Contents

Three Forms of Unity

History[edit]

From 1618 to 1619, the Dutch government on behalf of the Dutch Reformed Church, called and convened the Synod of Dort. Dutch delegates, along with twenty-seven Calvinist representatives from eight other countries, met at this Synod of Dort, where they collectively summarized their views in what was called the "Canons of Dort".^[1]

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).^[1]

In so doing, the Synod sought:

1. to formalize their understanding of the Biblical teachings on the Trinity, the incarnation, predestination, justification, and the church;
2. to allow members to gather together in unity around fundamental, shared beliefs;
3. to relegate certain non-essential ideas (political positions, educational platforms, etc.) to a lower status to prevent the churches from needlessly splitting—the 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 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[edit]

Some Reformed denominations have included the Westminster Confession to their confessional standards. These include the Christian Reformed Church of Australia^[2] and the Reformed Churches of New Zealand^[3]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 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)
  • Heidelberg Catechism (in the original German with a translation into English)
  • Canons of Dort (in the original Latin with a translation into English)
• Audio Recordings of the Three Forms of Unity in MP3 format