Formula of Concord (1577) (; ; also the "''Bergic Book''" or the "''Bergen Book''") is an authoritative

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices 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) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

, or "symbol") that, in its two parts (''Epitome'' and ''Solid Declaration''), makes up the final section of the Lutheran ''Corpus Doctrinae'' or Body of Doctrine, known as the Book of Concord (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 German, a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

was prepared for the

edition of the Book of Concord 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 a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. 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 study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

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

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

at the time. They were Jakob Andreä (1528–1590),

Martin Chemnitz Martin Chemnitz (9 November 1522 – 8 April 1586) was an eminent second-generation German Confederation, German, Lutheranism, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian theology, Christian theologian, and a Protestant Reformers, Protestant reformer, c ...

(1522–1586), Nikolaus Selnecker (1528–1592), David Chytraeus (1531–1600),

Andreas Musculus Andreas Musculus (Latinized name, Latinized for Andreas Meusel; 29 November 1514 – 29 September 1581) was a German Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer. Musculus was born in Schneeberg, Saxony, Schneeberg, "generally called only Musculus ...

(1514–1581), Christoph Körner (1518–1594), Caspar Heyderich (1517–1586), Paul Crell (1532–1579), Maximilian Mörlin (1516–1584), Wolfgang Harder (1522–1602), Daniel Gräser (1504–1591), Nicholas Jagenteufel (1520–1583), Johannes Cornicaelius, John Schütz (1531–1584), Martin Mirus (1532–1593), Georg Listenius (1532–1596), and Peter Glaser (1528–1583). 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 (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

, both from March 1–14, and in May, 1577. The most important formulators of the Formula of Concord were Jakob Andreä and

. 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 ''Bergen 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, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, 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 a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 "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 Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

, Anhalt, Pommerania, 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 () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

*II.

Free Will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

*III. The Righteousness of Faith before God *IV.

Good Works In Christian theology, good works, or simply works, are a person's exterior actions, deeds, and behaviors that align with certain moral teachings, emphasizing compassion, Charity (Christian virtue), charity, kindness and adherence to biblical pri ...

*V.

Law and Gospel Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

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

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

*IX. Christ's Descent into

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

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

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

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