THE

THREE CHIEF SYMBOLS,

OR

CONFESSIONS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH,

UNANIMOUSLY TAUGHT IN THE CHURCH.

I. THE APOSTOLICAL CONFESSION OR SYMBOL,

CONTAINING THE BASIS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH,

I BELIEVE in God the Father, Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost, in a holy Christian church, in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

II. THE NICENE CONFESSION OR SYMBOL OF FAITH.

I believe in one God only, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and he

shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son, is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian Apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and life in the world to come.

Amen.

III. THE ATHANASIAN CONFESSION,

OR SYMBOL OF FAITH, DIRECTED AGAINST THE ARIANS.

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the true Christian faith.

Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

But this is the true Christian faith: That we worship one God only, in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.

Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the essence.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Ghost uncreated.

The Father is incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible.

The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal.

As also there are not three uncreated Beings, nor three incomprehensible Beings: but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty.

And yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord.

And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.

For as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowl edge every Person by itself to be God and Lord;

So we are forbidden by the Christian religion to say, there are three Gods, or three Lords.

The Father is neither made of any one, nor created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten.

The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.

And in this Trinity none is afore, or after the other; none is greater, or less than another;

But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together, and co-equal. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

He therefore that will be saved, must thus think of the Trinity. Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation, to believe rightly also in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is GOD and MAN.

GOD, of the essence of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and MAN, of the substance of his mother, born in the world.

Perfect God, and perfect man of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.

Equal to the Father as touching his Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching his humanity.

Who, although he be God and man; yet he is not two, but one Christ.

One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the humanity into God.

One altogether; not by confusion of substance but by Unity of Person.

For as the reasonable 'soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;

Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose again the third day from the dead.

He ascended into heaven, he sits at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty from whence he shall come to judge the living and

the dead.

'At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their works.

And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the true Christian faith; which, except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

THE UNALTERED AUGSBURG CONFESSION;

OR

CONFESSION OF THE FAITH

OF

SEVERAL PRINCES AND ESTATES, DELIVERED TO HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY CHARLES V.,

AT

THE DIET OF AUGSBURG,

A. D. 1530.

ADDRESS TO THE EMPEROR, CHARLES V.

Most invincible Emperor, imperial Majesty, and gracious Sir:WHEN your Majesty proclaimed a diet of the Empire at Augsburg, to consult about the best means of defence against the Turk, that ancient, inveterate, and most bitter enemy of the Christian name and religion,-how it might be possible to resist the ambitious purposes of that enemy, by strong and inexhaustible munitions of war;and then to consult also about the dissensions in reference to our holy religion and Christian faith,-how the opinions and sentiments of contending parties on the subject of religion, might be mutually expressed, explained, and considered among themselves in your presence, with moderation, mildness, and affection; that the errors which have been discussed or avowed by each party in their writings, being abandoned or corrected, those opinions might be settled and reduced to one plain standard of truth and Christian harmony; that one pure and true religion being cherished and preserved among us, we may be able to live in harmony and concord in one Christian church also, in the same manner as we subsist and serve under one Christ. And as we, the undersigned Elector and Princes, with others who have adhered to us, and other electors, princes, and estates besides, were summoned to the appointed diet, that we might obediently observe your Majesty's order, we have come with haste to Augsburg, and, we wish it said without boasting, have appeared here among the first.