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Bible Dictionaries
Reformed Churches, Confessions of the
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
or
The thirty or more Reformed creeds are based on radical tenets of Zwingli and Calvin. The "Confessio Tetrapolitana," 1531, is a radical document of two Strasburg preachers, which was soon abandoned. The "First Confession of Basel" or of Mulhausen, drafted by Æcolampadius, 1531, and later enlarged, was promulgated by the city of Basel, 1534. It is brief and conciliative towards Lutherans, and was revised, 1561. The "Second Confession of Basel" or the "Helvetica Prior" was drafted by a general council, Basel, 1536. Its tone is Zwinglian. For years it was the creed of Swiss Protestants. It was superseded by the "Helvetica Posterior," 1566, which was the private confession of Bullinger of Zurich and was formally accepted by most Reformed Churches of Europe. Following the earlier confessions, it is lengthier. Calvin's following writings are accepted is dogmatic: the "Catechism of Geneva," 1541; the "Consensus of Zurich," 1549, expounding Calvin's views on the sacraments; and the "Consensus of the Pastor of the Church of Geneva," 1552, proclaiming absolute predestination. "The Gallicana" for French Protestants was drafted by Calvin and revised in various synods from 1559 to that of La Rochelle, 1571. Called the "Rochelle Confession," its Calvinism is undiluted, remaining authoritative among French Protestants. The "Heidelberg Catechism," an exposition of the faith of the Reformed Churches, written by two Heidelberg University professors and published, 1563, by order of Frederick III, was accepted as authoritative by Calvinists throughout the world. The "Confessio Belgica," 1561, was written by Guy de Bray and assistants to prove the accepted belief from Scripture. Revised by various synods of the Netherlands it was finally subscribed to by the Synod of Dort, 1619, as the creed of the Reformed Churches. Together with the "Heidelberg Catechism" it is accepted by the Netherlands Reformed Churches and offshoots. The numerous minor teformed Confessions, such as the Hungarian, Bohemian, Polish, etc., are of a local and transient nature. The Church of England adopted the Thirty-Nine Articles, which, with various modifications suitable to political conditions, were also adopted by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, formed after American independence, in a general convention, Trenton, New Jersey, 1801.
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Entry for 'Reformed Churches, Confessions of the'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ncd/r/reformed-churches-confessions-of-the.html. 1910.
