotterdam and later rector of the Remonstrant college in Amsterdam
  • 1637 Statenvertaling publication