Jacob Arminius’ Conflicts and the Preface to the “Declaration of Sentiments”: A Biographical and Translator’s Introduction

Authors

  • Rostislav TKACHENKO Affiliated Researcher in Historical Theology at Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Belgium., Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29357/2521-179X.2020.v18.2.15

Keywords:

Jacob Arminius, Declaration of Sentiments, Arminianism, Calvinism

Abstract

Already during his lifetime, a Dutch Protestant theologian Jacob Arminius, the founder of Arminianism, was embroiled in a fierce theological discussion which later turned into the famous Arminian-Calvinist controversy. However, the initial debate was more than a disagreement over a few purely theological matters. The article argues that the Arminius affair of 1592-1609 was a multidimensional issue: the theological element overlapped with interconfessional, political, ecclesial-political, and probably interpersonal layers. In brief, Arminius’ conflicts were both theological and social.

These observations serve as a biographical introduction to the first portion (the so-called “Preface”) of the first academic Russian translation of Arminius’ Declaration of Sentiments. They help to clarify the background for the Preface and see the figure of Jacob Arminius historically.

Author Biography

Rostislav TKACHENKO, Affiliated Researcher in Historical Theology at Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Belgium.

Rostislav Tkachenko, Cand. philos. sc. (National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, Kyiv, Ukraine); Ph.D. candidate and Affiliated Researcher in Historical Theology at Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Belgium.
RYTkachenko@gmail.com.

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TKACHENKO, Rostislav. 2020. “Jacob Arminius’ Conflicts and the Preface to the ‘Declaration of Sentiments’: A Biographical and Translator’s Introduction”. Theological Reflections: Eastern European Journal of Theology 18 (2):153-84. https://doi.org/10.29357/2521-179X.2020.v18.2.15.

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Vol. 18 No. 2 (2020): THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS: Eastern European Journal of Theology

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