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Formula of Concord
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Formula of Concord (1577) is an authoritative Lutheran statement of faith (called a confession, creed, or "symbol") that, in its two parts (Epitome and Solid Declaration), makes up the final section of the Lutheran Corpus Doctrinae or Body of Doctrine, known as the Book of Concord (most references to these texts are to the original edition of 1580). The Epitome is a brief and concise presentation of the Formula's twelve articles; the Solid Declaration a detailed exposition. Approved doctrine is presented in "theses"; rejected doctrine in "antitheses." As the original document was written in German, a Latin translation was prepared for the Latin edition of the Book of Concord published in 1584.
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The promulgation and subscription of this document was a major factor in the unification and preservation of Lutheranism. It was the joint work of a group of Lutheran theologians and churchmen of the latter sixteenth century, who met from April 9 to June 7, 1576 in Torgau: Jakob Andreä (1528–1590), Martin Chemnitz (1522–1586), Nikolaus Selnecker (1528–1592), David Chytraeus (1531–1600), Andreas Musculus (1514–1581), Christoph Körner (1518–1594), Caspar Heyderich, Paul Crell (1532–1579), Maximilian Mörlin (1516–1584), Wolfgang Harder, Daniel Gräser, Nicholas Jagenteufel, Johannes Cornicaelius, John Schütz, Martin Mirus (1532–1593), Georg Listenius, and Peter Glaser (theologian); and a smaller set of this group (Andreä, Chemnitz, Selnecker, Chytraeus, Musculus, and Körner) a year later in Bergen Abbey, near Magdeburg, both from March 1–14, and in May, 1577. The most important formulators of the Formula of Concord were Jakob Andreä and Martin Chemnitz.
The first group produced the Torgau Book, then condensed by Andreä into the Epitome, the first part of the Formula of Concord. Its title as found in the 1576 first printing ran as follows: [A] Brief Summary of the articles which, controverted among the theologians of the Augsburg Confession for many years, were settled in a Christian manner at Torgau in the month of June, 1576, by the theologians which there met and subscribed.
The second group revised the Torgau Book into its final form, known as the Bergen Book, or the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord. (Depending on the translation, the Solid Declaration is also known as the Thorough Declaration of the Formula of Concord.) It was presented to Elector August of Saxony on May 28, 1577. Subsequently it was signed (subscribed to) by three electors of the Holy Roman Empire, twenty dukes and princes, twenty-four counts, four barons, thirty-five free imperial cities, and over 8,000 pastors. These constituted two-thirds of the Lutheran Church in Germany at the time.
- I. Original Sin
- II. Free Will
- III. The Righteousness of Faith before God
- IV. Good Works
- V. Law and Gospel
- VI. The Third Use of the Law
- VII. The Holy Supper of Christ
- VIII. The Person of Christ
- IX. Christ'sDescent into Hell
- X. Church Ceremonies (Adiaphora, or Indifferent Things)
- XI. The Eternal Foreknowledge and Election of God
- XII. Other heresies and sects
Source: [1]
The Formula of Concord (Latin: Formula concordiae, “Harmony Concord,” also “The Bergic Book”), is the last symbolical writing of the Lutheran Church. It came into being in 1577 at the instigation of Elector August of Saxony. It was meant to settle the disagreements, which after Luther’s death had come into being thereby, that Electoral Saxony, in particular, followed the mild Melanchthonian direction (Philippism), while Lower Saxony and Württemberg remained strictly Lutheran. First of all, at a 1576 convention held in Torgau—Saxon seat of government at that time—in which Jacob Andreae from Tübingen, Martin Chemnitz from Braunschweig, David Chytraeus, Andrew Musculus, and Christopher Körner from Frankfurt (Oder) took part—on the basis of the Swabian-Saxon Concord, drafted by Andreae in 1574 and the so called Maulbron Formula of 1576, the so called Torgau Book had been completed. This, then, after the arrival of numerous opinions, in the Bergen Abbey near Magdeburg in 1577, by the mentioned theologians, to whom also Nikolaus Selneccer from Leipzig came, was reworked and now called the Bergic Book or the Formula of Concord. Through this Formula any convergence with the Reformed Church was made impossible. Ecclesiastical acceptance was received alike in Electoral Saxony, Electoral Brandenburg, Electoral Pflaz, 20 duchies, 24 counties, and 35 imperial free cities. It was rejected, however, in Hesse, Zweibrücken, Anhalt, Pommeranian (Land), Holstein, Denmark, Sweden, Nürnberg, Strassburg, and Magdeburg.
The Formula of Concord was originally written in German and later was first translated into Latin by Andrew Osiander. The first part, called [the] “Epitome,” contained in eleven articles the assessment and decision of the then disputed points of doctrine in such a way that the dispute (‘’status controversiae’’) was explained, the orthodox view of the disputed points was summarized concisely in the so called “Affirmativa” [Affirmative statement], finally the doctrine that stood against it [i.e. the orthodox view] was indicated in the “Negativa” or “Antithesis” according to its main points and immediately rejected and condemned. The second part, called [the] “Solid Declaration,” discussed in detail the same articles in context and is actually the Torgau Book after the change, which they had made there in the Bergen cloister. The Formula of Concord was included in the Book of Concord, published in 1580.
Every parson in electoral Saxony had to make a confession with respect to the Formula of Concord. A rhyme was circulated [at the time]: “Write, dear Lord, write, that you might remain at the parish”.