''Confessio catholica'' is one of the main works of German

Orthodox Lutheran Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the ''Book of Concord'' and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Rom ...

theologian

Johann Gerhard Johannes Gerhard (17 October 1582 – 17 August 1637) was a Lutheran church leader and Lutheran Scholastic theologian during the period of Orthodoxy. Biography He was born in the German city of Quedlinburg. During a dangerous illness, at the ...

(1582–1637). It seeks to prove the evangelical and catholic character of the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession from the writings of approved

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

authors. ''Confessio catholica, in qua doctrina catholica et evangelica, quam ecclesiae Augustanae confessioni addictae profilentur, ex Romano-catholicorum scriptorum suffragiis confirmatur'' (4 parts, Frankfort and Leipsic, 1634–37), is based upon the ''Catalogus testium veritatis'' of

Flacius Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; hr, Matija Vlačić Ilirik) or Francovich ( hr, Franković) (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting stron ...

. It is more comprehensive than its title denotes, being at the same time an extensive apology and polemic of the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

Creed. The first part is general and treats the ''principia et media nostrae et pontificiae religionis''. The other three volumes treat the disputed articles of faith in the order of Bellarmine, the controversialist ''par excellence''. Its contents may be compared with Gerhard's ''Theological Commonplaces: On the Church,'' an earlier handling with many themes in common with the ''Confessio Catholica.''

References

*Bengt Hägglund: Polemics and Dialogue in John Gerhard's Confessio catholica
LUTHERAN QUARTERLY
Summer 2000 Issue.

External links

''Confessio Catholica'' (Frankfurt, 1679)
Single volume edition.
''Confessio Catholica'' (Jena, 1634), volume 1
Introductory volume
''Confessio Catholica'' (Jena, 1634), volume 2/1
On the Word of God, Christ, the Roman Pontiff, councils, and the Church
''Confessio Catholica'' (Jena, 1636), volume 2/2
On clergy, monks, laity, purgatory, saints, sacraments, Baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, and the Mass
''Confessio Catholica'' (Jena, 1637), volume 2/3
On penance, extreme unction, sacrament of order, matrimony, the grace of the first man, sin, grace and free choice, justification, and good works 1634 books 1636 books 1637 books Lutheran texts 17th-century Christian texts {{Christian-book-stub