PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS OF FAITH. - Formulas or summaries in which the various Protestant churches officially make known their principal religious doctrines.
I. LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS
The Confession of Augsburg, drafted by Melanchthon, approved by Luther, subscribed by various German princes and presented to Emperor Charles V (1530) at the Diet of Augsburg, was composed in a conciliatory spirit, so as not to clash too much with Catholics, and precisely for this reason certain characteristically Lutheran doctrines, such as consubstantiation and the ubiquity of the Body of Christ, are not found in it. It consists of two parts: the first, made up of 22 articles, comprises 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, the celibacy of priests, the private Mass, integrity in auricular confession, tradition, vows, ecclesiastical authority, and in these the errors that were to become common to many other Protestants are already discernible. The errors of this Confession were refuted by expert Catholic theologians, to whom Melanchthon replied in the same year 1530 with the Apologia confessionis Augustanae, where Lutheran doctrines stand out much more prominently. On the occasion of the convocation of the Council of Trent, and in order to present an exposition of the new doctrine, the Articles of Smalcald were compiled in 1537, in which Luther, already setting aside any 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 gentler and more accommodating character, succeeded him in the leadership of the Lutherans, and in some points he departed from his master's doctrine, for example, on the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, inclining toward the Calvinist form. From this arose the polemic between rigid Lutherans and crypto-Calvinists (v.), to which were added the Flacian controversy, or that of Flacius Illyricus, on original sin, the synergistic controversy, opposed to Luther's bondage of the will, the Osiandrian on the nature of justification, the Majoristic and antinomian on good works, the ubiquitist, the adiaphorist, etc. All these polemics and controversies brought confusion into the Lutheran camp, which was calmed neither by the Swabian or Saxon Formula of 1574, nor by the Formula of Maulbronn of 1575. Finally the Elector of Saxony, Augustus (1553-1586), convoked some of the principal theologians, and in 1577 the Formula concordiae was drawn up. It consists of 12 articles, all but the last distributed in three parts, namely: the subject to be treated, what must be admitted (pars positiva) and what must be rejected (pars negativa). The last article condemns the Anabaptists, the Schwenkfeldians, the anti-Trinitarians, etc. This formula did not put an end to all the controversies, but in general it was well received throughout Lutheran Germany, and it is the last of the Lutheran symbolical books. No mention has been made of the Confessio Savonica (1551) or of the Confessio Wurtembergica (1551), prepared to be presented to the Council of Trent, which did not happen because of its suspension in the following year 1552. In Hungary both the 12 Articles of Erdöd (1545) and the Confession of the five cities (1548) have the Confession of Augsburg as their basis. A strong reaction against the crypto-Calvinists occurred in the Visitation Articles
(1592), in which Calvin's predestination is condemned as false and erroneous. The Lutherans of the United States in general accept all nine symbolical books.
II. LUTHERAN-CALVINIST PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
Under this name are included certain confessions of faith that are attributed to one or the other Protestant branch. Such are the Repertilio anhaltina (1581), rather Lutheran, and the Confession of Nassau (1578), likewise Lutheran in flavor but contrary to ubiquity. The Consensus Sendomirensis (1570), of Poland, issued from a mixed synod of Lutherans and Calvinists; and it was confirmed in the Acta et conclusiones seu canonet Cracoviensis Synodi generalis (1573), and in the Synod of Thorn (1595). Of the three "confessiones Marchicae," which Niemeyer numbered among the Reformed or Calvinist confessions, only the first, that is, the Confessio fidei Ioannis Sigismundi electoris Brandeburgensis (1614), is clearly Calvinist; the second, Colloquium Lipitense (1641), was composed by Lutherans and Calvinists; and the third, Declaratio Thorunensis, was drawn up in Poland, also with the participation of Lutherans and Calvinists. Leaving aside other confessions, mention will still be made of the Articles of the Palatine Union (1818), with which the King of Prussia, Frederick William III (1797-1840), sought not properly to unite but to bring closer together the Lutherans and Calvinists of his states in the "Evangelical United Church," each preserving its own symbolic books. Of the 34 confessions of faith of the Bohemian Brethren (v. BOEMI, FRATELLI), that of 1535, recommended by Luther himself, was Lutheran in tendency and is called the First Bohemian Confession; in 1575 the Second Bohemian Confession was compiled, which replaced the earlier ones, and although in general the Augsburg Confession predominated in it, it nonetheless contains Calvinist and Hussite doctrines. In the reorganization given by the Count of Zinzendorf, the Bohemian Brethren changed their name to that of "Moravian Brethren." Their doctrines can be gathered from the Easter Litany (1749) and from the nine articles of the Synodal Result of 1869.
III. REFORMED PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS OF FAITH AND THEIR MANIFOLD GROUPS
These confessions (Zwinglian, Calvinist), born in Switzerland, spread through many countries of Europe, and each of these wished to formulate one or more confessions of faith. About thirty of them 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 Catechism of Westminster. 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 the "elders" (lay and ecclesiastical). The name Presbyterians is given to the Anglo-Saxon and Scottish Calvinists and to those who descend from them, and the name Reformed has been retained for the Calvinists of the other countries, such as France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland.
For greater clarity these confessions will be divided into various groups, namely: 1) the Helvetic group; 2) the Germanic group; 3) the Franco-Belgo-Dutch group; 4) the Anglo-Scottish group. The Anglican confessions, although pervaded by Calvinist doctrines, and considered by many as Reformed, must nonetheless be considered separately because of their characteristic doctrine of the episcopate, so contrary to Calvinism.
1) Helvetic group. This group had two principal heads, Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) and John Calvin (1509-64). Zwingli in his 67 Articles (1523) and in the 10 Theses of Bern (1528) sets out his doctrines, which he developed at length in his Ad Carolinum romanum imperatorem fidei Huldryci Zuinglii ratio (1530) and in that Ad Franciscum, Francorum regem, fidei Huldryci Zuinglii ratio et confessio (1531). The Zwinglian doctrines spread through the neighboring countries, and four cities of the Empire, Strasbourg, Constance, Memmingen and Lindau, presented in 1530 at the Diet of Augsburg the so-called Confessio tetrapolitana, of Zwinglian flavor, but with certain concessions to the Lutheran doctrines on the Eucharist. Oecolampadius (1482-1531) summarized the master's doctrines in the 12 articles of the Confessio Basileensis prior, which was published in 1534. To compose in some manner the split that was becoming ever more pronounced between the Zwinglian and the Lutheran doctrines, at the initiative of the Protestants of Strasbourg, especially of Bucer and Capito, the Confessio fidei Helveticae prior or Basileensis secunda was published in 1536 at Basel, which received the approval of Luther. It consists of 27 articles; the doctrine is still Zwinglian, but with greater concessions to the Lutherans. Meanwhile in French Switzerland Calvin was beginning to emerge. During his first residence in Geneva in 1536 he had begun his Catechism, a summary of his celebrated Christianiae religionis institutio. The catechism was published in 1541 after his return to Geneva. Desirous of unifying the Churches of Switzerland, in 1549 he went to Zurich, and there together with Bullinger (1504-75), head of the Zwinglians, the celebrated Consensus Tigurinus was drawn up, which consists of 26 articles, in which a certain harmony was reached. This Consensus was accepted in almost all the Protestant Churches of Switzerland. In 1552, when opposition to the Calvinian decree on predestination was at its liveliest, the pastors of Geneva composed the Consensus Genevensis, which however did not have much fortune outside the city. Bullinger had composed a confession for himself, and this, known by his friends, was published by them in 1566, and is the Confessio Helvetica posterior. It consists of 30 articles, in which almost all the Protestant errors of that time are reflected, and the doctrine set forth there on the Lord's Supper and predestination seems to have satisfied both the Zwinglians and the Calvinists, and it was one of the most popular and widespread in Switzerland. The last of the Swiss confessions, the Formula consensus ecclesiarum Helveticorum of 1675, was nothing but a reaction of the rigid Swiss Calvinists against the school of Saumur, which had adopted certain Arminian doctrines. To the Helvetic group one can link the confession of the Waldensians, who at the Synod of Cianforan (v.) in 1532 embraced the doctrines of Farel and his companions, precursors of Calvin at Geneva, and only in 1655 adopted the Confessio Gallicana. This remained in force among them until 1894, in which year they modified 5 articles, rejecting among other things the Calvinian predestination. Likewise, from the Helvetic group derive the Hungarian confessions of Kolosvar (1559), that of Debreczen (1560-62) and above all that of Czenger (1570) called the Confessio Hungarica, which also has some canon against the Socinians (v. ANTITRINITARIANS).
2) Germanic group. Although the greater part of Germany had embraced the Lutheran doctrines, nonetheless, as has been said, in the countries bordering on Switzerland the Zwinglian doctrines had infiltrated, which were then followed by those of Calvin. Precisely in the new University of Heidelberg in the Palatinate, bitter disputes and controversies arose among the partisans of the three doctrines, and to put an end to so much scandal, the Palatine elector Frederick III (1515-76), a Calvinist, had the Heidelberg Catechism or Palatine Catechism (1563) composed by Calvinist theologians. The Calvinist doctrines are set forth there in three parts divided into 129 articles; Calvin's decree appears somewhat milder, but one notes in it an odious animosity against the Catholic Church, as in article 80, where the Mass is called "exercanda idololatria". The other German Reformed confessions are of little importance, and almost all confined to the countries whose prince had become a Calvinist. One may cite 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 of 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 symbolical book.
3) Franco-Belgo-Dutch group. The only important Reformed confession of faith among the French was the Confessio fidei Gallicana, made in 1559, approved by Calvin and by Beza, and ratified at the national Synod of La Rochelle in 1571. In Flanders, Guido de Brés, aided by Adrian of Saravia and by certain others, wrote in 1561 the Confessio Belgica, which is still in use today among the Reformed of the Netherlands. The doctrine on predestination was attacked by Arminius (v.), whose disciples presented to the Synod of Dort (1618-19) 5 articles condemning it; to these the synod responded with the Articles of Dort (v. ARMINIANISM), defending the most rigid Calvinian doctrine. It should also be noted that the Arminian doctrine on the universality of the Redemption, and not of the elect alone, left a deep imprint, and is professed by many Reformed and Presbyterian Churches. To this group one can link the Reformed Church in America, which considers the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dort as its symbolical books.
4) Anglo-Scottish group. Calvinism was established in Scotland by John Knox (1505-72), who wrote the Confessio Scoticana prima, approved by parliament in 1560, and it consists of 25 Calvinist and anti-Catholic articles. In 1581, the Confessio Scoticana secunda, or Generalis confessio verae et christianae fidei et religionis, was proclaimed, very brief but exceedingly insulting to the Catholic Church and especially to the pope, "Romanum illum Antichristum," to the Sacraments "spuria sacramenta," to the Mass "missam diabolicam," to the priesthood "sacerdotium blasphemum," and to the Council of Trent "sanguinolenta ipsius Concilii Tridentini decreta," etc., which have made the Church of Scotland one of the most fanatical among all the Protestant sects. From this C. of 1581 derives the famous pact, or "Covenant," of 1643, whose adherents, or "Covenanters," played so great a part in the civil-religious wars of England. During the second half of the 16th century there were many also in England who did not agree with the official Anglican Church, because they said that too many Catholic elements had remained in it, such as the episcopate, and among these dissidents or non-conformists the Puritans of Calvinist tendency stood out. How great their influence was in the Anglican Church itself can be deduced from the Lambeth Articles (1595), approved by the archbishop of Canterbury, by the bishop of London "et alia theologia," and introduced as an appendix to the 39 Articles of Religion. There are 9 of them, all in favor of Calvinist predestination. They were not, however, sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth. Upon them were founded the "Irish Articles of Religion" (1615), approved by the Anglican archbishop of Dublin, James Ussher, by the bishops and by the "Convocation" of the Irish Episcopal Church. The reaction arose powerfully under King James I (1603-25), who liked the submission of the Anglican Church much more than the independence of the Puritans. Since these had been able to obtain almost nothing at the Hampton Court conference (1604), conscious of their power, they did not desist from their purpose of purifying the official Church, and in 1643 they united with the Scottish "Covenanters" against King Charles I (1625-49). From Scotland came eight deputies to the Westminster Assembly. Of the various elements that composed it—Anglicans, Independents, Erastians, etc.—circumstances brought it about that little by little almost only the Puritans and Presbyterians remained in it; and the Confessio fidei Westmonasteriensis (1647) turned out to be a triumph of Calvinism over Anglicanism. It consists of 23 chapters, each with various articles; it is modeled on the Irish articles of faith of Archbishop Ussher (v. LAMBETH), and contains all the Calvinist doctrines. Together with the c., the assembly also composed and presented to Parliament in the same year 1647 two catechisms, the long and the short. The latter is still in use, and is placed on a par with those of Luther and of Heidelberg. From the Anglo-Scottish Presbyterian group the numerous Presbyterian sects of the United States of America draw their origin, which have preserved, as a symbolic book, the C. of Westminster, though with some modifications regarding the Calvinist decree. The Presbyterian Church of Cumberland in its "New c." of 1885 embraced Arminianism.
IV. ANGLICAN-EPISCOPALIAN PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
Properly speaking, there is no c. of f. among Anglicans and Episcopalians, but only the 39 Articles of Religion published, after various vicissitudes, in 1563. The Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, in its "Resolutions" of 1801, did indeed suppress some articles, replace them with others, and change the 37th, by not recognizing the ecclesiastical supremacy of the King of England; but it preserved the entire Anglican stamp. The 39 Articles are therefore recognized by the whole Anglo-Episcopalian communion, which extends not only to England and the United States and their colonies, but also to other countries where Anglican or Episcopalian bishoprics have been erected, as in Japan, China, Latin America, etc. This phenomenon of an apparent religious unity in a Protestant Church finds its explanation: a) in the ambiguity of the articles, susceptible to various doctrinal interpretations (v. ARTICOLI DI RELIGIONE ANGLICANA); b) in the divergent doctrinal currents of the High, Low and Broad Church, permitted in the Church of England; c) in the theory of "comprehensiveness" (v.) which makes possible the profession of any doctrine, with the sole condition, it seems, of not rejecting the episcopate. And to this is due the separation, in 1875, of the Reformed Episcopal Church of the United States, because in its "Declaration of Principles" it did not recognize the necessity of the episcopate, and admitted the validity of Ordinations without the intervention of a bishop. The third Lambeth Conference (1888), in which many bishops of the Anglican-Episcopalian communion took part, proclaimed the four articles called the "Lambeth Quadrilateral" (v. LAMBETH), and considered as the basis for the union of all Protestants, and hence also as a minimum of beliefs to be held by the Anglo-Episcopalians themselves, namely: a) Holy Scripture, 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 historic episcopate necessary for ordaining the ministers of the united Church. To these four points the 39 Articles are practically reduced.
V. OTHER PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
Up to this point we have dealt with those confessions that derive from Lutheran, Calvinist and Anglican doctrines; included in this group are those that do not acknowledge such an origin. Earlier than the pseudo-Reformation of the 16th century are the 12 Theses of Wyclif (1581), the Hussite Catechism (1410), the confession of the Taborites (1431), the Waldensian Catechism (1439), and all the Bohemian confessions earlier than that of 1532. Almost contemporary with the pseudo-Reformation were: 1) the Mennonites, so called from their founder Simon Menno (1505-64), who have as their symbolic book the confession of Waterland (1590), in which they gathered the doctrines of Menno and of the Anabaptists, and whose characteristic is adult Baptism, since they consider that of children invalid. 2) The Unitarians, who go back to the 16th century under the name of Socinians, and to the first centuries of Christianity under that of anti-Trinitarians, and who deny the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. As symbolic books they have the Catechism and the confession of Cracow (1574), the Short and the Long Racovian Catechism, both of 1605. 3) The Congregationalists (v.), besides the Statutes of the Congregationalist Principles, 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 explained their doctrines anew in the Savoy Declaration. The fundamental principle of this sect is that each local Church is absolutely independent and can formulate its own confession of faith; and if at times among the various sects that have adopted the Congregationalist system some confession is found, this does not mean that the whole sect professes or admits such a confession, but only that certain local Churches have voluntarily accepted it. It is therefore useless to speak of confessions of faith proper to the Congregationalists or to the sects that follow their system, such as the Baptists, the Assemblies of God (Pentecostals), the Christadelphians, the Disciples, etc., and for this reason they are omitted.
The principal sects that arose 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 Holy Scripture and for all works to be done. The 15 Theses contained in the Apology of Robert Barclay (1648-90) can be considered as their confession of faith. 2) the Methodists, whose founder is John Wesley (1703-91), do not properly have a confession of faith, but Wesley at his death left them as the basis of his doctrine the New Testament and the four volumes of his sermons, from which the three principal doctrines of the Methodists can 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 them the Arcana coelestia. In 1787 some of his English admirers formulated the 12 Articles of Faith. The principal doctrines are anti-Trinitarianism, the double sense of Holy Scripture, that is the literal and the spiritual, the latter revealed to Swedenborg, and the various judgments of the world that have already taken place before the last one, from which the Church of the New Jerusalem was born (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, they tend to simplify and reduce to the minimum possible the beliefs and dogmas to be believed, indeed they introduce new elements (Mormons or Christian Science) or take attitudes (Salvation Army) never seen in the earlier sects. Among the principal ones may be cited: 1) the Catholic-Apostolic Church, or Irvingites from E. Irving (1792-1834), its founder, which has as its symbolic books the Manual, the Catechism and the Three Testimonies, the latter addressed respectively to the King of England William IV (1830-37), to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the last, the Great Testimony, to the emperors, kings, sovereigns and heads of the baptized nations. Among its doctrines, Irving wants the government of the Church by 12 Apostles, teaches the millennial reign 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 the symbolic books are the Book of Doctrine and Covenants and the 13 Articles, where, in the 8th, the book of Mormon is placed on a par with the Bible. Under the title of "celestial Marriage" polygamy was considered a revealed doctrine, and the direct revelation of God to their supreme head was admitted. 3) The Seventh-day Adventists or Sabbatarians, founded in 1833 by William Miller in the United States, do not properly have any symbolic book, but their beliefs are derived from various of their pamphlets, for example, from that of Baker, What do Seventh-day Adventists believe. In their twofold name their principal doctrines are characterized, since they teach that the Sabbath and not Sunday is the day of the Lord, 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, is influenced by the Methodism of its founder William Booth (1829-1912). Rather than a true confession of faith, it has a series of "Directors" or "Regulations" for the religious-philanthropic instruction of its members. In the Doctrine of the Salvation Army there is not a single word on the Sacraments, and the Calvinist decree is openly attacked. 5) Christian Science, or Scientists, founded by Mrs. Mary Baker Glover Eddy from the names of her three husbands (v. BAKER, MARY EDDY), recognizes as symbolic books the Church Manual, the Seven articles (tenets) and the book of Science and Health with the 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 disappear as soon as the spiritual Mind (with a capital "M") takes its place. 6) The Holiness Churches have in common with the Pentecostals the doctrine of "speaking in tongues" as a sign of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and among their symbolic books it suffices to cite the Discipline of the Holiness Church. There are also the Plymouth Brethren, who want no confession of faith outside the New Testament; the Nazarenes, with their 15 Articles of Faith (1932), the Old Catholics with the 14 Theses of Union or Theses of the Bonn Conference (1874); and other sects of little importance are passed over, as well as the many subdivisions of the Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Reformed, Methodists, Mennonites, etc., which sometimes differ among themselves only in matters of discipline or ecclesiastical government.
VI. PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS OF FAITH OF PROTESTANT SOCIETIES
Besides the Protestant sects or Churches, many interdenominational Protestant societies have been formed, which receive as members individuals of any sect, provided they accept certain religious truths as a condition for belonging to the society. 1) The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) requires subscription to the Paris basis (1855), namely: that the associates, considering Jesus Christ as their God and Savior, wish to be his disciples in doctrine and in life, and to unite their efforts for the extension of his Kingdom among young men. A principle that has misled many Catholic young men ignorant of the meaning that Protestants give to the words "Kingdom of Christ." 2) The Evangelical Alliance or Christian Evangelical Alliance (v. ALLEANZA) proposes to its candidates the 9 Articles of 1867 not as a Creed, but as an indication of the class of persons whom it accepts among its members. Among the 9 Articles are to be noted the 2nd on the free interpretation of Holy Scripture, and the 6th on justification by faith alone, by which Catholics are excluded. There are interdenominational Protestant missionary societies that either propose no c. of f. at all and admit individuals from whatever sect they come; or, if they wish to exclude some, for example the Unitarians, they include among the articles to be subscribed one on the Most Holy Trinity, and if they do not wish to have the Adventists, they establish that Sunday is the day consecrated to the Lord, etc.
VII. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
If the principle of the free interpretation of the Bible was the cause of so many divisions and subdivisions in the Protestant camp, and of so many and such diverse c. of f., the same principle applied, and with greater reason, to the doctrines contained in those same c., has been the cause of their discredit. If there are still Protestants who remain faithful to the doctrines of the c., there are not a few who no longer believe in them, or pay no attention to them, and incline toward a religion without a Creed (Creedless Religion), or at least want it reduced to a minimum of beliefs. This appears in the Lambeth Quadrilateral for the Churches of the Anglican-Episcopal communion; thus in the c. adopted at the Paris Congress of 1907 for all the Reformed churches of France, and thus in the Geneva C. of 1908 for some of the Swiss Reformed churches. In German Protestantism the havoc wrought by rationalism and subjectivism is known to all, for which no dogmas of faith exist or they are immanent elaborations in the depths of the religious conscience. In Germany, France and England the controversy over the adherence that new ministers had to give to the Creed at the act of their ordination has remained famous, and the tendency was to leave their interpretation free. It is likewise certain that in all quarters a strong reaction has been noted which sometimes inclines to the imitation of the Catholic Church, such as Anglo-Catholicism in England and in the United States, the Hochkirche in Germany; sometimes to convoking pan-Protestant congresses, to giving great impetus to the missions in the hope that the enthusiasm of spreading the «message» or of establishing the «Kingdom» may reinvigorate the ancient faith that has waned. But so far it has not been seen that such remedies have been sufficiently effective to invigorate the primitive adherence to the ancient c. of f.
Bibliography4 works
Carmazzola 1852; G. B. Winer, A Comparative view of the doctrine and confessions of the various Communities of Christendom, edited from the last edition, Edinburgh 1873; Ph. Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, 3 vols., New York 1877; W. A. Curtis, A History of Creeds and Confessions of Faith, Edinburgh 1911; C. Algermissen, La Chiesa e le Chiese, Italian trans., 2nd ed., Brescia 1944.
Camillo Crivelli