This topic is intended to give a deeper look into the Lutheran Confessions

The Book of Concord contains the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms, and the Formula of Concord.

-The Apostle’s Creed was written in the 2nd Century A.D. and was a Baptismal Creed used in Rome.
-The Nicene Creed was written in 325-381 Centuries A.D and was used to clarify that, on the bases of scripture, that Jesus Christ is True God and is equal to the Father. It also states that the Holy Spirit is also True God and is equal to the Father and the Son.
-The Athanasian Creed was written in the 6th-8th Centuries and it confesses the teaching of the Trinity and the Person and works of Jesus Christ

-The Small and Large Catechisms were written in the year 1529 A.D by Dr. Martin Luther. The Small Catechism is a short work that is used to educate the laity of the Christian Doctrine. Althougth the Large Chatchism covers the same Christian Doctrine, it is mostly re-edited sermons Luther had preached.

-The Augsburg Confession and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession were written in 1530-1531 A.D by Philip Melanchthon. The Augsburg Confession is often viewed as the the chief Lutheran Confession; it was presented by the Lutherans to Emperor Charles V at the imperial diet of Augsburg as a statement of the chief articles of the Christian faith as understood by Lutherans; also contained here is a listing of abuses that the Lutherans had corrected. In the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Melanchthon authored this lengthy defense of AC (Augsburg Confession) Rightly considered a Christian classic after the Roman theologians had condemned many of its teachings.

-The Smalcald Articals were written in 1536 A.D by Luther. These Articles of faith were intended by Luther to be an ecumenical platform for an upcoming ecumenical council. Stated what the Lutherans could not compromise and why.

-The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope was written in 1537 A.D by Philip Melanchthon. It was intended to serve as a supplement to the Augsburg Confession, giving the Lutheran position on the Pope.

-The Formula of Concord was written in 1577 A.D by Jacob Andreae,
Martin Chemnitz, and David Chytraeus. It is restatement of some teachings in the Augsburg Confession over which Lutherans had become divided. The Solid Declaration is the unabridged version. The Epitome is an abridged version intended for congregations to study. Over 8,100 pastors and theologians signed it, as well as over 50 government leaders.

(all information from http://bookofconcord.org/intro.php most of the explanations given were mostly from this website.)

[u:32daljdu]Abbreviations[/u:32daljdu]
AC – Augsburg Confession
Ap – Apology fo the Augsburg Confession
Ep – Epitome of the Formula of Concord
FC – Formula of Concord
LC – Large Catechism
LW – Luther’s Works, American Edition
SA – Smalcald Articals
SC – Small Catechism
SD – Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord
Tr – Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope
WA – Weimar Edition of Luther’s Works

[u:32daljdu]Citation Examples[/u:32daljdu]
AC XX 4 (Augsburg Confessions, Artical XX, paragraph 4)
Ap IV 229 (Apology of the AC, Artical IV, paragraph 229)
FC SD X 24 (Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Artical X, paragraph 24)
FC Ep V 8 (Epitome of the Formula of Concord, Artical V, paragraph ” title=”Cool” />
LC V 32, 37 (Large Catechism, Part 5, paragraphs 32 and 37)
SA III I 6 (Smalcald Articals, Part III, Artical I, paragraph 6)
SC III 5 (Small Catechism, Part III, paragraph 5)
Tr 5 (Treatise, paragraph 5)