The ''Book of Confessions'' contains the creeds and confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The contents are the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

, 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". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

, the

Scots Confession The Scots Confession (also called the Scots Confession of 1560) is a Confession of Faith written in 1560 by six leaders of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland. The text of the Confession was the first subordinate standard for the Protestan ...

, the

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

, the

Second Helvetic Confession The Helvetic Confessions are two documents expressing the common belief of Reformed Christianity, Reformed churches, especially in Switzerland, whose primary author was the Swiss Reformed theologian Heinrich Bullinger. The First Helvetic Confessi ...

, the

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...

, the Shorter Catechism, the Larger Catechism, the Theological Declaration of Barmen, the

Confession of 1967 The Confession of 1967 is a confession of faith of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), abbreviated PC (USA). It was written as a modern statement of the faith for the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA), the "north ...

, the Confession of Belhar, and the Brief Statement of Faith. The book was first published in 1983, and has since been revised. When it was first published, the intent was to blend the theological traditions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. The role of the ''Book of Confessions'' is to provide historical context for Biblical interpretations.

Amendment process

Amending the ''Book of Confessions'' is a six-year-long process. The process begins when a General Assembly appoints a committee to study a proposed amendment. The committee presents its report at the following General Assembly, which then votes on whether to send the amendment to the presbyteries. Two-thirds of the presbyteries, and another General Assembly must approve the amendment in order for it to be included. In 2008, the 218th General Assembly began the process of adopting a new translation of the Heidelberg Catechism, as well as the Belhar Confession. In 2012, the new translation of the Heidelberg Catechism was sent to the presbyteries for approval, and, after being rejected by the presbyteries, the 220th General Assembly voted to restart the process to include the Belhar Confession.

References

External links

* 1983 non-fiction books 20th-century Christian texts Presbyterian Church (USA) Reformed confessions of faith 20th-century Reformed Christianity {{Christian-book-stub