The Three Forms of Unity
We confess the Three Forms of Unity:
1. Belgic Confession
Guido de Brès, the main author of this confession, died as a martyr in 1567. He wrote it, in the face of fierce persecution by the Roman Catholic government, to prove that the protestants were law-abiding citizens who held to the truth of Holy Scripture. The Synod of Dort (1618-1619) revised the text and adopted it as one of the doctrinal standards of the Reformed Church.
2. Heidelberg Catechism
Elector Fredrick III, a pious Christian prince (1559 - 1576) commissioned Zacharius Ursinus (a young theology professor)and Caspar Olevianus (his court preacher) to write a catechism to help pastors and teachers instruct young people in the faith. Later it was divided into fifty-two sections: one section for each Sunday of the year. The sixteenth century National Synods included it as one of the Three Forms of Unity to the taught in the churches and that their office-bearers had to subscribe to.
3. Canons of Dort
The Synod of Dort drafted these articles (1618-1619) in response to Arminius, a theology professor from the University of Leyden , who departed the Reformed faith on five essential doctrines. The Canons of Dort exposes these errors and expounds the Reformed doctine on each topic.