Volume II/2 of this critical edition of all the documents of the Synod of Dordt (1618–1619) contains documents relating to the early sessions of the Synod of Dordt, until the expulsion of the Remonstrants. Many are published for the first time. Included are documents of the Pro-Acta sessions on several matters of Dutch church life—a new Dutch Bible translation, catechetical instruction, baptism of slave children, theological training and printing abuses—as well as documents concerning the contentious procedural debates with the Remonstrants on how to deal with the doctrinal issues in the controversy—their view of predestination and related points.

Volume 1 includes the original Acta Authentica of the synod, here published for the first time. Following the Acta Authentica, the corresponding acts, as first published in the Acta Synodi Nationalis ... Dordrechti Habitae (Leiden, 1620), are reprinted; these published Acta were a significantly revised version, for stylistic and political purposes, of the original Acta Authentica. Also included are the Acta Contracta, a topical summary of the Acta Authentica, and the minutes of the meetings of the state delegates, who represented the Dutch government at the synod; neither of these has been previously published. This volume begins with a general introduction to the Synod of Dordt and its context, an introduction to the Acta Authentica, the published Acta and Acta Contracta, and an introduction to the role of the state delegates and the minutes of their meetings.

The Synod of Dordt 1618/1619 was one of the most important church councils in the history of the Reformed tradition. International delegates from all over Europe served as important participants and played a significant role in the evaluation of Remonstrant doctrine and in the formation of the Canons of Dordt. The Synod made important pronouncements on other issues such as Sunday observance, catechism instruction and theological education. Given the continuing worldwide historical significance of the Synod's Canons and church order, the absence of a critical scholarly edition of the majority of documents of the Synod is remarkable. The Johannes a Lasco Bibliothek in Emden, a leading research center for the history and theology of Reformed Protestantism, has taken the initiative to edit the Acts and documents of the Synod of Dordt. The edition is organized as a RefoRC project, with the participation of other institutions and scholars in Europe and North-America. Vol. II/1 edits the Convening of the Synod.

Proceedings of a conference held Apr. 6-7, 2006 in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Phillip A. Hussey examines the scholarship of Jonathan Edwards and interrogates the relationship between Christ and the decree within Reformed Theology; and reveals the contemporary theological significance of supralapsarian Christology. In a late notebook entry, Jonathan Edwards offered a programmatic statement on the relation between Christ and predestination: “In that grand decree of predestination, or the sum of God's decrees...the appointment of Christ, or the decree respecting his person...must be considered first.” This work unpacks the scope of Edwards's statement, both in terms of setting forth an interpretation of Edwards's own theology on the relation between Christ and the decree, as well as drawing out the larger insights of Edwards's reasoning for current theological reflection.

Edition of documents - many never previously published - shedding new light on the role played by the British delegates at the Synod of Dort. The Synod of Dort [1618-19] was one of the most remarkable and important gatherings of Protestant divines ever assembled. Summoned to resolve doctrinal disputes in the Netherlands, it involved theologians from a number of other countries, including Britain. The precise role played by delegates of the Church of England at the synod has been the subject of intense disagreement ever since. Drawing on new sources discovered in English and Dutch archives, this volume provides a wide-ranging collection of edited documents [many previously unpublished] which make it possible for the first time to construct a thorough and fully contextualized account of the role played by the British delegates. Different sections of the book tackle the political and theological background to the synod, the submissions of the British delegation on issues ranging from predestination and episcopacy to catechizing and bible translation, and also the aftermath of the synod and the later defences of it by the British delegates. The primary source material is set in context by a substantial introduction, which argues for a major reassessment of the role ofthe British divines at the synod, and emphasizes the importance of the event in allowing historians to study the detailed interaction of British and continental thinkers at a vital period in the emergence of an 'Anglican' identity. Dr Anthony Milton is Reader in History at the University of Sheffield.