Note 836 — Chapter VIII

These two parties were originally divided on theological questions; Gomar’s followers adhering to the religious doctrines of the Established Church and its principles of ecclesiastical polity, while Arminius (Harmansen), professor at Leyden, taught, among other doctrines then considered heretical, the supremacy of the civil authorities in clerical matters. Oldenbarnevelt, believing that the Prince of Orange intended to make himself King of Holland, although indifferent in religious matters, took the part of the Arminians, because he saw in them a powerful ally, and turned the theological controversy into a political question.