Formula of Concord (1577) (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, ''Konkordienformel'';

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

, ''Formula concordiae''; also the "''Bergic Book''" or the "''Bergen Book''") is an authoritative

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

statement of faith (called a confession,

creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

, or "symbol") that, in its two parts (''Epitome'' and ''Solid Declaration''), makes up the final section of the

''Corpus Doctrinae'' or Body of Doctrine, known as the

Book of Concord ''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since ...

(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

, a

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

was prepared for the

edition of the

published in 1584.

Significance and composition

The promulgation and subscription of this document was a major factor in the unification and preservation of

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 ...

. It was instigated at the behest of the Elector August of Saxony, and it was the joint work of a group of

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

s and churchmen of the latter sixteenth century. They met from April 9 to June 7, 1576 in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces fi ...

, the seat of government of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charle ...

at the time. They were Jakob Andreä (1528–90), Martin Chemnitz (1522–86),

Nikolaus Selnecker Nikolaus Selnecker (or Selneccer) (December 5, 1530 – May 24, 1592) was a German musician, theologian and Protestant reformer. He is now known mainly as a hymn writer. He is also known as one of the principal authors of the '' Formula of Co ...

(1528–92), David Chytraeus (1531–1600),

Andreas Musculus Andreas Musculus (also Andreas Meusel; 29 November 1514 – 29 September 1581) was a German Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer. The name Musculus is a Latinized form of Meusel. Musculus was born in Schneeberg, "generally called only Musc ...

(1514–81), Christoph Körner (1518–94), Caspar Heyderich (1517–86), Paul Crell (1532–79),

Maximilian Mörlin Maximilian Mörlin ( 14 October 1516, Wittenberg, Electorate of Saxony — 20 April 1584, Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach ) was a Lutheran theologian, court preacher, Superintendent in Coburg, and Reformer. Life Maximilian grew up with his ...

(1516–84), Wolfgang Harder (1522–1602), Daniel Gräser (1504–91), Nicholas Jagenteufel (1520–83), Johannes Cornicaelius, John Schütz (1531–84), Martin Mirus (1532–93), Georg Listenius (1532–96), and Peter Glaser (1528–83). A smaller set of this group (Andreä, Chemnitz, Selnecker, Chytraeus, Musculus, and Körner) worked on the document a year later in Bergen Abbey, near

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

, both from March 1–14, and in May, 1577. The most important formulators of the Formula of Concord were Jakob Andreä and Martin Chemnitz. Having before them two earlier documents (the ''Swabian-Saxon Concord'', drafted by Andreä in 1574 and the so-called ''Maulbron Formula'' of 1576) the first group of theologians produced the ''Torgau Book''. Andreä condensed this into what would become known as the ''Epitome,'' the first part of the ''Formula of Concord.'' Its title as found in the 1576 first printing ran as follows: '' 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''. Over the eleven months following the publication of the ''Torgau Book'', suggested emendations were sent to Andreä and Chemnitz, and further revision was deemed necessary, so the second group (Andreä, Chemnitz, Selnecker, Chytraeus, Musculus, and Körner) revised the ''Torgau Book'' into its final form, known as the ''Bergic 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 The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

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

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

at the time. Every clergyman in the

had to either subscribe or write his objections with respect to the Formula of Concord. A rhyme was circulated

t the time T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

"Write, dear Sir, write, that you might remain at the parish" (schreibt, lieber Herre, schreibt, dass Ihr bei der Pfarre bleibt). The ''Formula of Concord'' was not accepted by Lutherans in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; old ...

, Anhalt,

Pommerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

, Holstein, Denmark-Norway, Sweden, Nuremberg, Strassburg, and Magdeburg, and the government of Queen Elizabeth I of England lobbied in its German embassies to prevent acceptance of it among the German estates.

Articles of the ''Formula of Concord''

*I.

Original Sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 ...

*II.

Free Will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

*III. The Righteousness of Faith before God *IV. Good Works *V.

Law and Gospel In Protestant Christianity, the relationship between Law and Gospel—God's Law and the Gospel of Jesus Christ—is a major topic in Lutheran and Reformed theology. In these religious traditions, the distinction between the doctrines of L ...

*VI. The Third Use of the Law *VII. The Holy Supper of Christ *VIII. The Person of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

*IX. Christ's Descent into

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

*X. Church Ceremonies ( Adiaphora, or Indifferent Things) *XI. The Eternal Foreknowledge and

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

of God *XII. Other heresies and sects

External links

Epitome of the Formula of Concord

The ''Book of Concord'': confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
* {{Authority control 1577 works Book of Concord Martin Luther Christian terminology