From the Archives: Leading Figures at the Synod of Dort

Editor’s note: in this 400th anniversary year of the convening of the Synod of Dort, it is fitting for us to reprint this essay by Simon Kistemaker (1930–2017), originally published fifty years ago in Crisis in the Reformed Churches: Essays in Commemoration of the Great Synod of Dort, 1618-1619 (edited by P. Y. DeJong; Grand Rapids: Reformed Fellowship, 1968). In this piece written, before his forty-year tenure on the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary (1971–2011), Dr .Kistemaker provides brief biographical snapshots of seven of the major participants at Dort, both on the Calvinist and Remonstrant sides of the debate. These colorful profiles underscore the drama that characterized this landmark gathering of international Calvinism.

Johannes Bogerman (1576-1637)

“He was a very remarkable man physically and mentally. He had a fine presence – was tall, straight, and well proportioned. His forehead was high. His features were expressive and his eyes sparkling and piercing. A magnificent beard, of a light color like his hair, descended to his waist. He had a full voice, and his gestures, when he was excited (which was not seldom, for he was a man of strong passions), were very impressive. With intense convictions, he was impulsive and imperious in his manner of uttering them.”^[1]

Bogerman was born at Uplewert, East Friesland, in 1576 into a family which had several vocations to the ministry: father Johannes Bogerman became pastor of the Reformed Church at Bolsward in 1580; the junior Johannes wished to follow his father’s calling, and blessed with a clear mind and phenomenal memory, he enrolled at the Academy of Franeker on May 23, 1591. Besides studying Latin, he became an ardent student of Hebrew under the tutelage of Drusius. He stayed at Franeker for five years, studied successively at the universities and academies of Heidelberg, Geneva (where he listened to Theodore Beza, then 80 years old), Zurich, Lausanne, Oxford, and Cambridge. During the late summer of 1599 he returned to the Netherlands as a candidate to the ministry; soon afterwards he accepted a call to the Reformed Church of Sneek, where he was ordained to the Gospel ministry on September 23, 1599.

This gifted man who served three congregations and who was delegated to provincial and national synods, received an appointment as professor of theology at the Academy of Franeker in 1617. However, at that time the States-General as well as the consistory of the congregation he served did not want to let him go. In 1633 he received another appointment to the Academy of Franeker; but because of his task of translating the Scriptures, he could not begin his professorate until December 7, 1636. Nine months later on September 11, 1637, he passed away.

Johannes Bogerman is chiefly known for his role at the Synod of Dort, where he was elected president; less well-known, yet of equal importance, is his work of translating the Scriptures. At the sessions of synod his qualities of leadership were displayed, but in translating the Old Testament – which was primarily his work – Bogerman demonstrated his biblical scholarship.

Delegated by the provincial Synod of Friesland to the National Synod of Dort (1618-1619), Bogerman was elected president during the second session together with Jacob Rolandus (first assessor) and Herman Faukelius (second assessor), and Sebastian Dammannus (first clerk) and Festus Hommius (second clerk).^[2] As president he revealed his personality dramatically: during the sixth session and the one hundred fifty-third, Bogerman led in prayers that expressed his deepest convictions; during the lengthy sessions Bogerman conducted the proceedings with firm hand, especially at the time when he denied the Remonstrants the right to be present at synod as delegates. The passionate Bogerman lost his temper during the fifty-seventh session on Monday morning the fourteenth of January 1619. With thundering voice the president expostulated,

You boast that many foreign divines did not refuse to grant your request. Their moderation arose from a misunderstanding. They now declare that they were deceived by you. They say that you are no longer worthy of being heard by the synod. You may pretend what you please, but the great point of your obstinacy is that you regard the synod as a party in the case. Thus you have long delayed us. You have been treated with all gentleness, friendliness, toleration, patience, and simplicity. Go as you came. You began with lies and you end with them. You are full of fraud and double-dealing. You are not worthy that the synod should treat with you further. Depart! Leave! You began with a lie, with a lie you ended! Go!^[3]

The effect was startling, for the Remonstrants stood up and left – not only the floor of Synod – against the ordinances of synod they left the city of Dordrecht.

Yet Bogerman was a peace-loving president, who through patience and kindness was able to control the emotional and even quarrelsome natures of the delegates. A controversy between Sibrandus Lubbertus and Johannes Maccovius, for example, was brought to a peaceful conclusion towards the end of the synod.^[4]

Simon Episcopius (1583-1643)

As chief spokesman for the Remonstrants, Simon Episcopius was told by the States of Holland and West Friesland to be in Dordrecht by November 1, 1618. However, he learned that the synod would not convene on the first day of the month but on the thirteenth; therefore, he met with a number of Remonstrants in Leiden on the eleventh of November to decide how they should conduct themselves at synod.^[5] They decided to send a large number of Remonstrants to Dordrecht, who would have the freedom to give an account of their teachings. When Episcopius, with some other Remonstrants, arrived on the eighteenth of November, he learned that Synod had decided on the fifteenth of that month to request the presence of thirteen Remonstrants: three from Gelderland, five (among whom was Episcopius) from South Holland, two from North Holland, two from Overijsel, and one from Walloon churches.^[6] Episcopius received a written summons from synod’s moderamen in which he was requested to be present “within fourteen days after receipt of this letter, without tardiness or excuse.”^[7] More than two weeks later (to be precise the seventh of December during the twenty-third session) Episcopius with the other twelve Remonstrants appeared and took a place opposite the president, Johannes Bogerman. In fact, Episcopius acted as if he were the elected president of a Remonstrant synod. Episcopius pleaded innocence, calling upon the name of the Savior: “Dear Jesus, from thy throne how much hast thou heard or seen against us, simple and innocent people.”^[8] Later in his speech he asked for freedom, “We have not kept before us, have not wished, have not sought anything else than that golden liberty which keeps the middle road between servitude and licentiousness.”^[9] to He concluded his oration by saying,

Therefore whoever does not come here in such a frame of mind that he is ready to permit anyone to speak freely because he does not favor him, and judges or puts wrong to him whom he loves, truly he is not worthy that he has a voice in this gathering. Our friend must be Plato, our friend Socrates, our friend the synod. Above aU our rock must be the Truth.

After the delivery. President Bogerman asked Episcopius for a copy of the oration. His reply, however, was that the copy which he had was not neat enough to be handed to the clerks; yet upon further deliberation, he submitted a rewritten copy to the President (which document, reportedly, was not the original). Bogerman received the copy almost a week later (December 12); however, he took the opportunity to admonish Episcopius for speaking out of turn – as he had not yet received permission from Synod to deliver his oration – and for hurling accusations against fellow-ministers so as to seek a following and to embitter his opponents.^[10]

During the one hundred thirty-eighth session (April 24, 1619), synod expressed its feelings toward the Remonstrants; but Episcopius had to wait for the final text in The Hague where he was asked to sign a document to lay the doctrinal controversy to rest. Episcopius refused to sign, was declared an insurgent, and was banished from the Netherlands. For at least six years he lived abroad in Antwerp and Cologne, to return to the Netherlands in 1625.

Although Episcopius was a witty debater, a congenial controversialist, and a knowledgeable student of the Scriptures, his theology was unscriptural and uncertain. His conception of the plan of salvation was this: all people may avail themselves of election if they believe in Christ, the Redeemer. He argues that the ethical aspect of Christianity is more important than the doctrinal, that Christianity is not so much a doctrine as a life.

Already in 1609, Episcopius had been so fervent in theological debate that he seriously offended his professor Sibrandus Lubbertus on the interpretation of Romans 7 and was forced to leave the Academy of Franeker in February of the following year.^[11] 12 Also, because of his Arminian beliefs he was at one time driven from Amsterdam by a blacksmith, attempting to brand him with a hot iron and shouting: “Stop the Arminian disturber of the Church.” Yet amidst all the opposition, his supporters were strong enough to gain him an appointment to the University of Leiden, where he occupied the position of Professor of Theology vacated by Franciscus Gomarus. In 1612, Simon Episcopius began his lectures at the University of Leiden, where he stayed until his exile seven years later. After his banishment, he provided leadership in the Remonstrant Church. He consecrated the church of Amsterdam and became the head of the growing Remonstrant Seminary in that city in 1634. Episcopius died there on April 4, 1643.

Franciscus Gomarus (1563-1641)

Years of theological training at many universities prepared Franciscus Gomarus professionally and spiritually for such tasks in the church as pastor, teacher, leader, and defender of the truth. In Strasburg he took a course in humanistic studies under Johann, Sturm; at Neustadt he sat at the feet of Zacharius Ursinus; he also studied at Oxford, Cambridge, and Heidelberg. After serving the Dutch refugee church in Frankfurt from 1586 to 1594, he accepted the appointment to become the third professor of theology at the University of Leiden. A few weeks after receiving the appointment, he was promoted to the doctorate in theology at the University of Heidelberg.

When the pestilence of 1602 took the lives of the other two theological professors at Leiden, the Board of Curators appointed Jacobus Arminius to fill the vacancy of at least one of them. Gomarus had misgivings about the unscriptural doctrines of Arminius because of the latter’s exegesis of Romans 7. Friction between Gomarus and Arminius soon became apparent as it centered on the doctrine of predestination. For a time peace prevailed between the two professors when they declared before the Board of Curators that in the fundamental doctrines they did not differ. However, peace was of short duration; the doctrine of predestination was again discussed, first by Arminius and later by Gomarus.^[12] The breach which once was healed seemed to be permanent – according to Gomarus, Arminus did not teach in harmony with Scripture and the Confessions.

In disputes, Arminius displayed equanimity; he assured the audience that he did not seek quarrels and disharmony, and he asserted that he would not be the cause of a schism in the church. Gomarus, however, though his arguments against Arminius were Scripturally sound, expressed himself passionately and vindictively.

Yet in all fairness, at the Synod of Dort Gomarus did not take a frontline position, shunned publicity, and avoided militancy.^[13] As in his conflicts with Arminius, at the synod he preferred to remain aloof from controversy, hesitated to enter the arena of debate; only when he felt that continued silence would be detrimental to the cause of truth did he speak, but then strongly and forthrightly. When the Remonstrants appeared before synod, however, and the delegates heard the oration of Episcopius and his associates, Gomarus remained remarkably quiet. Only once did he ask for the floor, and that was in reaction to the assertion of Episcopius that the Calvinists taught absolute reprobation. No one, according to Gomarus, taught that God rejected man absolutely without regard to man’s sin. Before and after the appearance of the Remonstrants, Gomarus spoke on various issues on the floor of synod. Prior to the arrival of the Remonstrants, for example, while synod debated the feasibility of a new Bible translation, Gomarus declared that he opposed the inclusion of the apocryphal books in the new translation, and that the name “Jehovah” should be maintained and not be translated by “Lord.” He was appointed revisor of the Old Testament, which assignment suggests his scholarliness and erudition. After the departure of the Remonstrants, Gomarus entered into a spirited debate with foreign delegate Matthias Martinius, professor of theology at Bremen, concerning the execution of election. At first the debates were rather militant, for in the opinion of Gomarus and others, Martinius leaned toward the Remonstrant doctrines. When the English delegates reasoned with Martinius privately, the latter promised meekness at synod so that no disunity would result.^[14] Gomarus, though generally reserved, continued to be a zealous defender of the Reformed faith.

Life in academic surroundings was not easy for Gomarus. After a six-year period of strife, Arminius passed away on October 19, 1609. In his place, the Board of Curators wished to appoint Conrad Vorstius, professor of theology at Steinfurt. Because Vorstius also followed Arminius in his teachings, the Board of Curators, wishing to avoid further debate, precluded the advice and opinion of Gomarus. Hence, when the appointment was conferred and subsequently accepted, Gomarus resigned his post as professor of theology to bepome pastor of the Reformed Church at Middelburg. Both the schools of Saumur and Groningen had been observing Gomarus and desired to have him as professor of theology. In 1615, he received an appointment from the Seminary at Saumur; and no sooner had he accepted the appointment than Groningen offered him a similar post. He stayed at Saumur for three years and then in 1618 went to the University of Groningen, where he taught until his death on January 11, 1641.

Gomarus was known for his vigorous and able defense of the Reformed faith – he remained a supralapsarian until his death – and for his great erudition church and university relied on him for counsel and instruction.

Sibrandus Lubbertus (1555-1625)

In the year 1555 at Langwarden, East Friesland, Sibet Lubben was born into a soundly Reformed family. His parents soon discovered that young Sibet was endowed with keen intellect, which, as they rightly observed, had to be developed in the famous school of Molanus in the city of Bremen. At this school Lubbertus learned Ciceronian Latin and Greek; he mastered these languages so that his Latin was comparable to that of Cicero and he was able to correspond in Greek. From Bremen he went to Wittenberg, and shortly afterwards to Geneva, where he studied under Theodore Beza. For reasons unknown, he stayed in Geneva for only one year, traveled by way of Basle to Marburg, where he learned about the doctrinal conflicts between the Lutherans and the Calvinists. Two years later he enrolled at the Calvinistic Seminary of Neustadt, to study under Zacharias Ursinus. Here he. perfected his knowledge of Hebrew, so that on occasion he excelled his master Ursinus. At Neustadt, Lubbertus completed his theological studies and was ready for service in the church; also, in those years his character was formed through academic interests and by his acquaintance with eminent contemporary theologians.

During the spring of 1582, Lubbertus, having declined a call to Brussels, accepted the invitation to become pastor of the church at Emden with the special mandate to minister to the spiritual needs of the sick. But the States of Friesland also desired to have this promising theologian; they called him indirectly to establish a Reformed seminary in Friesland and directly to be minister-at-large in that state. In November 1583 he received the call and in May of the following year he accepted. The acceptance of this call marks the beginning of a lifelong career in church and academy of Friesland. On the twenty-ninth of July 1585, he began his work at the newly founded Academy of Franeker with two other professors. His task was to teach Old Testament and New Testament because of his peerless knowledge of Hebrew and Greek. Lubbertus, however, began his work at the seminary without the title of doctor of theology, though all along he hoped for promotion at the University of Heidelberg, which once-again had become a bulwark of Calvinism. During the month of June 1587, Sibrandus Lubbertus earned his doctorate, so that upon returning to Franeker he continued his teaching with the dignity and enhanced qualification of a degree.

Besides his controversy with Rome (which involved the works of Bellarmine), Lubbertus is known for his stand against Socinianism. In 1611 he published a book entitled Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, which, dedicated to the Reformed church at London, became a useful weapon against Socinianism in Poland and Prussia. However, Lubbertus did not attack Socinianism merely by writing a book; Socinianism came within the very gates of the Reformed Church of the Netherlands in the person of Conrad Vorstius, who was to succeed Arminius at the University of Leiden. When Franciscus Gomarus indicated his strong opposition by withdrawing from the lectern at Leiden in exchange for the pulpit of the Middelburg congregation, Lubbertus took up the fight against Conrad Vorstius. Then when followers of Vorstius published a booklet of Socinian teachings and had it circulated in the churches, the battle against Socinianism in general and specifically against Vorstius broke loose. From that moment the terms Remonstrant and Socinian became synonymous among Calvinists in the Netherlands. Furthermore, Vorstius became a pawn in an international theological chess game in which James I of England played his part as king.^[15]

Although delegated to the Synod of Dort, Lubbertus was absent during the early sessions because of a controversy at the Academy in Franeker. During the sixty-second session on January 17, 1619, he delivered a discourse in which he asked the Remonstrants the question whether from John 3:36; 6:40; Hebrews 11:6; and I Corinthians 1:12 they could prove that the decree to save believers is the entire decree of predestination,^[16] Lubbertus supported the other professors at synod, yet he was not afraid to give his own opinion whenever necessary. Thus he distinguished himself from Gomarus by stating his infralapsarian sentiment.

Nevertheless, during his professorate at the Academy of Franeker, he was willing to go the second mile to maintain peace. Socinianism excepted. The lines were sharply drawn for him when Socinian doctrine confronted the church.^[17] In that respect he was a true defender of the orthodox faith and a genuine disciple of John Calvin.

Johannes Uytenbogaert (1557-1644)

A famous and influential leader of the Dutch Remonstrants was Hans Uytenbogaert, born in the city of Utrecht on February 11, 1557, of Roman Catholic parents. After attending the school of St. Jermone in that city and taking up the study of law, he became a notary public when he was twenty-one years old. He broke with the Roman Catholic Church when he was told not to listen to the sermons of an evangelical preacher, Huibert Duifhuis. Within two years, civic leaders of Utrecht sent Uytenbogaert. at the expense of the city, to Geneva, where he studied theology under Theodore Beza. While studying in the Academy of Geneva, Uytenbogaert learned to know his countryman and fellow student, Jacobus Arminius, who had come to study under Beza one year later (1581). Soon a close friendship developed between the two students, which lasted until the death of Arminius in 1609. Already in Geneva Uytenbogaert was influenced by his friend; he refused to listen to his teacher Beza, and after staying in Geneva four years, he returned to Utrecht, where he became a pastor until 1590. In that year, because of an ecclesiastical conflict, he was honorably discharged.

Although his doctrinal moorings were tenuous, his personal charm and rhetorical fervor on such subjects as piety and the renewal of life secured him an invitation from Prince Maurice to come to The Hague in 1591. He was installed as preacher of the Walloon congregation where the Prince and his nobles worshipped. Uytenbogaert soon gained the favor of the Prince, who appointed him as private instructor to his son Prince Frederik Hendrik. Also in ecclesiastical matters, the counsel of this eloquent preacher and charming instructor was constantly sought.

Championing the cause of freedom of speech, Uytenbogaert applied his influence to appoint his friend Arminius as professor of theology at the University of Leiden. When Arminius received and accepted the appointment, it was Uytenbogaert who tried to make peace between the followers and opponents of his friend. Then, upon the death of Arminius, Uytenbogaert showed his real allegiance by accepting the position of leader of the Arminians. He called together forty Arminian pastors and drew up the Five Articles of the Remonstrance on January 14, 1610.

But this position of leadership did not gain him approbation when he persuaded the Board of Curators to appoint Conrad Vorstius to take the place of Franciscus Gomarus at the University of Leiden. He suffered for his diplomacy when Prince Maurice ceased to favor him and later renounced Uytenbogaert’s preaching. Having fallen into disrepute and knowing that he could not avoid a conflict at the National Synod – which against his wishes was to convene in November of 1618 – Uytenbogaert lost courage in the spring of that year.^[18] Episcopius was required to take his place as spokesman for the Arminians at the synod: Uytenbogaert fled to Rotterdam and from there to Antwerp.

When the Synod of Dort concluded its work (after the foreign delegates had left), it stipulated on May 24, 1619, that Johannes Uytenbogaert be expelled from the Dutch Republic, and that his goods be confiscated because of teachings which were contrary to the Reformed truth. Uytenbogaert spent his time in exile giving leadership to the Remonstrant church in Antwerp until October 1621, and thereafter residing in Rouen, France. When he learned that Prince Maurice had died on April 23, 1625, and that his son Frederik Hendrik had taken his place, Uytenbogaert took the chance of returning secretly to the Netherlands, hoping that his former pupil would be gracious to him. He returned to Rotterdam on September 26, 1626, and Prince Frederik Hendrik, having learned of his old mentor’s return, granted permission to stay. Once again at home in The Hague, Uytenbogaert spent the rest of his life preaching and writing, quietly supporting and stimulating the cause of the Remonstrants.

Gijsbertus Voetius (1589-1676)

The fiery and disputatious Giisbert Voetius was born of aristocratic parents at Heusden in 1589. He studied theology at the University of Leiden under Franciscus Gomarus, who made a profound arid lasting impression on him. After seven years of study at Leiden, he accepted a call to become the pastor of the Reformed church of Vlijmen and Engelen in 1611. Six years later he became the pastor in his native town, despite the well-known text that a prophet is not honored in his own country. He served that congregation until 1629; and he gained further respect by being appointed to the National Synod of Dort as a delegate of the provincial synod of South Holland. From 1629 to 1634 he served the church at Hertogenbosch, diligently building up a congregation, stressing the supreme necessity of living a life consecrated to God and based on fidelity to the Scriptures.

As a student, Voetius had impressed his professors with his industry and extraordinary memory. The virtue of conscientious stewardship of time he cultivated throughout his life. Besides studying theology, he steeped himself in the study of Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, logic, and physics. This interest in theology and Oriental languages brought about an appointment to a professorate at the University of Utrecht in 1634. For forty-two years he was professor of theology and Oriental languages there until his death in 1676.

Although Voetius was not one of the great leaders at the Synod of Dort, his influence became apparent when he began a teaching career at the University of Utrecht. Like his former instructor Franciscus Gomarus, Voetius defended and promoted strict Calvinism. In 1636, for example, he issued a work of practical theology that attests to his dedicated life and orthodox faith; the work is entitled Proof of the Power of Godliness and is indicative of Puritan influence. Voetius taught that scholariness and pietv must be life partners of the Christian student.

In addition to his work at the University, Voetius served the church with advice in theological matters, filled the pulpit many Sundays, and gave leadership in ecclesiastical gatherings. Courageously, he wrote against prominent false doctrines and philosophies of his day: he opposed Remonstrants. Roman Catholics, and teachers of the philosophy of Descartes. Voetius is known as the leader of the Reformed Church during the middle of the seventeenth century.^[19]

Conrad Vorstius (1569-1622)

Although Conrad Vorstius did not appear on the floor of the Synod of Dort, his influence in the decade preceding that gathering was particularly great. When Arminius died on October 19, 1609, the Board of Curators of the University of Leiden were advised by Johannes Uytenbogaert and others to appoint Vorstius, at that time professor of theology in Steinfurt. Because of his Arminian doctrines – which came close to Socinian teachings – Reformed theologians in continental Europe attacked him and even King James I of England vehemently opposed this enemy of the faith. James I informed the States-General of the Netherlands that he would consider them his enemies if they tolerated the presence of Conrad Vorstius at the University of Leiden. Vorstius was dismissed by the States-General – who were under obligation to continue his salary – and settled in nearby Gouda in May of 1612.

From Gouda, Vorstius continued his polemical writings against the orthodox theologians of the Netherlands. His persistent and energetic polemical writing became too much even for his closest friends, who tried to persuade him not to publish anymore lest their position also be further imperiled. Uytenbogaert knew that all these publications caused increased antagonism to the cause of the Remonstrants; and when he learned that Sibrandus Lubbertus and Conrad Vorstius were attacking each other’s publications before they were properly off the press, he cried out, “O wretched theology and wretched theologians! What, I ask, will ever set this man [Vorstius] free from this labyrinth!”^[20] In the fall of 1613, the flood of pamphlets that Vorstius was directing against his enemies became so distasteful to Uytenbogaert that he wrote this in a letter to his friend:

That you keep yourself busy with short studies against Sibrandus, I do not condemn. But when will there be an end to all this writing? Believe me, with all those pamphlets you achieve nothing. You will never extricate yourself. You have to choose one of the two: either by recanting some things shake hands or depart, that is, give up your public office.^[21]

Vorstius refused to recant.

When the Synod of Dort convened, the delegates ruled that Vorstius’ goods be confiscated and that he be exiled from the Netherlands. For three years he lived in hiding near Utrecht, until in 1622, he openly professed Socinianism.

Vorstius was born in Cologne in 1569 of Roman Catholic parents, and studied theology (from 1583 to 1587) at the College of St. Lawrence in his native city. Unable to obtain a degree because of his refusal to subscribe to certain theological doctrines, he pursued a mercantile career for two years. In 1589 he enrolled at the Calvinistic University of Herborn to continue his theological studies. From Herborn he went to Heidelberg, where he received a doctorate in theology in 1594. Universities and academies throughout Western Europe coveted this brilliant theologian, who in 1596 accepted the position of professor of theology at the Seminary of Steinfurt. Soon the academic centers of Saumur (France) and Marburg and Hanau (Germany) offered him similar appointments. He declined them, but accepted the appointment to the University of Leiden in 1611.

1. Maurice G. Hansen, The Reformed Church in the Netherlands (New York: Board of Publication of the Reformed Church in America, 1884), p. 142. ↑
2. Acta der Nationale Synode te Dordrecht 1618-1619, p. 9. ↑
3. Hansen, Reformed Church, pp. 158-59. ↑
4. A. Kuyper Jr., Johannes Maccovius (Leiden: D. Donner, 1899), pp. 82-100. ↑
5. Anton H. Haentjes, Simon Episcopius (Leiden: Adriani, 1899), pp. 43f. ↑
6. Acta, pp. 15-16. ↑
7. Haentjes, Simon Episcopius, p. 44. ↑
8. Acta, p. 60. ↑
9. Acta, p. 60. ↑
10. Acta, p. 68. ↑
11. Cornelis Vander Woude, Sibrandus Lubbertus (Kampen, J. H. Kok. 1963), pp. 181-184. ↑
12. G. P. Van Itterzon, Franciscus Gomarus (‘s Gravenhage: M. Nijhof, 1930), pp. 102-6. ↑
13. Van Itterzon, Gomarus, pp. 379. ↑
14. Acta, p. 248. ↑
15. Van der Woude, Lubbertus, p. 599. ↑
16. Acta, p. 206. ↑
17. Van der Woude, Lubbertus, p. 576. ↑
18. Haentjes, Episcopius, pp. 41-42. ↑
19. P. Geyl, The Netherlands in the Seventeenth Century, I (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1961), p. 216. Regrettably, C. Steenblok, Gijsbert Voetius, Zijn leven en worken, published in the Netherlands in 1942, could not be consulted. ↑
20. Van der Woude, Lubbertus, p. 157. ↑
21. Van der Woude, Lubbertus, p. 157. ↑