Synopsis Purioris Colloquium organized by the Junius Institute
On Thursday, March 31 -Friday April 1, the Junius Institute is holding a special colloquium on the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae. For this event, they have brought together an interesting array of speakers on various topics related to the SPT:
- Keith Stanglin, “How Much Purer Is the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae? A Comparison of Leiden Theology before and after Dordt”
- Donald Sinnema, “The First Edition of William Ames’s Medulla (1623) as a Disputation Cycle: A Precursor to the Synopsis”
- Raymond Blacketer, “The Sabbath in the Synopsis”
- Mark Beach, “No Longer Totally Depraved: Free Choice in the Regenerate according to the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae”
- Riemer Faber, “Presiders, Respondents, and the Question of the Authorship of the Disputations”
- Martin Klauber, “Pierre du Moulin: Disputation and Debate over Universal Grace at the Academy of Sedan”
- Michael Lynch, “Antonius Walaeus and De Baptismo: A Case Study in the Reception History of the Leiden Synopsis”
- Todd Rester, “From the Synopsis Purioris to Marckius and De Moor: A Trajectory of Doctrine, Pedagogy, and Institutional Continuity”
For more information and online registration, see here.
The Synopsis Purioris Theologiae: A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources
By way of preparing two conference contributions for major academic conferences this year, I compiled the following bibliography of primary and secondary sources. As I proceed with my research I will revise this post. Moreover, I invite other scholars to contribute to the lists by sending me suggestions via the contact form.
Seventeenth Century Editions
Modern Editions / Translations
Secondary Literature
Marcel Sarot reviews new edition of Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1625)
Marcel Sarot, professor of fundamental theology at Tilburg School of Catholic Theology, reviewed the first volume of the new bilingual edition of the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1625) for the Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift. This review is freely available online here (PDF). Its conclusion reads:
Deze uitgave ontsluit een belangrijk 17de-eeuws werk, waarvoor niet alleen ideeën- en dogmenhistorische, maar zeker ook theologische interesse zal zijn. Op onderdelen verrast het boek, bijvoorbeeld in zijn genuanceerde behandeling van het filioque. Dit geldt ook voor de toeschrijving van affecten aan God. Waar een groot deel van de traditie (van Anselmus tot Thomas, van Calvijn tot Klaas Schilder) zegt dat wanneer de Schrift een emotie aan God toeschrijft het niet om een affect maar om een effect gaat (God is niet echt boos maar straft wel), zegt de Synopsis dat het niet om een passie maar wel om een affect gaat. Het is niet moeilijk om te voorspellen dat deze fraaie uitgave nog veel bestudeerd en geciteerd zal worden.
First volume of the ‘Synopsis Purioris Theologiae’ published
On 26th september 2014 the first volume of the new bilingual edition of the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1st Ed. 1625) was presented to the mayor of Leiden. On this occasion, Prof. Dr. Riemer Faber (the translator, Waterloo University, Canada) gave a lecture on “The Language(s) of the Synopsis” which was followed up by a presentation on “theology as teamwork” by Dr. Dolf te Velde (volume editor, TU Kampen). After that, Dr. Jo Spaans (Utrecht University) and Prof. Dr. Marcel Sarot (Tilburg School of Catholic Theology) reacted with the first critical reviews of the new edition.
The book cover reads:
This bilingual edition of the Synopsis Purioris Theologiae (1625) makes available for the first time to English readers a seminal treatise of Reformed Scholasticism. Composed by four professors of Leiden University (Johannes Polyander, Andreas Rivetus, Antonius Walaeus, and Anthonius Thysius), it gives an exhaustive yet concise presentation of Reformed theology as it was conceived in the first decades of the seventeenth century. From a decidedly Reformed perspective, the Christian doctrine is defined in contrast with alternative or opposite views (Catholic, Spiritualist, Arminian, Socinian). Both on the academic level and on the ecclesiastical level, the Synopsis responds to challenges coming from the immediate context of the early seventeenth century. The disputations of this first volume cover topics such as Scripture, doctrine of God, Trinity, creation, sin, Law and Gospel.
For more information on this event / the new volume see
- the (Dutch) press release on the website of the ETF Leuven;
- the website of the publisher (Brill);
- the website of the ‘Leidsch Dagblad’ (Dutch newspaper);
- the website of the ‘Reformatorisch Dagblad’ (Dutch newspaper);
- the website of the ‘Nederlands Dagblad’ (Dutch newspaper);
- the review by Jim West on “Zwinglius Redivivus”