Augsburg Confession

Augsburg Confession: see creed (4.)

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Augsburg Confession

Basic doctrinal statement of Lutheranism. Its principal author was Philipp Melanchthon, and it was presented to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, 1530. Its purpose was to defend the Lutherans against misrepresentations of their teachings and to provide a statement of theology that Roman Catholics might accept. It consisted of 28 articles that outlined Lutheran doctrine and listed abuses that had crept into Western Christendom over the centuries. The unaltered document has remained authoritative for Lutherans, and a heavily revised version by Melanchthon is accepted by some Reformed churches. Translated into English in 1536, it had a major influence on the Anglican Church's Thirty-nine Articles and the Methodists' Twenty-five Articles of Religion.

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Augsburg Confession 

exposition of the fundamentals of Lutheranism (in 28 articles, written in German and Latin). The Augsburg Confession was composed with the approval of M. Luther by his closest colleague, P. Melanchthon, and was presented to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. This work established the ceremonial side of the Lutheran cult and the principle of the subordination of the church to the secular ruler. In some of its formulations the Augsburg Confession also retreated from the initial views of Luther. In foreseeing the introduction of a church organization and other matters, the Augsburg Confession reflected the striving of the leaders of the Lutheran movement toward compromise with Catholicism for the joint struggle against the Anabaptists and the adherents of H. Zwingli. The rejection of the Augsburg Confession by both Charles V and the diet was the cause of a prolonged struggle between the Protestant and the Catholic princes of Germany, which came to an end with the religious Peace of Augsburg (1555).

REFERENCE

Die Augsburgische Konfession. Edited by T. Kolde. Gotha, 1896.