Dilemmas at the Synod of Dort

Chapter 3 analyzes the Synod of Dort and the British delegation’s participation in that famous international conference of Reformed churches. It investigates the delegation’s Collegiat Suffrage and their response to the draft canons to see how they handled the insistence of other Reformed churches to codify perseverance of the saints as a nonnegotiable Reformed distinctive. This chapter uncovers a consistent English strategy of conciliatory confessionalism, even when it was painfully inconvenient. Even though the delegates agreed theologically with the rest of the Synod on perseverance, their sensitivity to readings of Augustine prepared them to advocate unity among the Reformed churches in a way that would avoid unnecessary offense to those rejecting the prevailing view on the doctrine. And while the British delegation’s request was not granted, this episode demonstrates yet another attempt by Englishmen to use readings of Augustine to shape doctrinal standards within a Reformed context.