History of Protestantism in the Netherlands - James Aitken Wylie

Prince of Orange in Brussels, and the Pacification
of Ghent, which shielded the Protestant worship
from violence, had infused new courage into the
hearts of the Reformed in the Southern
Netherlands.
From their secret conventicles in some cellar or
dark alley, or neighboring wood, they came forth
and practiced their worship in the light of day. In
Flanders and Brabant the Protestants were
increasing daily in numbers and courage. On
Sunday, the 16th of May, in the single city of
Antwerp, Protestant sermons were preached in not
less than sixteen places, and the Sacrament
dispensed in fourteen. In Ghent it was not
uncommon for Protestant congregations to convene
in several places, of four, five, and six hundred
persons, and all this in spite of the Union of
Brussels (1577), which trenched upon the
toleration accorded in the Pacification of
Ghent.[11]
The first National Synod of the Dutch
Reformed Church met at Dort on the 2nd of June,
465