losophy; that Jews and Mohammedans are not idolaters; that original sin is simply a carentia justitiæ; that souls are created by God (creationism); that Christ's body is not omnipresent; that sanctification enters in any way into the idea of justification; that the true Church embraces also Calvinists, Papists, and Greeks; that infants have no faith; that John vi. treats of the Lord's Supper; that man is active in his conversion; that symbolical books are to be only conditionally subscribed quatenus Scripturæ S. consentiunt; that the symbols contain many things as necessary to salvation, which God has not fixed as such; that unbaptized infants are only negatively punished; that good works are necessary to obtain eternal life. A prayer that God may avert all innovations and corruptions from the Orthodox Church, and preserve it in this repeated consensus, forms the conclusion.

This new symbol goes far beyond the Formula of Concord, and would have so contracted Lutheranism as to exclude from it all independent thought and theological progress. It prolonged and intensified the controversy, but nowhere attained ecclesiastical authority. It was subscribed only by the theological faculties of Wittenberg and Leipzig, and rejected by the theologians of Jena, who were pupils of the celebrated John Gerhard, and occupied a milder position. With the death of Calovius the controversy died out, and his symbol was buried beyond the hope of a resurrection. Orthodoxy triumphed, but it was only a partial victory, and the last which it achieved.

During these violent controversies and the awful devastations of the Thirty-Years' War, there arose among a few divines in the Lutheran, Reformed, and Catholic Churches an intense desire for the reunion of Christendom, which found its expression in the famous adage so often erroneously attributed to St. Augustine: In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.' It had no practical effect, but sounds like a prophecy of better times.

Soon afterwards arose a second and more successful reaction in the Pietism of Spener and Francke, which insisted on the claims of practi cal piety against a dead orthodoxy in the Lutheran Church, just as the school of Coccejus did in the Reformed Church of Holland, and the

1 Dr. Lücke (in a special treatise, Göttingen, 1850) traces the authorship with some de gree of certainty to Rupert Meldenius, who belonged to the irenical school of the seventeenth century. Comp. Klose, in Herzog, Vol. IX. p. 304.

Methodism of Wesley and Whitefield in the Church of England. Then followed, toward the close of the eighteenth century, the far more radical reaction of Rationalism, which broke down, stone by stone, the venerable building of Lutheran orthodoxy, and the whole traditional system of Christian doctrine. Rationalism, in its various forms and phases, laid waste whole sections of Germany, especially those where once a rigorous orthodoxy had most prevailed; it affected also the Reformed churches of the Continent, and, in a less degree, those of England and America. Fortunately the power of this great modern apostasy has been broken, in the nineteenth century, by an extensive revival of the principles of the Reformation, with a better appreciation of its Confessions of Faith, not so much in their subordinate differences as in their essential harmony.

SEVENTH CHAPTER.

THE CREEDS OF THE EVANGELICAL REFORMED CHURCHES.

§ 50. THE REFORMED CONFESSIONS.

Literature.

I. COLLECTIONS OF REFORMED SYMBOLS.

HARMONIA CONFESSIONUM | FIDEi | Orthodoxarum, ET REFORMATARUM ECCLESIARUM, | quæ in præcipuis quibusque Europa Regnis, Nationibus, et Provinciis, sacram Evangelii doctrinam pure profitentur: quarum catalogum et ordinem sequentes paginæ indicabunt. | Additæ sunt ad calcem brevissimæ observationes: quibus tum illustrantur obscura, tum quæ in speciem pugnare inter se videri possunt, perspicue atque modestissime conciliantur: et si quæ adhuc controversa manent, syncere indicantur. | Quæ omnia, Ecclesiarum Gallicarum, et Belgicarum nomine, subjiciuntur libero et prudenti reliquarum omnium judicio. Genevæ apud Petrum Santandreanum. MDLXXXI. (4to).

This is the first attempt at comparative Dogmatics or Symbolics. It grew out of a desire for one common Creed, which was modified into the idea of a selected harmony. In this shape it was proposed by the Protestants of Zurich and Geneva, intrusted to Beza, Daneau, and Salnar (or Salnard, or Salvart, minister of the Church of Castres), and chiefly executed by the last of the three. It was intended as a defense of Protestant, and particularly Reformed, doctrine against the constant attacks of Romauists and Lutherans. It does not give the Confessions in full, but extracts from them on the chief articles of faith, which are classified under nineteen sections. It anticipates Winer's method, but for harmonistic purposes. Besides the principal Reformed Confessions, three Lutheran Confessions are also used, viz., the Augsburg, the Saxon, and the Würtemberg Confessions. The work appeared almost simultaneously with the Lutheran Formula of Concord, and may be called a Reformed Formula of Concord, though differing from the former in being a mere compilation from previous symbols. (I imported a wellbound copy, which seems to have been the property of the Elector John Casimir, whose likeness and escutcheon are impressed on the cover. He suggested the preparation of such a work.)

An English translation of this irenic work appeared first at Cambridge, 1586 (12mo), and then again in London, 1643 (4to), under the title: 'AN HARMONY of the Confessions of Faith of the CHRISTIAN AND REFORMED CHURCHES, which purely profess the holy doctrine of the Gospel, in all the chief kingdoms, nations, and provinces of Europe, etc. All which things, in the names of the Churches of France and Belgia, are submitted to the free and discreet judgment of all the Churches. Newly translated out of Latin into English, etc. Allowed by public authority.' According to Strype (Annals of the Reformation, ad a. 1586), Archbishop Whitgift, owing to some jealousy among publishers, first forbade the publication of the Harmony, but afterwards allowed it.

A new edition by Rev. PETER HALL (Rector of Milston, Wilts), under the modified title: THE HARMONY OF PROTESTANT CONFESSIONS: exhibiting the Faith of the Churches of Christ, Reformed after the pure and holy doctrine of the Gospel, throughout Europe. Translated from the Latin. A new edition, revised and considerably enlarged. London, 1842 (640 pages, large Svo).

CORPUS ET SYNTAGMA | CONFESSIONUM | FIDEI, | quæ in diversis regnis et nationibus, ecclesiarum nomine fuerunt authentice editæ: in celeberrimis conventibus exhibitæ, publicaque auctoritate comprobatæ, etc. (first ed. Aureliæ Allobrog. 1612). Editio nova, Genevæ, sumptibus Petri Chouët, 1654.

The first edition of this rare and valuable book was probably compiled by Gaspar Laurentius, who is not named on the title-page, but who signs himself in the dedicatory Epistle to Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate, before the 'Orthodox Consensus' (in Part III.), and says, in the 'General Preface,' that he edited this Consensus a. 1595, and now (1612) in a much improved form. His object was the same as that of the Harmony, viz., to show the essential unity of the evangelical faith in the multiplicity and variety of Confessions which, as the Preface says, in the absence of conspiracy, only strengthen the harmony, and mutually illustrate and supplement each other, like many orthodox expositions of the Scriptures. The second edition, of which I have a copy, is a large quarto volume, consisting of three main parts, the several documents being paged separately. It contains the principal Reformed Confessions down to the Synod of Dort, three Lutheran Confessions, and several other documents, as follows: 1. The Harmonia sive Concordantia Confessionum Fidei per (xiii.) Articulos digesta, with the Symbolum Apostolicum, as the basis of a general consensus, supported by Scripture texts and references to the various Confessions of the collection (8 pp.); 2. Confessio Helvetica posterior, reprinted from a Zurich edition of 1651: 3. Confessio Helvetica prior (or Basileensis II.), 1536; 4. Confessio Basileensis I. (or Mylhusiana), 1532; 5. Confessio Gallica, from the Latin edition of 1566; 6. Confessio Anglicana, 1562; 7. Confessio Scotica of 1560, and the second of 1580; S. Confessio Ecclesiarum Belgicarum, 1559; 9. Confessio Czengerina, the Hungarian Confession, 1570; 10. Confessio Polonica, or Consensus Poloniæ (Sendomirensis), 1570; 11. Confessio Argentinensis S. Tetrapolitana, 1531; 12. Confessio Augustana, from the Wittenberg edition of 1540; 13. Confessio Saxonica, 8. Misnica, 1551; 14. Confessio Wirtembergica, 1552; 15. Confessio Illustrissimi Electoris Palatini, Friderici

III., 1576; 16. Confessio Bohemica (the first of the two Bohemian Confessions, which was presented to King Ferdinand in 1535. It contains a Preface by Luther. The second was compiled 1575); 17. Consensus Ecclesiarum Majoris et Minoris Poloniæ, Lithuaniæ, etc., 1583. Appended: Acta et Conclusiones Synodi Generalis Thoruniensis; 18. Articuli Confessionis Basileensis of the year 1647; 19. Canones Synodi Dordrechtance, 1619; 20. Confessio Cyrilli Patriarchæ Constantinop., 1631; 21. Catholicus Consensus, viz., A Harmony of Christian Doctrine, compiled from the Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, under the following heads: (a) On the Word of God as the Rule of Faith; (b) On God, the Trinitarian and Chris tological Doctrines; (e) On Divine Providence; (d) On the Head of the Church; () On Justification; (S) On Free Will, Original Sin, Election and Predestination; (g) On the Sacraments; (h) On Idolatry, the Worship of Images, etc.; (i) On the True Way of Worshiping and Serving God; (k) On the Church and the Ministry: () Resurrection and the Future State.

CONFESSIONES FIDEI ECCLESIARUM REFORMATARUM. Græce et Lat.

Ecclesiarum Belgicarum Con

fessio, interpr. JAO. REVIO, et Catechesis interpr. F. SYLBURGIO. Lugd. Bat. Elzev. 1635, 12mo; Amstel. 1638, 12mo. Ultrajecti, 1660, and often. (This little volume contains a Greek translation of the Belgic Confession by Revius, and a Greek translation of the Heidelberg Catechism by Sylburg, both with the Latin text in the second column, for the use of schools in Holland.)

A COLLECTION OF CONFESSIONS of Faith, CATECHISMS, DIRECTORIES, BOOKS OF DISCIPLINE, etc., of Publick Authority in the Church of Scotland. Together with all the Acts of the Assembly which are Standing Rules concerning the Doctrine, Worship, Government, and Discipline of the Church of Scotland. [BY WILLIAM DUNLOP.] Edinburgh, 1719, 1722, in 2 vols. (A third volume was promised, but never appeared, as far as I know.) This rare and valuable collection contains, in the first volume, the Westminster Standards; in the second volume, the Confession of Faith of the English Congregation at Geneva, the Scotch Confession of 1560, the Scotch Confession of 1580, the National Covenant of 1638, Calvin's Catechism, the Heidelberg, and some other Catechisms and Books of Discipline. The first volume has also a long Preface (153 pp.) on the Purpose and Use of Creeds.

SYLLOGE CONFESSIONUM sub tempus Reformandæ Ecclesiæ editarum. Oxon. 1804. Ed. altera et anctior (under the revision of Bishop Lloyd). Oxon. 1827. No editor mentioned. This Collection (suggested by Bishop Cleaver) is very elegantly printed in the Clarendon Press, but has no critical value, and is incomplete. It contains: The Profession of the Tridentine Faith, the Second Helvetic Confession, the Basle Confession (1532), the Altered Augsburg Confession of 1540 (to which, in the second edition only, was added the Augustana of 1530), the Saxon Confession, the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of the Synod of Dort, all in Latin, and without a translation or introduction. CORPUS LIBRORUM SYMBOLICORUM qui in Ecclesia Reformatorum auctoritatem publicam obtinuerunt, Ed. J. CHR. G. AUGUSTI. Elberfeldi, 1827, 8vo. Contains three Helvetic, the Gallic, the Anglican, the Scotch, the Belgic, the Hungarian, Polish, and Bohemian Confessions, the Canons of Dort, the Consensus Helveticus, and the Geneva and Heidelberg Catechisms, with an historical and literary dissertation. DIE SYMBOLISCHEN BÜCHER DER EVANGELISCH-REFORMIRTEN KIROHE. Zum ersten Male aus dem Lateinischen vollständig übersetzt und mit histor. Einleitungen und Anmerkungen begleitet. . . ... Für Freunde der Union und für alle, die über Entstehung, Inhalt und Zweck der Bekenntniss-Schriften sich zu belehren wünschen. (BY FRIEDRICH ADOLPH BECK.) 2 Theile. Neustadt a. d. Orla, 1830; 2te wohlfeile Ausg. 1845. A good edition, with brief introductions and notes. The Augsburg Confession and the Creed of Pius IV. are appended to the Second Vol., pp. 350-410.

SAMMLUNG SYMBOLISCHER BÜCHER DER EVANG.-REFORMIETEN KIRCHE für Presbyterien, Schullehrer, Confirmanden, und alle welche eine Union auf dem Grunde der heilsamen Lehre und in der Einheit der alten wahren Kirche Christi wünschen. Herausgeg. von J. J. Mess. 3 Theile. Neuwied, 1828, 1830, and 1846, 8vo. H.A. NIEMEYER: COLLECTIO CONFESSIONUM IN ECOLESIIS REFORMATIS publicatarum. Lips. 1840 (851 pages large octavo, with 88 pages of Introductory Preface), and Collectionis Confessionum Appendix, qua continentur Puritanorum Libri Symbolici. Lipsiæ, 1840 (pp. 113). This is the most complete Latin collection of Reformed Symbols, and contains thirty-one in all, including the Zwinglian and early Swiss Confessions. It is, however, poorly edited, without an index and table of contents. Niemeyer had completed the large volume before he had seen a single copy of the Westminster Standards, and he published them nine months afterwards in an Appendix.

DIE BEKENNTNISS-SCHRIFTEN DER EVANGELISCH-REFORMirten Kirche. Mit Einleitungen und Anmerkungen, herausgegeben von E. G. ADOLF BÖCKEL (Oberhofprediger and General Superintendent in Oldenburg). Leipzig, 1847 (884 large octavo pages). The best German collection, containing thirty-two Reformed Symbols, including the Anglican Catechism and the Arminian Confessions, which Niemeyer omits.

DIE BEKENNTNISS-SCHRIFTEN Der reformirten Kironen DeutschLANDS. Herausgegeben von Dr. HEINEICH HEPPE Elberfeld, 1860 (310 pp.). Contains the Confession of Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate (1577), the Repetitio Anhaltina (1581), Anfrichtige Rechenschaft von Lehr und Ceremonien (1593), Consensus Ministerii Bremensis Ecclesiæ (1595), the Confession of the General Synod held at Cassel (1608), a Report on the Faith of the Reformed Churches in Germany (1607), the Confession of John Sigismund of Brandenburg (1614), another Confession of the same (1615), and the Emden Catechism (1554), all in German.

J. RAWSON LUMBY (Cambridge): The Confessions of the Sixteenth Century, with Special Reference to the Articles of the Church of England (in preparation; to be published in Cambridge and London, 1875).

II. HISTORICAL AND DOCTRInal Works BEARING on the Reformed CONFESSIONS.

1. The doctrinal works of ZWINGLI, CALVIN, BEZA, ECOLAMPADius, Bullinger, URSINUS, OLBVIANUS, KNOX, CRANMER, RIDLEY, LATIMER, HOOPER, GRINDAL, JEWELL, HOOKER, and other Reformers and standard divines of the sixteenth century.

2. Leben und ausgewählte Schriften der Väter und Begründer der reformirten Kirche. Biographies of Zwingli, Calvin, Ecolampadius, and the other Reformers, by BAUM, Christoffel, HAGENBACH, HEPPE, PESTALOZZI, SCHMIDT, STAHELIN, SUDHOFF, etc. Elberfeld, 1857-1862. Ten Parts. One volume of this series-Christoffel's Life of Zwingli—is translated into English, but without the extracts from his writings. 3. Older Controversial Works of Reformed Divines:

J. HOORNBEEK: Summa controversiarum religionis cum infidelibus, hæreticis, schismaticis. Utrecht, 1658. 1676, 1689; Francf. a. O. 1697, 8vo.

FR. TURRETIN: Inst. theologice elenchtica. Geneva, 1682, 1688, 3 vols. 4to; Utrecht, 1701, 4 vols. 4to, etc. B. PIOTET: De consensu et dissensu inter Reformatos et Augustana Confessionis fratres. Genev. 1700. F. SPANHEIM: Controversiarum de religione cum dissidentibus elenchus hist. theol. Leyd. 1687; fifth edition, Leyd. 1757, 4to.

DU GERDES: Elenchus veritatum, circa quas defendendas versatur theol, elenchthica. Gröningen, 1740, 4to. J. F. STAPFER: Institutiones theologica polem. Zurich, 1743-47, 5 vols. 8vo.

DU WYTTENBACH: Theol. elenchticæ initia. Francf. a. M. 1763, 1765, 2 vols. 8vo.

Comp. also the list of older dogmatic works of the Reformed Church in HEPPE's Dogmatik der evang.reform. Kirche, at the end of Preface, and in SCHWEIZER'S Glaubenslehre der evang.-reform. Kirche, Vol. I. pp. xxi.-xxiii.

4. Recent Historico-Dogmatic Works:

H. HEPPE (Marburg): Dogmatik der evang.-reform. Kirche dargestellt und aus den Quellen belegt, Elberfeld, 1861; and his Dogmatik des Deutschen Protestantismus im 16ten Jahrh. Gotha, 1857, 3 vols.

ALEX. SOHWEIZER (Zurich): Die Protestantischen Centraldogmen in ihrer Entwicklung innerhalb der Reformirten Kirche. Zurich, 1854-56, 2 vols. Also his Glaubenslehre der evang.-reform. Kirche dargestellt und aus den Quellen belegt. Zurich, 1844-47, 2 vols.

AUG. EBRARD (Erlangen): Das Dogma vom heil. Abendmahl und seine Geschichte (Frankfurt a. M. 1846), the second vol.; and also his Christliche Dogmatik. Königsberg, 1851, 1852, 2 vols.

CHARLES HODGE (Princeton): Systematic Theology. New York, 1873, 3 vols.

J. J. VAN OOSTERZEE (Utrecht): Christian Dogmatics. Translated from the Dutch by Watson and Evans. London and New York, 1874, 2 vols.

The Reformed Confessions are much more numerous than the Lutheran, because they represent a larger territory and several nationalities-Swiss, German, French, Dutch, English, and Scotch—each of which produced its own doctrinal and disciplinary standards, since the geographical and political divisions and the close relations to the civil government determined also the number of ecclesiastical organizations. The productive period of the Reformed movement, moreover, extended far into the seventeenth century, especially in England, and some of the most important confessions, as the Canons of Dort and the Westininster Standards, were made long after the symbolic development of the Lutheran Church had reached its culmination and rest in the Formula of Concord. Finally the Reformed Church departs further from the authority of ecclesiastical traditionalism than the Lutheran, and allows more freedom for the development of various types of doctrine and schools of theology within the limits of the Word of God, to which it more rigidly adheres.

But with all this variety, the Reformed symbols are as much agreed in the essential articles of faith as the Lutheran, and differ even less