Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church

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Example of a confessional document: Otto Armknecht - Lutherisch Gold , Hanover, 1910

Confessional writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church ( BSLK ) is the title of a collection of confessional texts from the 16th century, which arose as a result of Martin Luther's Reformation and were scientifically edited in 1930 . A completely new edition appeared in 2014.

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The confessional documents of the Evangelical Lutheran Church were published by the German Evangelical Church Committee in 1930 for the 400th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession as a scientific source edition of the Lutheran confessional documents of the 16th century collected in the Concord Book of 1580. Those involved in the edition included Paul Althaus (consultant), Hans Lietzmann , Heinrich Bornkamm , Hans Volz and Ernst Wolf . The 13th edition of the text was published in 2010 ( ISBN 3-525-52101-4 , 2 volumes in 1 volume; XLVI, 1228 pages) by the Göttingen publishing house Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht . The usual citation is "BSLK, Seite, if necessary paragraph" (the paragraphs are numbered consecutively).

A new edition of the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (BSELK) with the participation of church historians Klaus Breuer , Irene Dingel , Volker Leppin , Christian Peters , Adolf Martin Ritter , Johannes Schilling and Hans-Otto Schneider was published in 2014 as part of the Reformation and Luther Decade (2007-2017) published.

In detail, the following fonts are included in the edition:

The early church symbols

The three so-called ecumenical symbols ( creeds ) that are part of the Lutheran confessions are the Apostolic Creed (Apostolicum), the Nicäno-Constantinopolitanum (called Nicaenum) and the Athanasian Creed (Athanasianum).

The scientific edition of this section was edited by Hans Lietzmann, the new edition by Adolf Martin Ritter.

The Augsburg Confession

The Augsburg Confession (Latin: Confessio Augustana = CA) from 1530. Its author is Philipp Melanchthon , but Luther read it back before it was published. It is divided into two parts: Common Articles (1–21) and Disputed Articles (22–28). The opposite is the teaching and practice of the Roman Catholic Church of the 16th century. The Augsburg Confession is the central confession of the Reformation period. It does not see itself as a confession of a “new, improved” church, but as an exposition of the teaching of the apostles from the Holy Scriptures and thus as teaching of the Catholic Church (Latin ecclesia catholica = general / all-embracing church). Although this way of thinking was revolutionary in Luther's time, the Lutheran reformers never saw themselves as revolutionaries; their goal has always been to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The later split in the church must therefore be seen as an "accident in church history". The most revolutionary approach of the CA can be found in Article 4, which describes the justification of man understood as sinful before God as "in vain, solely for Christ's [death on the cross] sake by faith" ("... gratis iustificentur propter Christum per fidem.") This stands in the way of the Roman Catholic teaching that in addition to the grace of God, good works are also necessary in order to achieve salvation.

The scientific edition of this section was edited by Heinrich Bornkamm, the new edition by Gottfried Seebaß and Volker Leppin.

The Apology of the Augsburg Confession

The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (Latin: Apologia Confessionis Augustanae = AC) from 1530. It was also written by Philipp Melanchthon, specifically as a defense (= Latin Apologia) to the “ denial of CA ” (Latin: Confutatio) of the papal theologians . The explanations of the apology on certain questions - among others: How can people stand before God? How must Christians do good works? How free is the will of man? - are theologically of such a high level that to this day there is little comparable. A similar theological density in the BSLK is only achieved by the concord formula.

The scientific edition of this section was edited by Heinrich Bornkamm, the new edition by Christian Peters, Rafael Kuhnert and Bastian Basse.

The Schmalkaldic Articles

The Schmalkaldic Articles (Latin: Articuli Smalcaldici = AS) by Martin Luther from 1537. Here Luther summarizes the Reformation doctrine, which is why the AS is often referred to as his “theological legacy”. Originally, these articles were supposed to be presented at a (papal) council in Mantua in order to illustrate the doctrinal differences of the "Lutherans"; this council did not take place in Trento until 1545, to the exclusion of the evangelical side. The AS are divided into three parts: 1. Articles in which there is undoubted agreement. 2. Articles that are wrongly taught by Rome and in which there can and must not be any compromises, such as above all salvation "solely for Christ's sake through faith". 3. Articles that mention grievances, but make an agreement with reasonable Roman Catholics seem possible.

The scientific edition of this section was edited by Hans Volz, the new edition by Klaus Breuer and Hans-Otto Schneider.

Treatise on the power and authority of the Pope

The treatise on the power and authority of the Pope (Latin: Tractatus de potestate et primatu papae ) by Philipp Melanchthon from 1537. This book is actually an appendix to the CA, in which the actual question of the papacy is only very sparsely discussed.

The scientific edition of this section was edited by Hans Volz , the new edition by Klaus Breuer and Hans-Otto Schneider .

The Small Catechism

The Small Catechism (KK) Martin Luther from 1529. In it, Luther summarizes the Christian and not just specifically Reformation doctrine together in all scarcity. His goal is for children to be able to memorize them in school . The background to the drafting was the church visit of 1528 with the sobering results regarding the Christian level of education of the "common people". In focusing on the cornerstones of Reformation theology, the KK was supposed to contribute to the internal development of the new Evangelical Church. In addition to the generally known main parts of Christian doctrine - 1. Ten Commandments 2. Creed 3. Our Father 4. Baptism 5. Confession 6. Last Supper - the CC also contains lesser-known pieces such as prayers and the “home table”. The KK is also dealt with in confirmation classes in some places today.

The scientific edition of this section was edited by Hans Volz, the new edition by Robert Kolb.

Appendices to the Small Catechism

  • Bed and table prayers
  • The house board with admonitions to the various classes.
  • The maid booklet Luther from 1529. It describes exemplary liturgical expiry of a wedding ceremony and explains the background. The eaves formula is a specialty for the Protestant area, because the pastor speaks to the bride and groom together: "... so I speak to them in marriage ..."
  • The Taufbüchlein Luther of 1526. The Taufbüchlein contains declarations for baptism and their liturgical embodiment. In contrast to modern baptism forms, both the so-called “minor exorcism” and the “major exorcism” can be found here, which precede the actual baptism. Luther emphasizes that baptism actually brings about the change from the devil's sphere of power to God's sphere of power. The formulas are: “Drive out of you unclean spirit and give space to the Holy Spirit” or “I swear you, you unclean spirit, by the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that you step out and depart from this servant of Jesus Christ. ”The sign of the cross is struck for this.

The great catechism

Martin Luther's Great Catechism (GK) of 1529 goes into more detail on the individual Christian articles of faith than the KK. Luther chooses the form of sermon here so that the individual statements can also be presented by housefathers or pastors.

The scientific edition of this section was edited by Ernst Wolf, the new edition by Robert Kolb.

The concord formula

The Concordia formula (Latin: Formula Concordiae = FC) from 1577. The FC distinguishes two things from the other Lutheran confessions: 1. The FC was drawn up by a committee of theologians and therefore it is 2. A compromise document that tries to be included in to balance the responsibility before the Holy Scriptures different positions within Lutheranism. Accordingly, it proceeds in detail and thoroughly, for example with regard to the conceptual analyzes, the course of the discussions so far, and detailed descriptions of the various positions. There is a short version of the FC (Latin Epitome = FC Ep) and the detailed version (Latin Solida Declaratio = FC SD = "unanimous declaration"). The FC understands itself expressly as a “valid interpretation of the CA on the basis of the Holy Scriptures”. The Formula of Concord was not accepted by all Lutheran churches as a binding doctrinal basis, but to think the sentence is a theologian: "You can probably without the FC Lutherans be, but not against them." Attached is a Catalogus Testimoniorum , a Verzeichnüs the testimonies of scripture and the old pure Doctors of the Church .

Together with the three early church creeds  - Apostolic Creed , Nicene Creed , Athanasian Creed / Quicunque  - these creeds were summarized in the Book of Concord in 1580.

The scientific edition of this section was edited by Hans Volz, the new edition by Irene Dingel. The new edition of the Catalogus Testimoniorum was edited by Marion Bechtold-Mayer and Johannes Hund.

The Lutheran Confessions Today

The Lutheran confessional writings are still in force today in the Evangelical Lutheran and most of the United Churches. The validity sometimes only extends to part of the Lutheran confession, such as the Confessio Augustana, as well as other selected confessions. The constitution of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany names for its member churches, in addition to the confessional documents of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a whole, in particular the unchanged Augsburg Confession of 1530 and the Small Catechism of Martin Luther. However, the formula of concord from 1577, for example, is usually not part of the confessional status of Lutheran regional churches. Whether and to what extent the Barmen Theological Declaration, which dates from the time of the Confessing Church , is part of the confessional status of some Protestant regional churches is controversial.

Since the formation of church unions in the 19th century, i.e. the union of parishes of Lutheran and Reformed denominations to form a common church, the establishment of the (interdenominational) Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and the ratification of the Leuenberg Agreement in 1973 by the German regional churches some Lutheran theologians ( Reinhard Slenczka , Oswald Bayer , Jörg Baur and others) critically inquire whether the Lutheran confessions have a factual validity in the Lutheran regional churches in addition to their formal legal validity.

This criticism is shared by the Lutheran confessional churches (such as the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ), in which, in their opinion, the entire Book of Concord from 1580 is legally and factually valid.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Jörg Baur: Luther and his classical heirs: theological essays and research . Mohr, Tübingen 1993, especially the doctrine of the Lord's Supper and Christology of the concord formula as a commitment to human God. P. 17ff.
  2. ↑ Jörg Baur: Are you in agreement on justification? - to examine the justification chapter of the study by the Ecumenical Working Group of Evangelical and Catholic Theologians, "Doctrinal condemnations, church separating?" Mohr, Tübingen 1989, pp. 45ff.
  3. ↑ cf. for the concord formula in the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel in the judgment of contemporaries; Inge Mager: The concord formula in the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel - creation contribution, reception, validity . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1993, p. 16ff.
  4. ↑ Friederike Nüssel: Alone from faith - on the development of the doctrine of justification in concordist and early post-concordist theology . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000, pp. 245ff.
  5. ↑ See Art. 1 (1) Constitution of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (2007)