The rulings of the international Synod of Dort (Dordrecht, Netherlands) held 1618-19 — the most significant Reformed council of the post-Reformation era. 102 delegates attended, including representatives from England, Scotland, Switzerland, and the German Reformed churches. The synod was convened to address the theology of Jacobus Arminius and his "Remonstrant" followers, who had issued five articles in 1610 challenging Reformed teaching on predestination, the extent of the atonement, the condition of fallen humanity, the nature of grace, and the perseverance of saints. The Canons respond point-for-point with the five heads of doctrine that came to be mnemonically summarized as TULIP.
The Canons of Dort were never intended as a full systematic theology — they respond precisely to the five Remonstrant articles, in order. The five heads of doctrine: (1) Divine Election and Reprobation; (2) Christ's Death and Human Redemption Through It (sometimes called "definite" or "particular" atonement, better than "limited"); (3-4) Human Corruption, Conversion to God, and the Way It Occurs (these two heads are combined — total inability and irresistible/effectual grace); (5) Perseverance of the Saints. Each head contains affirmations and rejections of error. TULIP is a convenient but slightly misordered summary (the actual Dort order is ULTIP). The synod also produced the definitive Dutch translation of the Bible (the Statenvertaling, still a classic of Dutch literature). The Canons are one of the Three Forms of Unity. They are sometimes painted as harsh, but the spirit is pastoral: "We cannot and must not be curious about the secret counsel of God; we are to judge charitably of those who show the fruits of election." Dort secured the doctrinal integrity of Reformed Christianity against a watering-down that would have collapsed its distinctives within a generation.