''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard of the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

since the 16th century. They are also known as the symbolical books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. ''The Book of Concord'' was published in German on June 25, 1580, in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, the fiftieth anniversary of the presentation of the '' Augsburg Confession'' to Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infant ...

at the Diet of Augsburg. The authoritative

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

edition was published in 1584 in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. Those who accept it as their doctrinal standard recognize it to be a faithful exposition of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

. The Holy Scriptures are set forth in ''The Book of Concord'' to be the sole, divine source and norm of all

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

doctrine.

Origin and arrangement

''The Book of Concord'' was compiled by a group of theologians led by Jakob Andreae and

Martin Chemnitz Martin Chemnitz (9 November 1522 – 8 April 1586) was an eminent second-generation German, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian theologian, and a Protestant reformer, churchman, and confessor. In the Evangelical Lutheran tradition he is known ...

at the behest of their rulers, who desired an end to the religious controversies in their territories that arose among Lutherans after the death of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

in 1546. It was intended to replace German territorial collections of doctrinal statements, known as ''corpora doctrinæ'' ( bodies of doctrine) like the ''Corpus doctrinæ Philippicum'' or ''Misnicum''. This aim is reflected by the compilers' not calling it a ''corpus doctrinæ'' although it technically is one. The list of writings predating the '' Formula of Concord'' that would be included in ''The Book of Concord'' are listed and described in the "Rule and Norm" section of the ''Formula''. Following the preface written by Andreae and Chemnitz (1578–80)Tappert, 3, footnote 1. the "Three Ecumenical Creeds" were placed at the beginning in order to show the identity of Lutheran teaching with that of the ancient Christian church. These creeds, the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...

Nicene Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is ...

, and

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a Christian statement of belief ...

, were formulated before the

East-West Schism East West (or East and West) may refer to: * East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

of 1054, but the Nicene Creed is the western version containing the

filioque ( ; ) is a Latin term ("and from the Son") added to the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly known as the Nicene Creed), and which has been the subject of great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. It is a t ...

. The other documents come from the earliest years of the Lutheran Reformation (1529–77). They are the '' Augsburg Confession'', the '' Apology of the Augsburg Confession'', both by

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the L ...

, the '' Small'' and '' Large Catechisms'' of Martin Luther, his '' Smalcald Articles'', Melanchthon's '' Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope'', and the '' Formula of Concord'', which was composed shortly before the publishing of the Book of Concord and intended for the same purpose: the pacification and unification of the growing Lutheran movement. The preface of the Book of Concord was considered to be the preface of the '' Formula of Concord'' as well. The ''Augsburg Confession'' has singular importance A recent book on Lutheranism asserts, "To this day ... the Augsburg Confession ... remains the basic definition of what it means to be a 'Lutheran.'"''The Apology'', the ''Smalcald Articles'', the ''Treatise'', and the ''Formula of Concord'' explain, defend, or serve as addenda to ''The Augsburg Confession.''

*Preface (1579) *The Three Ecumenical creeds. **The

**The

*The Augsburg Confession of 1530 *The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1531) *The Smalcald Articles of

(1537) * Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (1537) * The Small Catechism of Martin Luther (1529) **Luther's Marriage Booklet (1529) and Baptism Booklet (1526) were included as part of the Small Catechism in a few of the 1580 editions of the German Book of Concord * The Large Catechism of Martin Luther (1529) *Epitome of the Formula of Concord (1577) *The Solid or Thorough Declaration of the Formula of Concord (1577). **The Catalog of Testimonies was added as an appendix in most of the 1580 editions.

Context in Christendom

The simple Latin title of the Book of Concord, ''Concordia'', (

for "an agreeing together") is fitting for the character of its contents: Christian statements of faith setting forth what is believed, taught, and confessed by the confessors "with one heart and voice." This follows St. Paul's directive: "that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
1 Cor. 1:10
NKJV). The creeds and confessions that constitute the Book of Concord are not the private writings of their various authors:

Contemporary subscription

To this day the Book of Concord is doctrinally normative among traditional and conservative Lutheran churches, which require their pastors and other rostered church workers to pledge themselves unconditionally to the Book of Concord. They often identify themselves as "

confessional Lutheran Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the '' Book of Concord'' of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfuln ...

s." They consider the Book of Concord the ''norma normata'' (Latin, "the normed norm") in relation to the

, which they consider the ''norma normans'' (Latin, "the norming norm"), i.e. the only source of Christian doctrine (God's authoritative word). In this view the Book of Concord, on the topics that it addresses, is what the church authoritatively understands God's authoritative word to say. This is also called a "''quia''" (because) subscription to the Lutheran confessions, i.e. one subscribes ''because'' the Book of Concord is a faithful exposition of the Scriptures. It implies that the subscriber has examined the Lutheran confessions in the light of the Scriptures in order to arrive at this position, which in the subscriber's view does not require the disclaimer implied in a "''quatenus''" (insofar as) subscription. One who subscribes the Lutheran confessions ''quatenus'', insofar as they are a faithful exposition of the Scriptures, believes that there might be contradictions of the Scriptures in them. In some cases this is the manner of subscription of some other Lutheran churches, which regard the Book of Concord as an important witness and guide to the historical teachings of the Lutheran Church although not necessarily doctrinally binding.

English translations

English translations of individual documents of ''The Book of Concord'', notably ''The Augsburg Confession'', were available since the 16th century. The first complete English translation of ''The Book of Concord'' was the 1851 Henkel edition followed by a second edition in 1854. These volumes included historical introductions. Henry E. Jacobs and others published the next English version in 1882 with a revised "People's Edition" in 1911. The 1882 edition was accompanied by a companion volume that contained historical introductions and English translations of other documents illustrative of the history of ''The Book of Concord''. The third complete English translation was published in 1921 as a jubilee observance of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation (1917) along with the German and Latin texts as the ''Concordia Triglotta: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church, German-Latin English'' edited by Friederich Bente. This edition introduced the practice of inserting in square brackets the translations of variant readings of either the Latin translation of the German or the German translation of the Latin text. A smaller edition with just the English text was also published. The differences of the German translation of ''The Apology of the Augsburg Confession'' from the original Latin text were made apparent by Bente's insertion within square brackets of the variant readings of his English translation of the German text into the main body of his translation of the original Latin text. Justus Jonas, who had originally translated the ''Apology'' from Latin into German, made use of both the quarto and the octavo editions. The other reason for the differences is the "looseness" of the Jonas translation that is more like a paraphrase than a translation. With the appearance of the 1930 ''Bekenntnisschriften'' critical text a new English version was deemed desirable. This was begun but left unfinished by John C. Mattes, who died in 1948. In 1959, the "Tappert" edition was produced, with Theodore G. Tappert as general editor and translator and with

Jaroslav Pelikan Jaroslav Jan Pelikan Jr. (December 17, 1923 – May 13, 2006) was an American scholar of the history of Christianity, Christian theology, and medieval intellectual history at Yale University. Early years Jaroslav Jan Pelikan Jr. was born on ...

, Robert H. Fisher, and Arthur Carl Piepkorn as additional translators. This edition discontinued the practice of inserting translations of variant readings in square brackets. However, it began the practice of providing the translations of both the German and Latin texts of the Augsburg Confession since both texts of that confession are considered authoritative. The manner of presentation was the translation of the German text on the top of the page, that of the Latin on the bottom. An extensive revision of the Tappert edition was published in 2000, translated and edited by

Robert Kolb Robert Kolb is professor emeritus of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, and a world-renowned authority on Martin Luther and the history of the Reformation. Biography and education Robert Kolb was born on June 17, 1 ...

and Timothy J. Wengert. As with the Tappert edition, the "Kolb-Wengert Edition" was translated by scholars from two different Lutheran denominations (Kolb of the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The L ...

and Wengert of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxi ...

).''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, eds., (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 107-109. This edition provided the translations of both German and Latin texts of the Augsburg Confession on alternating pages. The translation team also included Eric Gritsch, Charles Arand, William Russell, James Schaaf, and Jane Strohl. The Kolb-Wengert edition exhibits one of the difficulties in the translation of ''The Apology of the Augsburg Confession''. Two editions of ''The Apology'' were published in 1531, namely, the "

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

edition" and the "

octavo Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", (abbreviated 8vo, 8º, or In-8) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multip ...

edition", which are so designated based on the format in which they were printed. The quarto edition was printed with the first publication of ''The Augsburg Confession'' in April or May 1531; hence, the name "editio princeps" first edition" The octavo edition followed in September, 1531.''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, eds., (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 108. The Kolb-Wengert translation of ''The Apology of the Augsburg Confession'' uses the later octavo edition text of 1531 rather than the earlier quarto edition text of 1531, with the variant readings of the quarto edition appearing in italics. The Tappert edition had used the quarto edition as the basis of its translation. The editors and translators of the Kolb-Wengert edition decided to use the octavo edition as the main source for their translation because they believed the octavo edition was the official text of ''The Apology''. This is the position of the German scholar Christian Peters, who claimed the quarto edition was merely a stage on the way to a definitive text, i.e. the octavo edition. The octavo edition Latin text was utilized in a private Latin edition of ''The Book of Concord'' in 1580. Scholars question whether or not this octavo edition text can be considered the text approved by the Lutheran Church in the 16th century. The official 1584 Latin ''Book of Concord'' has the quarto edition text as its text of ''The Apology of the Augsburg Confession''. Another notable feature of the Kolb-Wengert edition is the setting off of "the

" of the

in square brackets. The most recent English version of the Book of Concord was published in 2005 to commemorate the 425th anniversary of its publication and the 475th anniversary of the presentation of ''The Augsburg Confession.'' Entitled ''Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions—A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord'', it is a revision of the English text of the ''Concordia Triglotta'' and was edited by Paul T. McCain, Edward A. Engelbrecht, Robert C. Baker, and Gene E. Veith.Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, Paul McCain, ed., St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005. A second edition followed in 2006.

Editions available

*''Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche''. Herausgegeben in Gedenkjahr der Augsburgischen Konfession 1930. 12th edition. Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1998. ( Critical text of the original German and Latin ''Book of Concord'') *''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church''. Theodore G. Tappert, translator and editor. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959. . (First English translation of ''The Book of Concord'' texts as published in ''Die Bekenntnisschriften'') alled "Tappert" or the "Tappert Edition" for short*''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church''. Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, editors. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Press, 2000. . (Second English translation of ''The Book of Concord'' texts as published in ''Die Bekenntnisschriften''. *''Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions — A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord''. Paul Timothy McCain, general editor. second edition. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006. . (A modern language version of the English text of ''Concordia Triglotta'', St. Louis: CPH, 1921 interspersed with explanatory notes) *''Concordia Triglotta: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church, German-Latin-English''. F. Bente, editor. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921. (This trilingual version has recently been reprinted by Concordia Publishing House.)

References

Bibliography

*Bente, Friedrich.
Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
' (1921). New reprint edition. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995. . *Cook, Martin L. ''The Open Circle: Confessional Method in Theology''. Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 1991. xiv, 130 p. N.B.: Discusses the place of Confessionalism in Lutheranism and in other Protestant thought. *Fagerberg, Holsten. ''A New Look at the Lutheran Confessions'' (1529–1537). Translated by Gene Lund. Paperback Edition. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1988. . * Forell, George W. ''The Augsburg Confession: A Contemporary Commentary''. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1968. LOC 68–25798. *''Formula of Concord, The: Quadricentennial Essays''. ''The Sixteenth Century Journal'' 8 (1977) no. 4. ISSN 0361-0160. *Grane, Lief. ''The Augsburg Confession: A Commentary''. Translated by John H. Rasmussen. Minneapolis, Augsburg Publishing House, 1986. . *Kolb, Robert and Charles P. Arand. ''The Genius of Luther's Theology: A Wittenberg Way of Thinking for the Contemporary Church''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008. . *Kolb, Robert and James A. Nestingen, eds.
Sources and Contexts of The Book of Concord
'. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. . *

: ''Die Konkordienformel. Eine Einführung in ihre Geschichte und Theologie'', Oberursler Hefte Ergänzungsband 8, Edition Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, *Preus, Jacob A.O. ''The Second Martin: The Life and Theology of Martin Chemnitz''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004. *Preus, Robert D. and Wilbert H. Rosin, eds. ''A Contemporary Look at the Formula of Concord''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1978. . *Preus, Robert D. ''Getting Into the Theology of Concord''. Reprint. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004. *Preus, Robert D. ''Theology of Post-Reformation Lutheranism: Volume I''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1972. . * Reu, Johann Michael. ''The Augsburg Confession''. Reprint. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995. *Schlink, Edmund. ''Theology of the Lutheran Confessions''. Translated by P. Koehneke and H. Bouman. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1961. Reprint, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004. *Schmauk, Theodore. ''The Confessional Principle and the Confessions of the Lutheran Church''. Translated by C. Theodore Benze. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, Reprint 2005. *''The Sixteenth Century Journal'' 11 (June 25, 1980) no. 3: 450th Anniversary Augsburg Confession. ISSN 0361-0160. *Wengert, Timothy J. ''A Formula for Parish Practice: Using the Formula of Concord in Congregations''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 2006. . *Ziegler, Roland F.,
The New Translation of the ''Book of Concord'': Closing the barn door after...
''Concordia Theological Quarterly'' 66 (April 2002) 2:145-165.

External links

Article on Lutheran Confessions in the ''Christian Cyclopedia''Lutheran Scholarly and pastoral essays
on the Lutheran Confessions from the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library
John F. Brug, Why Bible-Believing Lutherans Subscribe to the ''Book of Concord'' (classic example of a ''quia'' perspective)Concordia Triglotta
by Theodore Graebner from the October 1921 ''Theological Monthly'' *

English versions online

The Book of Concord ''Triglotta'' edition1851 Henkel ''Book of Concord'' first editionHenkel ''Book of Concord'' second edition1911 Jacobs "People's edition" ''Book of Concord''1921 Bente Concordia Triglotta English text1959 Tappert ''Book of Concord'' (Google books)2000 Kolb-Wengert ''Book of Concord'' (Google books)

''The Book of Concord''
at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) {{Authority control Christian statements of faith History of Lutheranism in Germany Lutheran texts Martin Luther 1580 books 16th-century Christian texts 16th-century Lutheranism 1580 in Christianity