The French Confession of Faith (1559) or Confession de La Rochelle or Gallic Confession of Faith or La Rochelle Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Under the sponsorship of Geneva a Calvinist church was organised in Paris N.V. Hope, 1985, Galic Confession, ''

Evangelical Dictionary of Theology The ''Evangelical Dictionary of Theology'' is a Christian reference work published by Baker Books. It was first published in 1984, with a second edition appearing in 2001. The general editor is Walter A. Elwell. It was a successor to ''Baker's Di ...

'', Walter A. Elwell (ed.), Bath, Marshall Morgan & Scott Publications Ltd., p.438. in 1555 with a formal organisation and regular services. Later other Calvinist churches were organized elsewhere in France. The Gallic Confession began as a statement of faith sent by these "Reformed" churches of France to

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

in 1557 during a period of persecution. Working from this, and probably with the help of

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza ( la, Theodorus Beza; french: Théodore de Bèze or ''de Besze''; June 24, 1519 – October 13, 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformatio ...

and

Pierre Viret Pierre Viret (1509/1510 – 4 April 1571) was a Swiss Reformed theologian, evangelist and Protestant reformer. Early life Pierre Viret was born in 1509 or 1510 in Orbe, then in the Barony of Vaud, now in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. He ...

, Calvin and his pupil De Chandieu wrote a confession for them in the form of thirty-five articles. When persecution subsided, twenty delegates representing seventy-two churches met secretly in Paris from 23 to 27 May 1559. With François de Morel as moderator, the delegates produced a Constitution of Ecclesiastical Discipline and a Confession of Faith: Calvin's thirty-five articles were all used in the confession, apart from the first two which were expanded into six. Thus the Gallic Confession had forty articles. In 1560 the confession was presented to Francis II with a preface requesting that persecution should cease. The confession was confirmed at the seventh national synod of the French churches at

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

in 1571, and recognized by German synods at

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighov ...

in 1568 and

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of Em ...

in 1571.

Notes

*The original draft of Calvin's articles is in the Genevan Archives. *P. Schaff, Creeds of Christendom (4th ed., 1905), vol. I. *A. Cochrane Reformed Confessions of the Sixteenth Century (1966).

External links

Text of the French Confession of Faith
in the original French with English translation, from

Philip Schaff Philip Schaff (January 1, 1819 – October 20, 1893) was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and ecclesiastical historian, who spent most of his adult life living and teaching in the United States. Biography Schaff was born ...

's ''Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches'' at the

CCEL The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts. Description CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a pro ...

The text of the Gallic Confession in the original and in English
Calvinist texts Huguenot history in France Protestant Reformation Reformed confessions of faith 1559 works 16th-century Calvinism {{calvinism-stub