Leidsche Synode (Synod of Leiden), a name sometimes used for a meeting of Flemish Mennonite elders, preachers, and deacons held 18-23 June 1660, at Leiden, Dutch province of South Holland. Of this meeting, for which the congregations of Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Gouda, and Leiden had taken the initiative, T. J. van Braght of Dordrecht was moderator and Bastiaan van Weenighem of Rotterdam secretary. Forty-two men, representing twenty-two congregations, were present. It decided that vacant pulpits should be cared for by neighboring congregations; a plan was made to compose one confession to replace the collection of Algemeene Belijdenissen (this plan was never carried out), and measures were taken against progressive preachers such as Galenus Abrahamsz who were judged to have forsaken the basic doctrines of the church. The account and the resolutions of this meeting are found in "Verhaal van 't gene verhandelt ende besloten is in de Bij-eenkpmste tot hey den door eenige Doops-gezinde heeraren en Diaconen, die men Vlamingen noemt, published at Amsterdam, 1661.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pp. 317-318. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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