Book of Concord
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| Title Page from 1580 German Edition of the Book of Concord |
The Book of Concord or
Concordia is the collection of the formal statements of what the
Lutheran Church believes. The German edition of the Book of Concord was published on
June 25,
1580, fifty years after the presentation of the
Augsburg Confession to Emperor
Charles V at the
Diet of Augsburg. The
Latin edition was published in
1584.
The word "concordia" is a Latin word that means "harmony" and, literally, "with one heart." The book was thus named "Concordia," indicating its purpose as a collection of statements of faith intended to give common voice to the convictions of those who accepted these confessions as their own, and as a means to establish and maintain doctrinal harmony.
The documents which make up the
Book of Concord, composed mainly between
1529 and
1577, are believed by Lutherans to be true and faithful explanations, or expositions, of the most important teachings of the
Bible. Lutherans who regard the confessions in this manner believe them to be "truly ecumenical and catholic in character."
[Bente, Historical Introduction to the Lutheran Confessions (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House: 1921), p. 3)] "They contain the truths believed universally by true Christians, implicitly even by inconsistent and erring Christians. Christian truth, being one and the same the world over, is noneother than that which is found in the Lutheran confessions."
[Bente, p. 3]The first documents in the book are the "Three Ecumenical
Creeds," the
Apostles' Creed,
Nicene Creed, and
Athanasian Creed, statements of Christian faith in wide use throughout the Christian church before the
East-West Schism of
1054. The other documents come from the earliest years of the Lutheran Reformation. They include the
Augsburg Confession, the
Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession, both written chiefly by
Philipp Melanchthon, then the
Small and
Large Catechism by Martin Luther, his
Smalcald Articles, and Melanchthon's
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope. The final documents, the two sections of the
Formula of Concord, were written shortly before the
Book of Concord was published. Their intention was the same as that of the book itself: to unify the growing Lutheran movement.
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| A Modern Edition of the Book of Concord |
To this day the Book of Concord is regarded as doctrinally normative among traditional and conservative Lutheran churches, which require their pastors and other rostered church workers
to pledge themselves unconditionally to the Book of Concord. Such believers often refer to themselves as
confessional Lutherans. Among other Lutheran churches, the Book of Concord is regarded as an important witness to the historical teachings of the Lutheran Church, and though it is not necessarily doctrinally binding, it is regarded as an important guide.
Contents
* The Three
Ecumenical Creeds
**The
Apostles' Creed**The
Nicene Creed**The
Athanasian Creed* The
Augsburg Confession of
1530* The
Apology of the Augsburg Confession (
1531)
*
The Small Catechism of Martin Luther (
1529)
*
The Large Catechism of Martin Luther (
1529)
* The
Smalcald Articles of
Martin Luther (
1537)
*
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (
1537)
*
Epitome of the
Formula of Concord (
1577)
* The
Solid or
Thorough Declaration of the
Formula of Concord (
1577).
Printed Editions
*Bente, F. et al., trans. and eds.
Concordia Triglotta. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921. [
1], [
2].
*Kolb, Robert and Timothy J. Wengert, eds.
The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8006-2740-7
*McCain, Paul T., Robert C. Baker, Gene Edward Veith, and Edward A. Engelbrecht, eds.
Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions -- A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005. ISBN 0758608063
*Tappert, Theodore G., ed.
The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8006-0825-9
Online
*
The Book of Concord in PDF and HTML, other useful resources as well -
www.bookofconcord.orgCommentaries and historical resources
*Bente, Friedrich.
Historical Introductions to the Book of Concord. (1921) New reprint edition. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995. ISBN 0-570-03262-8
View excerpt here.
*Fagerberg, Holsten.
A New Look at the Lutheran Confessions (1529-1537). Gene Lund, trans. Paperback Edition. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1988. ISBN 0-570-04499-5
*Forell, George W.
The Augsburg Confession: A Contemporary Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1968. LOC 68-25798
*Kolb, Robert and James A. Nestingen, eds.
Sources and Contexts of The Book of Concord. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8006-3290-7
* Jacob A.O. Preus.
The Second Martin: The Life and Theology of Martin Chemnitz. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004.
*Preus, Robert D. and Wilbert H. Rosin, eds.
A Contemporary Look at the Formula of Concord. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1978. ISBN 0-570-03271-7
*Preus, Robert D.
Getting Into the Theology of Concord." Reprint. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004.
*Preus, Robert D. Theology of Post-Reformation Lutheranism: Volume I. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1972. ISBN 0-570-04545-2
* Reu, Johann Michael. The Augsburg Confession. Reprint. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995.
* Schlink, Edmund. Theology of the Lutheran Confessions. Translated by P. Koehneke and H. Bouman. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, Reprint 2004.
* Schmauk, Theodore. The Confessional Principle and the Confessions of the Lutheran Church.'' Translated by C. Theodore Benze. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, Reprint 2005.
