Simon Episcopius

Simon Episcopius
Simon Episcopius
Born	8 January 1583 ; Amsterdam
Died	4 April 1643 (aged 60); Amsterdam
Occupation	University teacher
Employer	Remonstrants seminary (1634–1643); Leiden University (1612–1619) ;

Simon Episcopius (8 January 1583 – 4 April 1643) was a Dutch

Latinized

form of his Dutch name Simon Bisschop.

Life

Born in

Bleyswick, a village near Rotterdam; in the following year he advocated the cause of the Remonstrants at The Hague conference (1611), and again at Delft in 1613.^[1]

In 1612 he succeeded Francis Gomarus as professor of theology at Leiden; his appointment awakened the bitter enmity of some of the Calvinists. He was attacked by Festus Hommius in Specimen controversiarum Belgicarum (1618).^[1]

At the Synod of Dort in 1618, Episcopius was chosen as the spokesman of the thirteen representatives of the Remonstrants before the synod; but he was refused a hearing. At the end of the Synod's sittings in 1619, Episcopius and the other twelve Arminian representatives were deprived of their offices and expelled from the country.^[2]

Episcopius retired to

Maurice, prince of Orange, the violence of the Arminian controversy began to abate, and Episcopius was permitted in 1626 to return to his own country. In 1630, he was appointed preacher at the Remonstrant church in Rotterdam. In 1634 he became rector of the Remonstrant college in Amsterdam, where he died in 1643.^[1]

Views

Episcopius may be regarded as in great part the theological founder of Arminianism, since he developed and systematized the principles tentatively enunciated by Arminius.

heart and life.^[2]

Works

Here are some notable works of Episcopius:

Episcopius, Simon (1612). Disputatio theologica de autoritate S. Scripturæ (in Latin). Lugduni Batavorum: Ex officina Ioannis Patij.
Episcopius, Simon (1620). Antidotum continens pressiorum declarationem ... sententiae quae in Synodo Nationali Dordracena asserta est et stabilita (in Latin). Herder-vviici: ex officina typographi Synodalis.
Episcopius, Simon (1620). Acta et scripta Synodalia Dordracena ministrorum remonstrantium in foederato Belgio (in Latin). Herder-vviici: ex officina typographi Synodalis.
Episcopius, Simon (1621). Belijdenisse ofte verklaringhe van 't ghevoelen der leeraren, die in de gheunieerde Neder-landen Remonstranten worden ghenaemt, over de voornaemste articulen der christelijcke religie (in Dutch). s. l.: s. l. (Remonstrant Confession)
Episcopius, Simon (1622). Confessio declaratio sententiae pastorum gui in foederato Beiglo Remonstrantes vocantur super praecipuis artscuf is religionis Christianae (in Latin). s. l.: s. l. (Remonstrant Confession)
Episcopius, Simon (1629). Apologia Pro Confessione Sive Declaratione Sententiae eorum, Qui in Foederato Belgio vocantur Remonstrantes, super praecipuis Articulis Religionis Christianae Contra Censvram Quatuor Professorum Leidensium (in Latin). s. l.: s. l.
Episcopius, Simon (1633). Vedelivs Rhapsodvs, sive Vindiciae Doctrinæ Remonstrantium a criminationibus & calumnijs Nicolai Vedelii ... : quas Rhapsodiarum in morem congessit & inscripsit arcana Arminianismi (in Latin). Hardervici: Ex Officina Typographorum Remonstrantium.
Episcopius, Simon (1644). Paraphrasis et observationes in caput VIII, IX, X & XI epistolæ S. Pauli ad Romanos (in Latin). Amstelædami: Excudit Petrus Walschaert.
Episcopius, Simon; de Courcelles, Étienne; van Limborch, Philippus (1650). M. Simonis Episcopii S.S. theologiae in Academia Leydensi quondam professoris Opera theologica : Quorum catalogum versa pagina exhibet (in Latin). 2 volumes. Amstelædami: Ex typographeio Ioannis Blaev.
Episcopius, Simon (1650). M. Simonis Episcopii institutiones theologicae, privatis lectionibus Amstelodami traditae (in Latin). Amstelaedami: Ex typographico Ioannis Blaeu.

Notes and references

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Rogget 1909, p. 59.
^ ^a ^b Chisholm 1911.
^ Episcopius & Ellis 2005b.
^ Episcopius & Ellis 2005, p. 8. Episcopius was singularly responsible for the survival of the Remonstrant movement after the Synod of Dort. We may rightly regard him as the theological founder of Arminianism, since he both developed and systematized ideas which Arminius was tentatively exploring before his death and then perpetuated that theology through founding the Remonstrant seminary and teaching the next generation of pastors and teachers.

Sources

Episcopius, Simon; Ellis, Mark A. (2005). "Introduction" (PDF). The Arminian confession of 1621. Eugene: Pickwick Publications.
Episcopius, Simon; Ellis, Mark A. (2005b). The Arminian confession of 1621 (PDF). Eugene: Pickwick Publications.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Episcopius, Simon". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 701.
Rogget, H. C. (1909). "Episcopius (Bisschop), Simon". The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Embracing Biblical, Historical. Vol. 4. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company.

External links

Works by Simon Episcopius at Post-Reformation Digital Library

Academic offices
Preceded by Conrad Vorstius	Chair of theology at the University of Leiden 1612–1619	Succeeded by André Rivet

[FOOTNOTERogget190959-1] Rogget 1909, p. 59.

[FOOTNOTEChisholm1911-2] Chisholm 1911.

[FOOTNOTEEpiscopiusEllis2005b-3] Episcopius & Ellis 2005b.

[FOOTNOTEEpiscopiusEllis20058-4] Episcopius & Ellis 2005, p. 8. Episcopius was singularly responsible for the survival of the Remonstrant movement after the Synod of Dort. We may rightly regard him as the theological founder of Arminianism, since he both developed and systematized ideas which Arminius was tentatively exploring before his death and then perpetuated that theology through founding the Remonstrant seminary and teaching the next generation of pastors and teachers.

[1]

[2]

v t e Arminianism
Background	Protestantism Synod of Dort Remonstrants Calvinist–Arminian debate
Documents	Five Articles of Remonstrance Remonstrant Confession
Doctrine	Total depravity Conditional election Unlimited atonement Prevenient grace Conditional preservation of the saints
Historical theologians	Jacobus Arminius Simon Episcopius Hugo Grotius John Goodwin Thomas Grantham John Wesley Richard Watson Thomas Osmond Summers John Miley William Burt Pope Henry Orton Wiley
Modern theologians	J. Kenneth Grider David Pawson Thomas C. Oden Grant R. Osborne Ben Witherington III Roger E. Olson Craig S. Keener B. J. Oropeza
Movements	Arminianism in the Church of England General Baptists Methodism Wesleyan theology Adventist church Holiness movement Pentecostalism

Authority control databases
International	FAST ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	France BnF data Germany Israel Belgium United States Sweden Netherlands Poland Vatican
People	Netherlands Deutsche Biographie
Other	IdRef