Confessio Gallicana

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Confessio Gallicana (also Confession de Foy ) is the Huguenot creed , which was formulated at the first French Reformed National Synod of 1559.

When the number of Reformed parishes in France increased significantly since 1555 ( Augsburg Religious Peace ) and they no longer acted underground, religious disputes soon arose. a. on the question of predestination . At a meeting in Poitiers in 1558 it was therefore decided to hold a synod in Paris the following year , which was to work out a common creed and a unified church order .

At this first French reformed national synod from 25-29 May 1559 the representatives of 50 parishes met. John Calvin had proposed a creed in order to avoid deviations from the Geneva position. The synod supplemented it together with Antoine de la Roche-Chandieu , a pupil of Calvin. The final version, like the attached church ordinance (Disciplina), had 40 articles, was printed in 1560 and presented to the king.

Later additions were adopted by the Seventh National Synod in La Rochelle in 1571 , which also led to the alternative name Confession de La Rochelle .

Contents of the Confessio Gallicana

The confessional document is a summary of the teaching of Calvin and is similar in structure to his Institutio Christianae Religionis and the second Geneva Catechism from 1542/45 " Le Catéchisme de l'Église de Genève ".

Articles 1 and 2 deal with the nature of God and His revelation in the works of creation and in the Bible . According to the Reformation view, this is the sole guideline of faith, which the Holy Spirit teaches to distinguish from other books (Art. 3–5). In the following, the Confessio emphasizes the resolutions of the Old Councils of God the Creator, the Sustainer and his Providence.

Articles 9–12 deal with the sinfulness of man as a result of original sin and the salvation of those whom God, through his goodness in Christ, predestined to do so before the world was created. (This doctrine of predestination clearly distinguishes Calvinism from other Protestant churches). Through Christ's nature as true man and true God (Articles 13–15), reconciliation with God, the forgiveness of sins and justification through faith alone (Articles 20–22). Christ is the fulfillment of the law; other ways of salvation are to be rejected (23–24).

This is followed by Calvin's provisions on church order , the preaching office and the sacraments . The true church is the community that follows the word of God , but not the papacy. However, offices ( pastors , deacons, rulers) are part of the nature of the church and must be properly elected (29–31). The sacraments are intended to confirm and support the word, but of the (in the Catholic view seven) sacraments only baptism and the Lord's Supper are recognized as such (32–35). Christ's flesh and blood are received spiritually but truthfully in the sacrament (36–38).

Articles 37–40 deal with secular authorities . It was instituted by God and must therefore turn against sins, but also against heresy . She must be honored and obeyed as long as God's sovereignty remains unharmed.

Related Confessions

Closely related to the Confessio Gallicana are the Confessio Scotica (Scotland 1560) and the Confessio Belgica of 1561 , written shortly afterwards. Although neither of them originated from Calvin himself, they are in the Geneva theological tradition of Calvinism .

The Piedmontese Waldensians , who had already joined the Reformed Church in 1532, presented the Confessio Gallicana to the Duke of Savoy as their confession in 1560. In the abridged and edited form from 1655, it is still considered today as the Waldensian confession.

expenditure

  • EF Karl Müller (Ed.): The Confessions of the Reformed Church. In authentic texts with a historical introduction and index. Spenner, Waltrop 1999 (reprint of the Leipzig edition, 1903) Access to a PDF file .
  • Emidio Campi (Ed.): Confessio Gallicana. 1559/1571, with the Waldensian confession. 1560. In: Andreas Mühling , Peter Opitz (eds.): Reformed Confession Papers 1559-1563 (= Reformed Confession Papers, Vol. 2.1). Neukirchen-Vluyn 2008, pp. 1-56. ISBN 978-3-7887-2304-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Theo Kiefner : Reformation and Counter Reformation in Val Cluson 1532-1730 . Göttingen 1980, p. 111 google-books