ARMINIUS, JACOBUS HARMENSZ

(1560–1609)

   Born in the small town of Oudewater, Arminius studied theology in Leiden, Geneva, and Basel. After serving from 1588 as a Protestant minister in Ams terdam, he was appointed professor of theology at the University of Leiden. His colleague Franciscus Gomarusbecame a strong opponent of Arminius’s interpretations of the dogma of John Calvin. Among other things, Arminius questioned the correctness of the doctrine of predesti nation. The controversy between Arminius and Gomarus led to discord among the Calvinists. The orthodox branch succeeded in expelling the Arminians (or Remonstrants) from the Calvinist church during the na tional synod of Dordrecht (1618–1619). Some political leaders who accepted Arminius’s doctrines, such as Johan van Oldenbarneveltand Hugo Grotius, were persecuted.