Theological Term of the Week: Augsburg Confession
Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 3:30AM 
The oldest Protestant confession and the most significant Lutheran one. It was drafted by Philip Melancthon in order to explain the teachings of the Lutheran churches, and presented to Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at the Imperial Diet in 1530.
- From the Augsburg Confession:
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.
- From A Summary of Christian History by Robert A Baker and John M. Landers, page 218:
In 1530 Luther was considered an enemy of the Empire, but Melancthon wrote the [Confession of Augsburg] and presented it to the Imperial Diet to explain the teachings of the Lutheran Churches.
Learn more:
- Got Questions: What is the Augsburg Confession?
- Book of Concord Online: The Augsburg Confession
- A. A. Hodge: A Short History of Creeds and Confessions
Related terms:
Filed under Creeds and Confessions
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