diff --git a/UPGRADE-2.2.md b/UPGRADE-2.2.md
index 8dc849d5137f..62297d1b3637 100644
--- a/UPGRADE-2.2.md
+++ b/UPGRADE-2.2.md
@@ -383,3 +383,9 @@
    framework:
       trusted_proxies: ['127.0.0.1', '10.0.0.1'] # a list of proxy IPs you trust
    ```
+
+#### Serializer
+
+ * All serializer interfaces (Serializer, Normalizer, Encoder) have been extended with an optional ``$context`` array.
+   This was necessary to allow for more complex use-cases that require context information during the (de)normalization
+   and en-/decoding steps.
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/ChainDecoder.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/ChainDecoder.php
index f555c6a8c982..6ece3b2205b9 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/ChainDecoder.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/ChainDecoder.php
@@ -34,9 +34,9 @@ public function __construct(array $decoders = array())
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    final public function decode($data, $format)
+    final public function decode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
-        return $this->getDecoder($format)->decode($data, $format);
+        return $this->getDecoder($format)->decode($data, $format, $context);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/ChainEncoder.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/ChainEncoder.php
index ebb81efb9ff3..bd10a2ad412a 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/ChainEncoder.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/ChainEncoder.php
@@ -35,9 +35,9 @@ public function __construct(array $encoders = array())
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    final public function encode($data, $format)
+    final public function encode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
-        return $this->getEncoder($format)->encode($data, $format);
+        return $this->getEncoder($format)->encode($data, $format, $context);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/DecoderInterface.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/DecoderInterface.php
index e95271f740b0..ffd221fe8d58 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/DecoderInterface.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/DecoderInterface.php
@@ -23,10 +23,11 @@ interface DecoderInterface
      *
      * @param scalar $data   Data to decode
      * @param string $format Format name
+     * @param array  $context options that decoders have access to.
      *
      * @return mixed
      */
-    public function decode($data, $format);
+    public function decode($data, $format, array $context = array());
 
     /**
      * Checks whether the serializer can decode from given format
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/EncoderInterface.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/EncoderInterface.php
index 4a68ad3fe9ea..2290db7f50d8 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/EncoderInterface.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/EncoderInterface.php
@@ -23,10 +23,11 @@ interface EncoderInterface
      *
      * @param mixed  $data   Data to encode
      * @param string $format Format name
+     * @param array  $context options that normalizers/encoders have access to.
      *
      * @return scalar
      */
-    public function encode($data, $format);
+    public function encode($data, $format, array $context = array());
 
     /**
      * Checks whether the serializer can encode to given format
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonDecode.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonDecode.php
index f0d41919e2d8..7d3ad82ee31a 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonDecode.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonDecode.php
@@ -11,15 +11,12 @@
 
 namespace Symfony\Component\Serializer\Encoder;
 
-use Symfony\Component\Serializer\SerializerInterface;
-use Symfony\Component\Serializer\SerializerAwareInterface;
-
 /**
  * Decodes JSON data
  *
  * @author Sander Coolen <sander@jibber.nl>
  */
-class JsonDecode implements DecoderInterface, SerializerAwareInterface
+class JsonDecode implements DecoderInterface
 {
     private $associative;
     private $recursionDepth;
@@ -52,13 +49,13 @@ public function getLastError()
      *
      * @return mixed
      */
-    public function decode($data, $format)
+    public function decode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
-        $context = $this->getContext();
+        $context = $this->resolveContext($context);
 
-        $associative    = $context['associative'];
-        $recursionDepth = $context['recursionDepth'];
-        $options        = $context['options'];
+        $associative    = $context['json_decode_associative'];
+        $recursionDepth = $context['json_decode_recursion_depth'];
+        $options        = $context['json_decode_options'];
 
         $decodedData = json_decode($data, $associative, $recursionDepth, $options);
         $this->lastError = json_last_error();
@@ -75,45 +72,19 @@ public function supportsDecoding($format)
     }
 
     /**
-     * {@inheritdoc}
+     * Merge the default options of the Json Decoder with the passed context.
+     *
+     * @param array $context
+     * @return array
      */
-    public function setSerializer(SerializerInterface $serializer)
+    private function resolveContext(array $context)
     {
-        $this->serializer = $serializer;
-    }
-
-    private function getContext()
-    {
-        $options = array(
-            'associative' => $this->associative,
-            'recursionDepth' => $this->recursionDepth,
-            'options' => 0
+        $defaultOptions = array(
+            'json_decode_associative' => $this->associative,
+            'json_decode_recursion_depth' => $this->recursionDepth,
+            'json_decode_options' => 0
         );
 
-        if (!$this->serializer) {
-            return $options;
-        }
-
-        $options = array(
-            'associative' => false,
-            'recursionDepth' => 512,
-            'options' => 0
-        );
-
-        $context = $this->serializer->getContext();
-
-        if (isset($context['associative'])) {
-            $options['associative'] = $context['associative'];
-        }
-
-        if (isset($context['recursionDepth'])) {
-            $options['recursionDepth'] = $context['recursionDepth'];
-        }
-
-        if (isset($context['options'])) {
-            $options['options'] = $context['options'];
-        }
-
-        return $options;
+        return array_merge($defaultOptions, $context);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonEncode.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonEncode.php
index 623578e810ec..4e0de3ed7589 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonEncode.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonEncode.php
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  *
  * @author Sander Coolen <sander@jibber.nl>
  */
-class JsonEncode extends SerializerAwareEncoder implements EncoderInterface
+class JsonEncode implements EncoderInterface
 {
     private $options ;
     private $lastError = JSON_ERROR_NONE;
@@ -41,16 +41,13 @@ public function getLastError()
     /**
      * Encodes PHP data to a JSON string
      *
-     * @param mixed  $data
-     * @param string $format
-     *
-     * @return string
+     * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function encode($data, $format)
+    public function encode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
-        $options = $this->getContext();
+        $context = $this->resolveContext($context);
 
-        $encodedJson = json_encode($data, $options);
+        $encodedJson = json_encode($data, $context['json_encode_options']);
         $this->lastError = json_last_error();
 
         return $encodedJson;
@@ -64,22 +61,14 @@ public function supportsEncoding($format)
         return JsonEncoder::FORMAT === $format;
     }
 
-    private function getContext()
+    /**
+     * Merge default json encode options with context.
+     *
+     * @param array $context
+     * @return array
+     */
+    private function resolveContext(array $context = array())
     {
-        if (!$this->serializer) {
-            return 0;
-        }
-
-        $context = $this->serializer->getContext();
-
-        if (empty($context)) {
-            $context = array(0);
-        }
-
-        if (!is_array($context)) {
-            $context = array($context);
-        }
-
-        return array_sum($context);
+        return array_merge(array('json_encode_options' => $this->options), $context);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonEncoder.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonEncoder.php
index fff2fd501626..02b179bc91a6 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonEncoder.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/JsonEncoder.php
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  *
  * @author Jordi Boggiano <j.boggiano@seld.be>
  */
-class JsonEncoder extends SerializerAwareEncoder implements EncoderInterface, DecoderInterface
+class JsonEncoder implements EncoderInterface, DecoderInterface
 {
     const FORMAT = 'json';
 
@@ -59,21 +59,17 @@ public function getLastDecodingError()
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function encode($data, $format)
+    public function encode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
-        $this->encodingImpl->setSerializer($this->serializer);
-
-        return $this->encodingImpl->encode($data, self::FORMAT);
+        return $this->encodingImpl->encode($data, self::FORMAT, $context);
     }
 
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function decode($data, $format)
+    public function decode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
-        $this->decodingImpl->setSerializer($this->serializer);
-
-        return $this->decodingImpl->decode($data, self::FORMAT);
+        return $this->decodingImpl->decode($data, self::FORMAT, $context);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/XmlEncoder.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/XmlEncoder.php
index d1ed33920a12..909b3cefe7b4 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/XmlEncoder.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Encoder/XmlEncoder.php
@@ -26,24 +26,36 @@ class XmlEncoder extends SerializerAwareEncoder implements EncoderInterface, Dec
     private $format;
     private $rootNodeName = 'response';
 
+    /**
+     * Construct new XmlEncoder and allow to change the root node element name.
+     *
+     * @param string $rootNodeName
+     */
+    public function __construct($rootNodeName = 'response')
+    {
+        $this->rootNodeName = $rootNodeName;
+    }
+
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function encode($data, $format)
+    public function encode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
         if ($data instanceof \DOMDocument) {
             return $data->saveXML();
         }
 
+        $xmlRootNodeName = $this->resolveXmlRootName($context);
+
         $this->dom = new \DOMDocument();
         $this->format = $format;
 
         if (null !== $data && !is_scalar($data)) {
-            $root = $this->dom->createElement($this->getRealRootNodeName());
+            $root = $this->dom->createElement($xmlRootNodeName);
             $this->dom->appendChild($root);
-            $this->buildXml($root, $data);
+            $this->buildXml($root, $data, $xmlRootNodeName);
         } else {
-            $this->appendNode($this->dom, $data, $this->getRealRootNodeName());
+            $this->appendNode($this->dom, $data, $xmlRootNodeName);
         }
 
         return $this->dom->saveXML();
@@ -52,7 +64,7 @@ public function encode($data, $format)
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function decode($data, $format)
+    public function decode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
         $internalErrors = libxml_use_internal_errors(true);
         $disableEntities = libxml_disable_entity_loader(true);
@@ -269,12 +281,13 @@ private function parseXml($node)
      *
      * @param DOMNode      $parentNode
      * @param array|object $data       data
+     * @param string       $xmlRootNodeName
      *
      * @return Boolean
      *
      * @throws UnexpectedValueException
      */
-    private function buildXml($parentNode, $data)
+    private function buildXml($parentNode, $data, $xmlRootNodeName)
     {
         $append = true;
 
@@ -310,21 +323,24 @@ private function buildXml($parentNode, $data)
 
             return $append;
         }
+
         if (is_object($data)) {
             $data = $this->serializer->normalize($data, $this->format);
             if (null !== $data && !is_scalar($data)) {
-                return $this->buildXml($parentNode, $data);
+                return $this->buildXml($parentNode, $data, $xmlRootNodeName);
             }
+
             // top level data object was normalized into a scalar
             if (!$parentNode->parentNode->parentNode) {
                 $root = $parentNode->parentNode;
                 $root->removeChild($parentNode);
 
-                return $this->appendNode($root, $data, $this->getRealRootNodeName());
+                return $this->appendNode($root, $data, $xmlRootNodeName);
             }
 
             return $this->appendNode($parentNode, $data, 'data');
         }
+
         throw new UnexpectedValueException('An unexpected value could not be serialized: '.var_export($data, true));
     }
 
@@ -376,7 +392,7 @@ private function needsCdataWrapping($val)
     private function selectNodeType($node, $val)
     {
         if (is_array($val)) {
-            return $this->buildXml($node, $val);
+            return $this->buildXml($node, $val, null);
         } elseif ($val instanceof \SimpleXMLElement) {
             $child = $this->dom->importNode(dom_import_simplexml($val), true);
             $node->appendChild($child);
@@ -403,14 +419,8 @@ private function selectNodeType($node, $val)
     /**
      * Get real XML root node name, taking serializer options into account.
      */
-    private function getRealRootNodeName()
+    private function resolveXmlRootName(array $context = array())
     {
-        if (!$this->serializer) {
-            return $this->rootNodeName;
-        }
-
-        $context = $this->serializer->getContext();
-
         return isset($context['xml_root_node_name'])
             ? $context['xml_root_node_name']
             : $this->rootNodeName;
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/CustomNormalizer.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/CustomNormalizer.php
index 4510fa0b8006..0ebe00fda54f 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/CustomNormalizer.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/CustomNormalizer.php
@@ -19,18 +19,18 @@ class CustomNormalizer extends SerializerAwareNormalizer implements NormalizerIn
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function normalize($object, $format = null)
+    public function normalize($object, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
-        return $object->normalize($this->serializer, $format);
+        return $object->normalize($this->serializer, $format, $context);
     }
 
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function denormalize($data, $class, $format = null)
+    public function denormalize($data, $class, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         $object = new $class;
-        $object->denormalize($this->serializer, $data, $format);
+        $object->denormalize($this->serializer, $data, $format, $context);
 
         return $object;
     }
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/DenormalizableInterface.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/DenormalizableInterface.php
index 3f3bf883238d..5a1b4c196b59 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/DenormalizableInterface.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/DenormalizableInterface.php
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ interface DenormalizableInterface
      * @param array|scalar $data   The data from which to re-create the object.
      * @param string|null  $format The format is optionally given to be able to denormalize differently
      *   based on different input formats.
+     * @param array        $context options for denormalizing
      */
-    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null);
+    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null, array $context = array());
 }
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/DenormalizerInterface.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/DenormalizerInterface.php
index 384f9febb668..1a5ff93f751d 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/DenormalizerInterface.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/DenormalizerInterface.php
@@ -24,10 +24,11 @@ interface DenormalizerInterface
      * @param mixed  $data   data to restore
      * @param string $class  the expected class to instantiate
      * @param string $format format the given data was extracted from
+     * @param array  $context options available to the denormalizer
      *
      * @return object
      */
-    public function denormalize($data, $class, $format = null);
+    public function denormalize($data, $class, $format = null, array $context = array());
 
     /**
      * Checks whether the given class is supported for denormalization by this normalizer
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/GetSetMethodNormalizer.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/GetSetMethodNormalizer.php
index 2c5f1b3e874d..63e7a1dea91e 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/GetSetMethodNormalizer.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/GetSetMethodNormalizer.php
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ public function setIgnoredAttributes(array $ignoredAttributes)
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function normalize($object, $format = null)
+    public function normalize($object, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         $reflectionObject = new \ReflectionObject($object);
         $reflectionMethods = $reflectionObject->getMethods(\ReflectionMethod::IS_PUBLIC);
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ public function normalize($object, $format = null)
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function denormalize($data, $class, $format = null)
+    public function denormalize($data, $class, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         $reflectionClass = new \ReflectionClass($class);
         $constructor = $reflectionClass->getConstructor();
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/NormalizableInterface.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/NormalizableInterface.php
index fb77a836d8d9..07c3a4a8dd8e 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/NormalizableInterface.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/NormalizableInterface.php
@@ -31,8 +31,9 @@ interface NormalizableInterface
      *   can use it to normalize objects contained within this object.
      * @param string|null $format The format is optionally given to be able to normalize differently
      *   based on different output formats.
+     * @param array $context Options for normalizing this object
      *
      * @return array|scalar
      */
-    public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null);
+    public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null, array $context = array());
 }
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/NormalizerInterface.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/NormalizerInterface.php
index f0915db2b453..744307a2ba37 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/NormalizerInterface.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Normalizer/NormalizerInterface.php
@@ -23,10 +23,11 @@ interface NormalizerInterface
      *
      * @param object $object object to normalize
      * @param string $format format the normalization result will be encoded as
+     * @param array $context Context options for the normalizer
      *
      * @return array|scalar
      */
-    public function normalize($object, $format = null);
+    public function normalize($object, $format = null, array $context = array());
 
     /**
      * Checks whether the given class is supported for normalization by this normalizer
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Serializer.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Serializer.php
index 6a84b10efcef..ab6fd58b5fde 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Serializer.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Serializer.php
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ class Serializer implements SerializerInterface, NormalizerInterface, Denormaliz
     protected $normalizers       = array();
     protected $normalizerCache   = array();
     protected $denormalizerCache = array();
-    protected $context;
 
     public function __construct(array $normalizers = array(), array $encoders = array())
     {
@@ -79,13 +78,11 @@ final public function serialize($data, $format, array $context = array())
             throw new UnexpectedValueException('Serialization for the format '.$format.' is not supported');
         }
 
-        $this->context = $context;
-
         if ($this->encoder->needsNormalization($format)) {
-            $data = $this->normalize($data, $format);
+            $data = $this->normalize($data, $format, $context);
         }
 
-        return $this->encode($data, $format);
+        return $this->encode($data, $format, $context);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -97,38 +94,36 @@ final public function deserialize($data, $type, $format, array $context = array(
             throw new UnexpectedValueException('Deserialization for the format '.$format.' is not supported');
         }
 
-        $this->context = $context;
-
-        $data = $this->decode($data, $format);
+        $data = $this->decode($data, $format, $context);
 
-        return $this->denormalize($data, $type, $format);
+        return $this->denormalize($data, $type, $format, $context);
     }
 
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function normalize($data, $format = null)
+    public function normalize($data, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         if (null === $data || is_scalar($data)) {
             return $data;
         }
         if (is_object($data) && $this->supportsNormalization($data, $format)) {
-            return $this->normalizeObject($data, $format);
+            return $this->normalizeObject($data, $format, $context);
         }
         if ($data instanceof \Traversable) {
             $normalized = array();
             foreach ($data as $key => $val) {
-                $normalized[$key] = $this->normalize($val, $format);
+                $normalized[$key] = $this->normalize($val, $format, $context);
             }
 
             return $normalized;
         }
         if (is_object($data)) {
-            return $this->normalizeObject($data, $format);
+            return $this->normalizeObject($data, $format, $context);
         }
         if (is_array($data)) {
             foreach ($data as $key => $val) {
-                $data[$key] = $this->normalize($val, $format);
+                $data[$key] = $this->normalize($val, $format, $context);
             }
 
             return $data;
@@ -139,9 +134,9 @@ public function normalize($data, $format = null)
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    public function denormalize($data, $type, $format = null)
+    public function denormalize($data, $type, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
-        return $this->denormalizeObject($data, $type, $format);
+        return $this->denormalizeObject($data, $type, $format, $context);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -207,17 +202,17 @@ private function getDenormalizer($data, $type, $format = null)
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    final public function encode($data, $format)
+    final public function encode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
-        return $this->encoder->encode($data, $format);
+        return $this->encoder->encode($data, $format, $context);
     }
 
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
      */
-    final public function decode($data, $format)
+    final public function decode($data, $format, array $context = array())
     {
-        return $this->decoder->decode($data, $format);
+        return $this->decoder->decode($data, $format, $context);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -225,13 +220,14 @@ final public function decode($data, $format)
      *
      * @param object $object object to normalize
      * @param string $format format name, present to give the option to normalizers to act differently based on formats
+     * @param array $context The context data for this particular normalization
      *
      * @return array|scalar
      *
      * @throws LogicException
      * @throws UnexpectedValueException
      */
-    private function normalizeObject($object, $format = null)
+    private function normalizeObject($object, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         if (!$this->normalizers) {
             throw new LogicException('You must register at least one normalizer to be able to normalize objects.');
@@ -239,14 +235,14 @@ private function normalizeObject($object, $format = null)
 
         $class = get_class($object);
         if (isset($this->normalizerCache[$class][$format])) {
-            return $this->normalizerCache[$class][$format]->normalize($object, $format);
+            return $this->normalizerCache[$class][$format]->normalize($object, $format, $context);
         }
 
         foreach ($this->normalizers as $normalizer) {
             if ($normalizer->supportsNormalization($object, $format)) {
                 $this->normalizerCache[$class][$format] = $normalizer;
 
-                return $normalizer->normalize($object, $format);
+                return $normalizer->normalize($object, $format, $context);
             }
         }
 
@@ -259,27 +255,28 @@ private function normalizeObject($object, $format = null)
      * @param mixed  $data   data to restore
      * @param string $class  the expected class to instantiate
      * @param string $format format name, present to give the option to normalizers to act differently based on formats
+     * @param array $context The context data for this particular denormalization
      *
      * @return object
      *
      * @throws LogicException
      * @throws UnexpectedValueException
      */
-    private function denormalizeObject($data, $class, $format = null)
+    private function denormalizeObject($data, $class, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         if (!$this->normalizers) {
             throw new LogicException('You must register at least one normalizer to be able to denormalize objects.');
         }
 
         if (isset($this->denormalizerCache[$class][$format])) {
-            return $this->denormalizerCache[$class][$format]->denormalize($data, $class, $format);
+            return $this->denormalizerCache[$class][$format]->denormalize($data, $class, $format, $context);
         }
 
         foreach ($this->normalizers as $normalizer) {
             if ($normalizer->supportsDenormalization($data, $class, $format)) {
                 $this->denormalizerCache[$class][$format] = $normalizer;
 
-                return $normalizer->denormalize($data, $class, $format);
+                return $normalizer->denormalize($data, $class, $format, $context);
             }
         }
 
@@ -301,12 +298,4 @@ public function supportsDecoding($format)
     {
         return $this->decoder->supportsDecoding($format);
     }
-
-    /**
-     * {@inheritdoc}
-     */
-    public function getContext()
-    {
-        return $this->context;
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/SerializerInterface.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/SerializerInterface.php
index a0fc5120895a..d196d780a95b 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/SerializerInterface.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/SerializerInterface.php
@@ -40,11 +40,4 @@ public function serialize($data, $format, array $context = array());
      * @return object
      */
     public function deserialize($data, $type, $format, array $context = array());
-
-    /**
-     * Get current options of the serializer
-     *
-     * @return array
-     */
-    public function getContext();
 }
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Encoder/JsonEncoderTest.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Encoder/JsonEncoderTest.php
index 5a525c31c341..c2f60728d96d 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Encoder/JsonEncoderTest.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Encoder/JsonEncoderTest.php
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ protected function setUp()
     {
         $this->encoder = new JsonEncoder;
         $this->serializer = new Serializer(array(new CustomNormalizer()), array('json' => new JsonEncoder()));
-        $this->encoder->setSerializer($this->serializer);
     }
 
     public function testEncodeScalar()
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ public function testComplexObject()
 
     public function testOptions()
     {
-        $context = array(JSON_NUMERIC_CHECK);
+        $context = array('json_encode_options' => JSON_NUMERIC_CHECK);
 
         $arr = array();
         $arr['foo'] = "3";
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/DenormalizableDummy.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/DenormalizableDummy.php
index 468d44487645..09b8a5281216 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/DenormalizableDummy.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/DenormalizableDummy.php
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 class DenormalizableDummy implements DenormalizableInterface
 {
 
-    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null)
+    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
 
     }
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/Dummy.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/Dummy.php
index cdcf510df0a2..6b33e8437440 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/Dummy.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/Dummy.php
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class Dummy implements NormalizableInterface, DenormalizableInterface
     public $baz;
     public $qux;
 
-    public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null)
+    public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         return array(
             'foo' => $this->foo,
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null)
         );
     }
 
-    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null)
+    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         $this->foo = $data['foo'];
         $this->bar = $data['bar'];
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/NormalizableTraversableDummy.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/NormalizableTraversableDummy.php
index ba1f924e015f..3ac2fe364f9a 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/NormalizableTraversableDummy.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/NormalizableTraversableDummy.php
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 
 class NormalizableTraversableDummy extends TraversableDummy implements NormalizableInterface, DenormalizableInterface
 {
-    public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null)
+    public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         return array(
             'foo' => 'normalizedFoo',
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null)
         );
     }
 
-    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null)
+    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         return array(
             'foo' => 'denormalizedFoo',
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/ScalarDummy.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/ScalarDummy.php
index 1b0516a4174e..e9db23882b58 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/ScalarDummy.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Serializer/Tests/Fixtures/ScalarDummy.php
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@ class ScalarDummy implements NormalizableInterface, DenormalizableInterface
     public $foo;
     public $xmlFoo;
 
-    public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null)
+    public function normalize(NormalizerInterface $normalizer, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         return $format === 'xml' ? $this->xmlFoo : $this->foo;
     }
 
-    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null)
+    public function denormalize(DenormalizerInterface $denormalizer, $data, $format = null, array $context = array())
     {
         if ($format === 'xml') {
             $this->xmlFoo = $data;