PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS OF FAITH. – Formulas or summaries in which the various Protestant churches officially notify their principal religious doctrines.
SUMMARY:
I. Lutheran C
II. Lutheran-Calvinist C
III. Reformed C. and their manifold groups. –IV. Anglican-Ecclesiastic C
V. Other P. C. – VI. C. of Protestant societies. – VII. General overview of the present state of Protestant churches.I. LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
The Augsburg Confession, drawn up by Melanchthon, approved by Luther, subscribed to by various theological princes and presented to Emperor Charles V (1530) at the Diet of Augsburg, was composed in a conciliatory spirit so as not to offend Catholics too greatly, and precisely for this reason certain characteristic Lutheran doctrines, such as the consubstantiality and ubiquity of the Body of Christ, are not found in II. It consists of two parts: the first, comprising 22 articles, includes orthodox articles and some heterodox ones, such as the 7th: De Ecclesia, the 20th: De bonis operibus, the 21st: De cultu Sanctorum; the second part, with 7 articles, is rather a catalogue of what they call abuses of the Catholic Church, namely, priestly celibacy, private Masses, integral auricular confession, tradition, vows, ecclesiastical authority, and in these one can already discern the errors that were to become common to many other Protestants. The errors of this Confession were refuted by Catholic theologians, to whom Melanchthon replied in the same year, 1530, with the Apologia Confessionis Augustanae, in which Lutheran doctrines stand out much more clearly. On the occasion of the convocation of the Council of Trent, and to present an exposition of the new doctrine, the Articles of Smalcald were compiled in 1537, in which Luther, abandoning all hope of concord with Catholics, sets forth his doctrines without ambiguity and clearly manifests his hatred of the Pope. After Luther’s death (1546), Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560), of a much milder and more accommodating character, succeeded him in the leadership of the Lutherans; in some points he departed from the doctrine of his master, e.g., in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, inclining towards the Calvinist form. This gave rise to the controversy between rigid Lutherans and the Crypto-Calvinists (q.v.), to which was added the synergistic controversy with Flacius Illyricus on original sin, the synergistic doctrine opposed to Luther’s servum arbitrium, the controversy over the nature of justification, the Majoristic and Antinomian controversies on good works, the Ubiquitarian, Adiaphoristic, etc. All these controversies and disputes caused confusion within Lutheranism, which was not calmed either by the Saxon or Severe Form (1574) or by the Maulbronn Form (1575). Finally, Elector Augustus of Saxony (1553–1586) convened some of the leading theologians, and in 1577 the Formula of Concord was drawn up. It consists of 12 articles, all but the last divided into three parts, namely: the topic to be treated, what is to be admitted (pars positiva) and what is to be rejected (pars negativa). The last article condemns the Anabaptists, Schwenckfeldians, Anti-Trinitarians, etc. This formula did not put an end to all controversies, but in general it was well received throughout Lutheran Germany and is the last of the Lutheran Symbolical Books. No mention has been made of the Saxon Confession (1551) or the Württemberg Confession (1551), prepared to be presented to the Council of Trent, which did not take place due to its suspension the following year, 1552. In Hungary, both the Twelve Articles of Erdid (1545) and the Confession of the Five Cities (1548) are based on the Augsburg Confession. A strong reaction against the Crypto-Calvinists occurred in the Visitation Articles (1592), in which Calvin’s predestination is condemned as false and erroneous. Lutherans in the United States generally accept all nine Symbolical Books.II. LUTHERAN-CALVINIST CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
Under this heading are included some Protestant confessions attributed to both branches of Protestantism. Such are the Repetitio Anhaltina (1581), rather Lutheran in character, the Nassau Confession (1578), which has a Lutheran flavour but is opposed to ubiquity. The Consensus Sendomirensis (1570), from Poland, emanated from a mixed synod of Lutherans and Calvinists; it was confirmed in the Acta et conclusiones seu canones Synodi generalis Cracoviensis (1573) and in the Synod of Thorn (1595). Of the three “Confessiones Marchicae,” which Niemeyer classifies among the Reformed or Calvinist confessions, only the first, namely the Confessio Fidei Johannis Sigismundi, Electoris Brandenburgensis (1614), is clearly Calvinist; the second, the Colloquium Lipsiense (1641), was composed by Lutherans and Calvinists; and the third, the Declaratio Thorunensis, was drawn up in Poland with the cooperation of both Lutherans and Calvinists. Setting aside other confessions, mention should also be made of the Palatinate Union Articles (1818), by which King Frederick William III of Prussia (1797–1840) sought not so much to unite as to bring closer together the Lutherans and Calvinists of his states in the United Evangelical Church, each retaining their own Symbolical Books. Of the 34 confessions of faith of the Bohemian Brethren (q.V. BOHEMIANS, BRETHREN), the 1535 confession, recommended by Luther himself, was of a Lutheran tendency and is called the First Bohemian Confession; in 1575 the Second Bohemian Confession was compiled to replace the earlier ones, and although in general the Augsburg Confession predominated, it also contains Calvinist and Hussite doctrines. In the reorganization carried out by Count Zinzendorf, the Bohemian Brethren changed their name to “Moravian Brethren.” Their doctrines can be gathered from the Easter Litany (1749) and the nine articles of the Synodal Result of 1869.III. REFORMED CONFESSIONS OF FAITH AND THEIR MANIFOLD GROUPS
Such confessions (Zwinglian, Calvinist), which originated in Switzerland, spread to many countries of Europe, and each of these wished to formulate one or more confessions of faith. About thirty are counted. None, however, has the importance that the Augsburg Confession enjoys among Lutherans. The most authoritative are the Second Helvetic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dort and the Confession with the Westminster Catechism. The characteristic doctrines of the Reformed confessions are the virtual or dynamic presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, eternal predestination, the equality of all ministers, and the ecclesiastical government of “elders” (lay and clerical). The name “Presbyterian” is given to the Anglo-Saxon and Scottish Calvinists and those who derive from them, while the name “Reformed” is retained for Calvinists in other countries, such as France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland.For greater clarity, these confessions will be subdivided into various groups, namely: 1) the Helvetic group; 2) the German group; 3) the Franco-Belgian-Dutch group; 4) the Anglo-Scottish group. The Anglican confessions, although permeated with Calvinist doctrines and considered by many as Reformed, must be considered separately on account of their characteristic doctrine of episcopacy, which is so contrary to Calvinism.
### Helvetic Group
This group had two principal leaders, Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531) and John Calvin (1509–1541). Zwingli expounded his doctrines in his 67 Articles (1523) and the 10 Bern Theses (1528), developing them further in his *Ad Carolum romanum imperatorem fidei Huldryci Zuinglii ratio* (1530) and *Ad Franciscum, Francorum regem, fidei Huldryci Zuinglii ratio et confessio* (1531). Zwinglian doctrines spread to neighboring countries, and four imperial cities—Strasbourg, Constance, Memmingen, and Lindau—presented the so-called Tetrapolitan Confession, which bore a Zwinglian flavor but included certain concessions to Lutheran doctrines on the Eucharist, at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. Ecolampadius (1482–1531) summarized his master’s teachings in the 12 articles of the *Confessio Basileensis prior*, published in 1534. To mitigate, to some extent, the growing division between Zwinglian and Lutheran doctrines, at the initiative of Protestant leaders in Strasbourg, particularly Bucer and Capito, the *Confessio fidei Helvetica prior* or *Basileensis secunda* was published in Basel in 1536 and received Luther’s approval. It consists of 27 articles; the doctrine remains essentially Zwinglian but with greater concessions to the Lutherans.
Meanwhile, Calvin began to emerge in French-speaking Switzerland. During his first residence in Geneva in 1536, he had begun his *Catechism*, which appeared alongside his famous *Christianae religionis institutio*. The catechism was published in 1541 after his return to Geneva. Eager to unify the Swiss Churches, in 1549 he traveled to Zurich, where, together with Bullinger (1504–1573), leader of the Zwinglians, the celebrated *Consensus Tigurinus* was drawn up, consisting of 26 articles in which a certain harmony was achieved. This *Consensus* was accepted in nearly all the Protestant Churches of Switzerland. In 1552, when opposition to Calvin’s decree on predestination was at its height, the pastors of Geneva produced the *Consensus Genevensis*, which, however, did not gain much acceptance outside the city.
Bullinger had composed a confession for his own use, and this, known to his friends, was published by them in 1566 as the *Confessio Helvetica posterior*. It consists of 30 articles in which nearly all the Protestant errors of the time are reflected, and the doctrine expounded there on the Lord’s Supper and predestination seems to have satisfied both Zwinglians and Calvinists. It became one of the most popular and widely accepted confessions in Switzerland. The last of the Swiss confessions, the *Formula consensus ecclesiasticum Helveticorum* of 1675, was merely a reaction by strict Swiss Calvinists against the Saumur school, which had adopted certain Arminian doctrines.
To the Helvetic group may be linked the Waldensian confession. At the Synod of Chanforan (q.v.) in 1532, they embraced the doctrines of Farel and his companions, Calvin’s precursors in Geneva, and only in 1655 did they adopt the *Confessio Gallicana*. This remained in force among them until 1804, when they modified five articles, rejecting, among other things, Calvinist predestination. Similarly, from the Helvetic group derive the Hungarian confessions of Kolozsvár (1559), that of Debrecen (1560–62), and especially that of Czegléd (1570), known as the *Confessio Hungarica*, which also contains some canons against the Socinians (q.V. ANTITRINITARIANS).
### Germanic Group
Although the greater part of Germany had embraced Lutheran doctrines, as has been noted, Zwinglian doctrines had infiltrated the regions bordering Switzerland, followed later by those of Calvin. Precisely at the new University of Heidelberg in the Palatinate, bitter disputes and controversies arose among the partisans of the three doctrines. To put an end to the scandal, the Calvinist Elector Palatine Frederick III (1515–1576) commissioned Calvinist theologians to compose the Heidelberg Catechism or Palatinate Catechism (1563). Calvinist doctrines are set forth in its three parts, divided into 129 articles; Calvin’s decree appears somewhat milder, but there is a marked animosity toward the Catholic Church, as seen in Article 80, where the Mass is called “execrable idolatry.” The other German Reformed confessions are of little importance and are almost entirely confined to the territories whose princes had become Calvinists. Among these may be mentioned the Confession of Nassau (1578), the Bremen Consensus (1595), the Confession and Catechism of Hesse (1607), the Confession of Bentheim (1613), and the already mentioned Confession of Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg (1614). From the Germanic group derives the Reformed Church in the United States, formed by descendants of German Reformed emigrants and which has the Heidelberg Catechism as its confessional standard.
### Franco-Belgian-Dutch Group
The only important Reformed confession among the French was the *Confessio fidei Gallicana*, drawn up in 1559, approved by Calvin and Beza, and ratified at the National Synod of La Rochelle in 1571. In the Low Countries, Guido de Brès, assisted by Adrian Saravia and others, wrote the *Confessio Belgica* in 1561, which is still in use today among the Reformed in the Netherlands. The doctrine of predestination was challenged by Arminius (q.v.), whose disciples presented articles condemning it at the Synod of Dort (1618–19); to these the synod replied with the Canons of Dort (q.V. ARMINIANISM), defending the strictest Calvinist doctrine. It should also be noted that Arminian doctrine on the universality of redemption, and not only of the elect, left a deep imprint and is professed by many Reformed and Presbyterian Churches. To this group may be linked the Reformed Church in America, which regards the *Confessio Belgica* and the Canons of Dort as its confessional standards.
4) The Anglo-Scottish Group. Calvinism was established in Scotland by John Knox (1505–72), who first wrote the Scots Confession, approved by Parliament in 1560, consisting of 25 Calvinist and anti-Catholic articles. In 1581, the Second or General Confession of True and Christian Faith and Religion was proclaimed, a very brief but highly insulting document to the Catholic Church and especially to the pope, described as “that Roman Antichrist,” to the sacraments as “spurious sacraments,” to the Mass as “a diabolical mass,” to the priesthood as “a blasphemous priesthood,” and to the Council of Trent as “the bloodstained decrees of the Tridentine Council,” etc. These statements rendered the Church of Scotland one of the most fanatical among all Protestant sects.
From this Confession of 1581 derives the famous covenant or “Covenant” of 1643, whose adherents, the “Covenanters,” played a major role in the religious-civil wars of England. During the second half of the 16th century, there were many in England who disagreed with the official Anglican Church, believing it retained too many Catholic elements, such as episcopacy. Among these dissenters or nonconformists, the Calvinist-inclined Puritans distinguished themselves. The extent of their influence within the Anglican Church itself can be seen in the Lambeth Articles (1595), approved by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London “et aliis theologis,” and appended to the 39 Articles of Religion. These consist of nine articles, all favoring Calvinist predestination, though they were not sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth.
Upon these articles were based the “Irish Articles of Religion” (1615), approved by the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, James Ussher, the bishops, and the Convocation of the Irish Episcopal Church. Strong reaction arose under King James I (1603–25), who preferred the submission of the Anglican Church to the independence of the Puritans. Having gained almost nothing at the Hampton Court Conference (1604), and conscious of their strength, they did not abandon their aim to purify the established Church, and in 1643 they joined the Scottish Covenanters against King Charles I (1625–49). Eight deputies from Scotland attended the Westminster Assembly. Of the various elements composing it—Anglicans, Independents, Erastians, etc.—circumstances gradually led to the predominance of Puritans and Presbyterians, and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) became a triumph of Calvinism over Anglicanism. It consists of 23 chapters, each with various articles, modeled on the Irish Articles of Faith of Archbishop Ussher (v. LAMBETH), and contains all Calvinist doctrines. Along with the Confession, the Assembly also composed and presented to Parliament in the same year, 1647, two catechisms, the Larger and the Shorter. The latter is still in use and is equated with those of Luther and Heidelberg.
From this Anglo-Scottish Presbyterian group arose the numerous Presbyterian denominations in the United States, which have preserved the Westminster Confession as their subordinate standard, though with some modifications regarding Calvinist decrees. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in its “New C.” of 1883, embraced Arminianism.
IV. ANGLICAN-EPISCOPALIAN CONFESSIONS
Properly speaking, among Anglicans and Episcopalians there is no single confession of faith, but only the 39 Articles of Religion, published after various vicissitudes in 1563. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, in its “Resolutions” of 1801, did suppress some articles, substitute others, and alter the 37th, refusing to recognize the ecclesiastical supremacy of the King of England; yet it retained the entire Anglican character. The 39 Articles are thus recognized by the entire Anglo-Episcopal communion, which extends not only to England and its colonies and the United States, but also to other countries where Anglican or Episcopal bishops have been established, such as Japan, China, and Latin America.This phenomenon of an apparent religious unity within a Protestant Church is explained by: a) the ambiguity of the articles, susceptible to various doctrinal interpretations (v. ARTICOLI DI RELIGIONE ANGLICANI); b) the divergent doctrinal currents of the High, Low, and Broad Church within the Church of England; c) the theory of “comprehensiveness” (v.), which makes it possible to profess any doctrine, provided one does not reject episcopacy. To this must be attributed the 1875 separation of the Reformed Episcopal Church in the United States, whose “Declaration of Principles” did not recognize the necessity of episcopacy and admitted the validity of ordinations without episcopal intervention.
The third Lambeth Conference (1888), which included many bishops of the Anglican-Episcopal communion, proclaimed the four articles known as the “Lambeth Quadrilateral” (v. LAMBETH), considered as a basis for the union of all Protestants and thus as a minimum of beliefs to be held even by Anglo-Episcopalians, namely: a) Holy Scripture as the sole rule of faith; b) the two “Creeds,” of the Apostles and of Nicaea; c) the two Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; d) the historical episcopate necessary for ordaining ministers of the united Church. In practice, these four points reduce the 39 Articles to their essentials.
V. OTHER CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
Thus far, we have treated those confessions deriving from Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines; this section includes those that do not acknowledge such origins. Prior to the so-called Reformation of the Bishop (i.e., the Council of Trent, 1545–63), there were the Confession of the Taborites (1431), the Waldensian Catechism (1439), and all the Bohemian confessions prior to that of 1523. Nearly contemporary with the so-called Reformation were: 1) the Mennonites, so called from their founder Menno Simons (1505–64), who have as their standard the Waterland Confession (1590), in which they gathered the doctrines of Menno and the Anabaptists, characterized by the baptism of adults, considering infant baptism invalid. 2) The Unitarians, who emerged in the 16th century under the name of Socinians, and in the early centuries of Christianity as Antitrinitarians, denying the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Their standard works are the Catechism and the Confession of Cracow (1574), the Short and Long Racovian Catechisms, both from 1605. 3) The Congregationalists (v.), in addition to the Statutes of the Congregational Princes compiled by Robert Browne (v.) in 1582, presented to James I in 1603 the Points of Difference between Congregationalism and the Church of England, and in 1658 restated their doctrines in the Savoy Declaration. The fundamental principle of this sect is that each local church is absolutely independent and may formulate its own confession of faith; and if at times among the various groups adopting Congregational polity one finds a confession, this does not mean that the entire sect professes or accepts it, but only that some local churches voluntarily adopt II. It is therefore unnecessary to discuss confessions of faith proper to Congregationalists or to sects following their polity, such as the Baptists, the Assemblies of God (Pentecostals), the Christadelphians, the Disciples, etc., and these are omitted.The principal sects arising in the 17th and 18th centuries are: 1) the Quakers or Friends, founded by George Fox (1624–91) in England, whose characteristic doctrine is the “inner light,” both for interpreting Scripture and for all actions to be taken. The 15 Theses contained in Robert Barclay’s Apology (1648–90) may be considered their confession of faith. 2) The Methodists, whose founder is John
Wesley (1703–91) do not properly have a confession of faith, but at his death he left them as the basis of his doctrine the New Testament and the four volumes of his discourses, from which the three principal doctrines of the Methodists may be derived: namely, saving grace offered to all, the present assurance of being saved, and the possibility of attaining Christian perfection.
3) The Church of the New Jerusalem, or Swedenborgians, founded by Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborg did not wish to found a new sect, but left many writings, among which are the *Arcana coelestia*. In 1787 some of his English followers formulated the Twelve Articles of Faith. The principal doctrines are antitrinitarianism, the twofold sense of Holy Scripture—namely, the literal and the spiritual, the latter revealed to Swedenborg—and the various and already accomplished judgments of the world before the final one, from which arose the Church of the New Jerusalem (1757).
The confessions of faith of the sects that arose in the 19th and 20th centuries differ greatly from those of the 16th century; they are much shorter, less theological, tend to simplify and reduce to a minimum the beliefs and dogmas to be held, and indeed introduce new elements (Mormons or Christian Science) or adopt attitudes (Salvation Army) never seen in earlier sects. Among the principal ones may be cited: 1) the Catholic Apostolic Church, or Irvingians, from E. Irving (1792–1834), its founder, which has as its symbolic books the *Manual*, the *Catechism*, and the *Three Witnesses*, the latter addressed respectively to King William IV of England (1830–37), the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the last, the Great Witness, to the emperor, sovereigns, and heads of baptized nations. Among its doctrines, Irving advocated church government by twelve apostles and taught the millennium of Christ, etc. 2) The Mormons or Latter-day Saints, founded by Joseph Smith, to whom in 1827 the Book of Mormon was revealed. Among their symbolic books are the *Book of Doctrine and Covenants* and the *Thirteen Articles*, in which, in the eighth, the Book of Mormon is equated with the Bible. Under the title “Marriage, etc.” polygamy was considered a revealed doctrine and direct revelation from God to their supreme leader was admitted. 3) The Seventh-day Adventists or Sabbatarians, founded in 1833 in the United States by William Miller, have no proper symbolic book, but their beliefs are derived from various pamphlets, such as Baker’s *What Seventh-day Adventists Believe*. Their principal doctrines are indicated by their double name: they teach that the Sabbath, not Sunday, is the Lord’s day, and that the advent of Our Lord to judge the world is near, when the eternal punishment of the wicked will consist in their annihilation. 4) The Salvation Army, or Salvationists, reflects the spirit of its founder, William Booth (1829–1912). Rather than a true confession of faith, it has a series of “Directives” or “Regulations” for the religious-philanthropic instruction of its members. In the *Doctrine of the Salvation Army* not a single word is found on the Sacraments, and Calvinist decrees are openly attacked. 5) Christian Science, or Scientists, founded by Mrs. Mary Baker Glover Eddy (see BAKER, MARY EDDY), recognizes as symbolic books the *Manual of the Church*, the *Seven Articles* (texts), and the book *Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures*, which is almost equated with the Bible. According to the Scientists, neither sin nor physical evil exists except in the mortal mind (with a lowercase “m”), and they vanish as soon as the Mind (with an uppercase “M”) of the Spirit is substituted. 6) The Holiness Churches share with the Pentecostals the doctrine of “speaking in tongues” as a sign of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and among their symbolic books one may cite the *Discipline of the Holiness Church*. Also mentioned are the Plumptonians, who reject any confession of faith outside the New Testament; the Nazarenes, with their Fifteen Articles of Faith (1932); the Old Catholics, with the Fourteen Theses of Union or the Theses of the Bonn Conference (1874); and other minor sects and the numerous subdivisions of Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Reformed, Methodists, and others, which at times differ only in matters of discipline or church governance.