Upon the conclusion of Arminius' studies and a request for him to pastor in Amsterdam, Beza replied to leaders in Amsterdam with this letter: He declined the honor on account of his youth (he was about 24) and returned to the school in Geneva to finish his schooling in Geneva under Beza.Ĭommendations from Beza and Grynaeus In 1583 Arminius was contemplating a return to Geneva when the theological faculty at Basel spontaneously offered him a doctorate. He continued to distinguish himself there as an excellent student. After this difficult state of affairs, he moved to Basel to continue his studies. Arminius was publicly forbidden to teach Ramean philosophy. He found himself under pressure for using Ramist philosophical methods, familiar to him from his time at Leiden. In 1582, Arminius began studying under Theodore Beza at Geneva. The success he showed in his studies motivated the merchants guild of Amsterdam to fund the next three years of his studies. Under the influence of these men, Arminius studied with success and may have had seeds planted that would begin to develop into a theology that would later question the dominant Reformed theology of John Calvin. The astronomer and mathematician Willebrord Snellius used Ramist philosophy in an effort to encourage his students to pursue truth without over reliance on Aristotle. One Leiden pastor ( Caspar Coolhaes) held, contra Calvin, that civil authorities did have jurisdiction in some church affairs, that it was wrong to punish and execute heretics, and that Lutherans, Calvinists, and Anabaptists could unite around core tenets. Although the university in Leiden was solidly Reformed, it had influences from Lutheran, Zwinglian, and Anabaptist views in addition to Calvinism. Kolmann is now known for teaching that the overemphasis of God's sovereignty in high Calvinism made God "a tyrant and an executioner". His teachers in theology included Calvinist Lambertus Danaeus, Hebrew scholar Johannes Drusius, Guillaume Feuguereius (or Feugueires, d. Although he enrolled as a student in Liberal Arts, this allowed him to pursue an education in theology, as well. Theological studies and ministry Īrminius remained a student at Leiden from 1576 to 1582. In 1576, Arminius was registered as a liberal arts student at the newly opened Leiden University. The latter brought Arminius to Marburg and enabled him to study at the Leiden University, where he taught. After the death of Aemilius (1574 or 1575), Arminius became acquainted with the mathematician Rudolph Snellius, also from Oudewater. The young Jacobus studied there, probably at the Hieronymusschool. Around 1572 (the year Oudewater was conquered by the rebels), Arminius and Aemilius settled in Utrecht. The child was adopted by Theodorus Aemilius, a priest inclined towards Protestantism. He never knew his father, and his mother was killed during the Spanish massacre at Oudewater in 1575. His father Herman, a manufacturer of weapons, died, leaving his wife a widow with small children. 3.1 Escalating controversy with GomarusĪrminius, was born in 1559 or 1560 in Oudewater, Utrecht.2.1 Commendations from Beza and Grynaeus.