Table of Contents
Book of Concord
The Book of Concord (Latin: Concordia) is a collection of confessional documents adopted in 1580 by Lutheran churches as the definitive doctrinal standard of Lutheranism. It gathers creeds, catechisms, and confessions produced between 1529 and 1577, binding together the theological agreements reached during and after the Protestant Reformation. Its authority relative to Scripture, and the degree to which its contents constitute timeless doctrinal norms versus historically conditioned formulations, remains debated within Lutheran traditions.
Scope and Contents
The Book of Concord contains eleven documents:
- The three Ecumenical Creeds (Apostles', Nicene, Athanasian)
- The Augsburg Confession (1530), the primary Lutheran confession, presented to Emperor Charles V
- The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1531), Philipp Melanchthon's defense of the Augsburg Confession against the Roman Confutation
- Luther's Two Catechisms - the Small Catechism and Large Catechism (both 1529)
- The Smalcald Articles (1537), written by Martin Luther
- The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (1537), by Melanchthon
- The Formula of Concord (1577), addressing doctrinal disputes that arose after Luther's death
- The Epitome of the Formula of Concord, a condensed version of the Formula
The collection was formally published on 25 June 1580, the fiftieth anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession. It was signed by roughly 8,000 clergy and endorsed by approximately fifty ruling princes and thirty-five imperial cities.1)2)3)4)5)
Historical Background
The documents span the formative decades of the Lutheran Reformation, from Luther's early catechetical writings through the internal controversies that followed his death in 1546. The Formula of Concord in particular was drafted to resolve disputes among Lutherans - particularly between Gnesio-Lutherans and Philippists - over questions including the Lord's Supper, free will, justification, and the third use of the law. For fuller treatment, see Book of Concord - History.
Current State of Debate
The Book of Concord continues to function as the doctrinal standard for confessional Lutheran bodies worldwide, including the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the International Lutheran Council. Other Lutheran bodies, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), regard it as a historical document of continuing importance but do not bind their clergy to subscription in the same manner.
Questions actively debated within and around Lutheran scholarship include:
- Whether subscription to the Book of Concord should be quia (because its contents agree with Scripture) or quatenus (insofar as they agree with Scripture) - see book-of-concord-debate-quia-quatenus-debate
- The doctrinal weight of the Formula of Concord relative to the Augsburg Confession
- Melanchthon's role and later revisions to the Augsburg Confession (the Variata of 1540), and whether those revisions are legitimately confessional
- The compatibility of the Book of Concord's condemnations with modern ecumenical dialogues
Viewpoints
Confessional Lutheran (quia subscription): The Book of Concord is binding as a faithful exposition of Scripture. Subscription is unconditional. See book-of-concord-confessional-lutheran-viewpoint.
Moderate Lutheran (quatenus subscription): The confessions carry authority insofar as they accord with Scripture, but they are historically situated documents and not co-equal with Scripture in binding force. See book-of-concord-moderate-lutheran-viewpoint.
Reformed and Calvinist perspective: The Book of Concord's doctrines - particularly on the Lord's Supper and Christology - reflect errors Luther retained from Rome or developed in opposition to Reformed teaching. The condemnations in the Formula of Concord directed at Reformed theology are disputed as mischaracterizations. See book-of-concord-reformed-viewpoint.
Roman Catholic perspective: The Book of Concord codifies a schismatic departure from the church's apostolic tradition. The Augsburg Confession was answered by the Roman Confutation, which Catholic theologians regard as adequate. See book-of-concord-roman-catholic-viewpoint.
Critical-historical perspective: The Book of Concord reflects the political and ecclesiastical pressures of sixteenth-century Germany as much as theological principle. Its condemnations should be read in historical context and not applied categorically to contemporary bodies. See book-of-concord-critical-historical-viewpoint.
Controversies
The Variata controversy: Whether Melanchthon's 1540 revision of the Augsburg Confession (the Variata) represents the authentic Lutheran position or a departure toward Reformed teaching has divided Lutheran bodies since the sixteenth century. See book-of-concord-controversy-variata-controversy.
Ecumenical condemnations: The Formula of Concord's explicit condemnations of Calvinist, Anabaptist, and other positions have been contested in modern ecumenical dialogue as historically inaccurate or no longer applicable. See book-of-concord-controversy-ecumenical-condemnations-controversy.
The quia/quatenus debate: Whether Lutheran clergy and bodies should subscribe to the Book of Concord unconditionally or only insofar as it accords with Scripture has structured confessional disputes from the nineteenth century to the present. See book-of-concord-debate-quia-quatenus-debate.