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The Augsburg Confession

The confession presented to Emperor Charles V at Augsburg in 1530 — the founding statement of Lutheran faith — in the Triglot Concordia translation.

Edition: Project Gutenberg eBook 275 · www.gutenberg.org

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From the opening: Article I: Of God

Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And the term "person" they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.

They condemn all heresies which have sprung up against this article, as the Manichaeans, who assumed two principles, one Good and the other Evil--also the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Mohammedans, and all such. They condemn also the Samosatenes, old and new, who, contending that there is but one Person, sophistically and impiously argue that the Word and the Holy Ghost are not distinct Persons, but that "Word" signifies a spoken word, and "Spirit" signifies motion created in things.

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Contents (36 sections)

  1. Opening
  2. *** Start of the Project Gutenberg Ebook the Augsburg Confession ***
  3. The Augsburg Confession
  4. Preface to the Emperor Charles V
  5. Article I: Of God
  6. Article II: Of Original Sin
  7. Article III: Of the Son of God
  8. Article IV: Of Justification
  9. Article V: Of the Ministry
  10. Article VI: Of New Obedience
  11. Article VII: Of the Church
  12. Article VIII: What the Church Is
  13. Article IX: Of Baptism
  14. Article X: Of the Lord's Supper
  15. Article XI: Of Confession
  16. Article XII: Of Repentance
  17. Article XIII: Of the Use of the Sacraments
  18. Article XIV: Of Ecclesiastical Order
  19. Article XV: Of Ecclesiastical Usages
  20. Article XVI: Of Civil Affairs
  21. Article XVII: Of Christ's Return to Judgment
  22. Article XVIII: Of Free Will
  23. Article XIX: Of the Cause of Sin
  24. Article XX: Of Good Works
  25. Article XXI: Of the Worship of the Saints
  26. Articles in Which Are Reviewed the Abuses Which Have Been Corrected
  27. Article XXII: Of Both Kinds in the Sacrament
  28. Article XXIII: Of the Marriage of Priests
  29. Article XXIV: Of the Mass
  30. Article XXV: Of Confession
  31. Article XXVI: Of the Distinction of Meats
  32. Article XXVII: Of Monastic Vows
  33. Article XXVIII: Of Ecclesiastical Power
  34. *** End of the Project Gutenberg Ebook the Augsburg Confession ***
  35. Please Read This Before You Distribute or Use This Work
  36. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg

How to cite it

Chicago
Philip Melanchthon. The Augsburg Confession. Translated by F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau. Project Gutenberg eBook 275, 1921. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/275
MLA
Philip Melanchthon. The Augsburg Confession. Translated by F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau, Project Gutenberg eBook 275, 1921. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/275
APA
Philip Melanchthon (1921). The Augsburg Confession (F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau, Trans.). Project Gutenberg eBook 275. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/275

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