_Formula of Pious Consensus Among the Pastors of the Saxon Churches Entered into the Public Record at the Synod of Mediasch 22 June 1572_. by Lucas Ungleich [aka Lukas Unglerus], 1526-1600 Latin Text Published in: _Urkundenbuch der Evangelischen Landeskirche A. B. in Siebenbuergen, Vol. 2: Die Synodalverhandlungen_. Georg Daniel Teutsch, Ed. (Hermannstadt, 1883), pp. 139-175 Translated by Christopher B. Brown Translation Edited by Jon Alan Schmidt ARTICLE X-CONCLUSION ARTICLE X _On Baptism_ Baptism is a ceremony instituted by Christ, consisting of immersion and washing in water and the speaking of the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," which bear witness that the promise of grace truly pertains to the one who is baptized, and that he is received by God, given the Holy Spirit, and accepted to the inheritance of eternal life. Concerning this baptism Peter teaches in the third chapter [1 Peter 3:21] that it is not "the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ;" that is, it is a new covenant instituted between God and the baptized, that God has received them in grace and cleanses them from sin. But the baptized respond with faith, obedience, and the true worship of God. In this action God is active through the Holy Spirit, and a rebirth takes place, as Paul says in Titus 3[:5-6]: "He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly"; again in Galatians 3[:27]: "As many as have been baptized have put on Christ"; John 3[:5]: "Except a man be reborn of water and the Spirit," etc. We condemn and reject anabaptism as a horrible impiety and insult against the divine Name, which is abused by the Anabaptists when they profane the Name of God and set at naught the invocation of the divine name made in the first baptism. For baptism is not to be repeated, even if it is administered by hypocritical ministers, and those whose morals are corrupt, so long as they retain faithfully and entire the meaning of the words and institution of Christ. For the efficacy of the sacraments does not depend on the worthiness of the person, but upon the authority of the institution of Christ, who works in us through his Word and sacraments, giving the Holy Spirit and bestowing his heavenly gifts. But we judge otherwise concerning those who are baptized by heretics and Arians who both destroy the faith of the sacraments and overturn the true meaning and form of the words. We abhor also the error or madness of the Anabaptists who exclude and prohibit infants from baptism, foolishly claiming for themselves the Lord's judgment concerning children [_parvulos_], to whom nonetheless salvation and the promise of grace equally pertain, and not only to adults, as is expressly said in Matthew 10[sic, 19:14]: "Of such is the kingdom of heaven"; and again in chapter 18[:6]: "It is not the will of my Father that one of these little ones should perish"; John 3[:5]: "Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." For we believe that infants too are pleasing to God, and that there is in them the capacity [_efficaciam_] for faith, though it is not apparent to our senses. For faith is a singular gift of God, and beyond investigation by human powers. We reject as well the pernicious error of the Novatians, who deny that those who fall after baptism can again be converted to God. For the words of the Son of God manifestly contradict them, when he says to Peter that he should forgive seventy times seven times. [Matthew 18:21-22] ARTICLE XI _On the Lord's Supper_ Concerning the Lord's Supper we firmly believe that, when it is rightly [_legitime_] administered, as it was instituted by Christ, Christ is truly present; and [that] when the external symbols--the bread and the wine-- are distributed and received, the true and substantial body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are distributed and received, to the end that the promise of the forgiveness of sins may be applied to each individual, the faith of those who partake may be strengthened, and the members of the true church of God may be distinguished from the impious. And we condemn in this article the many abominable idolatries, abuses, and superstitions, with which the Lord's Supper was contaminated by the papists, when they turned the Lord's Supper into a horrible idolatry, and imagined that the consecrated bread was transformed and changed, and mutilated the sacrament by withholding one part from the lay people. Christ is present in the Supper when it is administered as he instituted it, and present voluntarily because of his institution. Nor is the body of Christ drawn into the bread by the magical power of the words, so that [the body] is forced to remain in the bread when it is locked up or carried about apart from the action and use instituted by the Lord Christ; but in that action--that is, when it is received, eaten, and drunk--Christ is present and active, and communicates his body and blood to the communicants, according to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10[-11]. Therefore we must abhor the idolatry of the papists, who carry about the consecrated bread apart from its use and expose it for adoration as God, not otherwise than the Persians and Chaldeans once used to carry the fire of Ahrimazda before their kings in public processions so that it might be adored as God. Nor are the ceremonies, innovations, and other idolatrous abuses of the mass, whereby Christ is offered for the living and the dead, less abominable or less repugnant to the sacrifice of Christ. We condemn also [_improbamus_] the errors of the Anabaptists and Sacramentarians, who deny the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Supper, and imagine that the bread and wine are merely bare symbols of the absent body and blood of Christ. They transform the words of the Son of God into figures of speech, and thereby produce another meaning, foreign to the words of Christ. But we judge that these words of the Son of God must be received simply and in their proper sense, just as they sound, and that Christ is truthful and almighty, and both wills and is able to be present everywhere, wherever he has bound himself by his Word. And although human reason, just as in the other articles of faith, rages and is offended by the absurdity, nevertheless it is more sure to give faith to such a manifest word of Christ than to make up something new according to human reason. ARTICLE XII _On the Power of the Keys and Absolution_ Both public and private absolution are retained in our churches, in which men are not pressed to make an enumeration of sins, which is impossible and superstitious; rather, there is a general acknowledgment and confession of sins by each individual, and consolation from the Word of God is sought from a minister of the church and the announcement of the forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ, who says [John 20:23; Matthew 16:19], "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." This form of absolution has precedent in the church. For thus Christ absolved the woman in the house of the leper, and thus the paralytic; thus Paul commanded that the incestuous man should be absolved; thus Nathan absolved David. But this private confession and absolution as it is employed in our churches is very useful, for it is conducive to consolation, discipline, and good order. For in this way the forgiveness of sins is applied to the individual; the ignorant are diligently instructed in doctrine before they are admitted to the sacraments; the ministers of the church in pious conversation examine the progress of each in the catechism [_in catechesi_]; and men are freely exhorted to repentance and emendation of life, lest they should approach [the sacrament] unworthily. Many scruples of conscience are removed in the private examination accompanying the absolution by this pious and singular institution of the ministry. But we do not approve the auricular murmuring of the papists, which is idolatry. For it lays down a road to superstitious satisfaction, weakens faith, and leads minds to despair, since the enumeration of all sins which is urged there is impossible. For who understands his offenses? ARTICLE XIII _On Repentance_ The doctrine of repentance must always be retained in the church, for it is necessary in conversion and the Son of God himself commends it to us in Luke 24[:47], summarizing the Gospel when he says, "Go and preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in my name"; and again [Luke 13:3, 5], "Unless you repent, you shall likewise perish." Thus John the Baptist cries out [Matthew 3:8, Luke 3:8], "Repent and bear fruit worthy of repentance." But by repentance we do not understand the particular satisfactions by which the remission of sins is sought through certain foolish and and superstitious human observances, by which the merit of the Son of God is manifestly derogated. Rather, we call repentance the whole conversion to God, which consists of terror from the recognition of sin and the wrath of God, and the restoration of faith, which is accompanied by the new obedience. For repentance includes these three things: contrition, faith, and the new obedience. Contrition is terror with true sorrow and recognition of the wrath of God against sin. Faith is believing in the Gospel, assenting to the promise of grace, and firmly trusting that one's sins are truly forgiven by God for the sake of Christ, freely, and not because of our merits. The new obedience in conversion is nothing other than fighting the good fight and maintaining faith and a good conscience, as Paul says [1 Timothy 1:18-19]. And although this obedience is imperfect in this life, nevertheless having made a start in those who are reborn, it pleases God because of shining faith in Christ the Mediator. ARTICLE XIV _On Prayer and Invocation_ It is necessary that the doctrine concerning the true invocation of God should be maintained uncorrupted in the church. For prayer is the preeminent worship of God, which Satan endeavors to sully with horrible idolatry. Therefore we must devote ourselves to prayer with greater vigilance, and observe the manner of prayer set forth in the Word of God, concerning which Christ says [John 15:16,16:23], "Whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, he shall grant you." Our mind must be certain what God it invokes in prayer, and hold to the firm consolation of the promises, lest what Christ reprehends in the Jews [sic] should apply to us: "You worship what you know not," John 4[:22]. Also the prayer of Christians in the church is to be distinguished from that of the Jews, Turks, and the heathen, who are ignorant of the nature of God and his will. For repentance, contrition, and faith are required for all true prayer, so that we may approach God with sure trust in the Mediator, for God has promised that he will give whatever we ask in the name of his Son. This is the worship truly proper to God; it must by no means be rendered to the saints, nor are we to seek other mediators than Christ. Nor does any creature deserve worship, much less statues and idols. To do this is a horrible idolatry, which God will not suffer to go unpunished, for he says [Isaiah 42:8], "My glory I will not give to another." ARTICLE XV _On Marriage_ Concerning marriage we teach the pious and Christian [doctrine] that it is a most holy ordinance, divinely instituted, the indissoluble and legitimate union of one man and woman; and [that] by this association, God wishes to propagate, preserve, and piously bring up the human race, so that from it he may gather a church pleasing to himself. And he wishes also that this way [_genus_] of life should be holy, so that wayward lusts may be avoided. For God delights in chaste and pious marriage, and in the marital affections he sets forth for us, as it were in an image, his love for his Son and for us; and in his manifold blessings he shows his mercy and goodness toward pious husbands and wives, as Psalm 128 says. This holy way of life is opposed by all sorts of wayward and inordinate lusts, which are the flames of the devils, the impure spirits. These lusts God pursues with hatred, and he punishes them even in this life with horrible penalties, as the examples of the Sodomites and Benjamites make clear. After this life, God will judge fornicators and adulterers, as Paul says. This divinely sanctioned order is also opposed by the wicked prohibition of marriages, which Paul calls a doctrine of demons. For it plainly contradicts the decree of God in which he says [Genesis 2:18], "It is not good for the man to be alone." But the popes prohibited marriages to ecclesiastical persons, gravely wounding the consciences of many with such an impossible yoke, and at the same time encouraged horrible lusts and impure blindnesses, which God abhors and detests. But marriage is kept in our churches as the closest of bonds. We do not promiscuously allow illegitimate unions of persons, but marriage is forbidden to certain relations, both of consangunity and of affinity, with respect to which marriage is prohibited to the fourth degree. Nor are marriages to be rashly dissolved in the manner of the Jews or Turks, but there are sure rules in the Word of God for permitting divorce, whereby adultery and wicked desertions are manifestly condemned, and the innocent parties are conceded the liberty of contracting [another] marriage. And furthermore we urge the magistrates, as ministers of God, to restrain with the sword those who would be so rash as to violate marriage, lest unbounded license flourish among men. ARTICLE XVI _On Civil Magistracies_ Concerning civil authority [_potestate politica_] and magistrates we teach according to the Word of God that they are honorable divine ordinances, established for the good of man--for the protection of the good and the punishment of the wicked. Because of the command of God this ordinance is to be faithfully obeyed by subjects in all legitimate matters which are not opposed to the will of God. And we teach that the duty of a pious magistrate is first of all to be a minister of God, as Paul testifies, and a defender of the divine Law, especially of the first table, so that diligent care may be given to the true Christian religion, in order that the true knowledge of God, doctrine, faith, and prayer may be spread among the subjects. For the preservation of these things there is need of churches and schools and their teachers, which the pious magistrates must defend and nourish, as Isaiah 49 says. The Christian magistrate must also remove manifest scandals from the church, such as idolatry and impious doctrines, repugnant to the Word of God, and horrible blasphemies against God, according to the example of the pious princes Hezekiah, Josiah, and the like, who not only endeavored to spread the true and sound doctrine among their subjects, but also overturned and removed the scandalous and perverse teachings; and also like Constantine the Great, who with much effort endeavored to suppress and abolish the Arian heresy, which was raging like a plague in the East. The second duty of the pious magistrate is to defend the second table [of the Law]: to preserve honorable discipline among his subjects; to maintain peace, justice, and human society; to defend judicial decisions, laws, and order; and to inflict punishments on evildoers and those who obstinately disrupt social life and peace. Nor is there any doubt but that God is truly present to such pious magistrates with his Spirit and grace, and grants such men a happy and peaceful term of government, and indeed also prosperity and a happy end. We abhor Cyclopean insolence, disobedience, tumults, and all seditions of wicked subjects against legitimate magistrates. And we condemn the mad onrush of the Anabaptist fanatics who seek to abolish magistrates, laws, and judgments, and disturb social life and order. And in our churches we daily pour forth to God our prayers and petitions for the magistrates according to the precept of St. Paul, that God may establish and preserve pious princes and magistrates, and guide them by the Holy Spirit, that they may be salutary fathers of the country, who throw the gates open to Christ, and above all that they may themselves be co-heirs of the kingdom of heaven. ARTICLE XVII _On the Church_ We firmly believe according to the Apostles' Creed that there is one true holy and catholic Church, whose head is Christ, who redeemed her with his precious blood and who by his own voice eternally gathers within the human race an assembly pleasing to himself. This [Church] he loves, governs with his Holy Spirit, sanctifies for eternal life, and marvellously defends in this world against the raging of Satan, the cruelty of the world, and the tyrrany of the wicked; and he will preserve this assembly unto the end of the age. But we teach that the true and visible church in this life is the assembly of men, dispersed throughout the whole world, which embraces the Gospel of Christ and rightly uses the sacraments, and renders due obedience to the ministry, through which the Son of God works with his own voice and Spirit, and gives new birth and eternal life to many. And nevertheless there are mixed with this assembly many hypocrites, not reborn, who stubbornly reject the true doctrine. Nor do we bind the church to one certain place, but it is catholic, that is, scattered throughout the world and through different peoples, agreeing with true faith in the doctrine and the invocation of the Son of God. Nor do we imagine such a church as do the Donatists and Anabaptists, in which everyone is perfect, pure, and holy, but mixed with these there are many fools, hypocrites, and dead members, just as Christ manifestly teaches in many parables, as of the field and the seeds, the net in the sea, etc. But though this assembly of men, which is the true church of God in this life, is subject by the singular counsel and will of God to the cross and many calamities, and is burdened with more trials than the multitude of the wicked, nevertheless this is the church which God truly loves and cares for as his own, and which by the cross he conforms to the likeness of his Son--by the exercise of faith, prayer, patience, constancy, and the other virtues. In this way also he uproots sins and prepares his church for a more blessed life, where God will adorn her as a beloved spouse with heavenly glory and unending happiness. Meanwhile the Lord is truly present to his church in these trials, with ready help, protection, guidance, and comfort. ARTICLE XVIII _On the Ministry of the Church and the Efficacy of the Word of God_ Out of the human race God gathers to himself an everlasting church, and communicates [_impertit_] his blessings to her through two means: through the Word which he has handed down, which he wishes to sound forth in the voice of the ministry, and through the sacraments which he has instituted, so that it may be clearly said [Romans 10:17], "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God;" and [Romans 1:16], "the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe." Nor does God communicate himself and his gifts immediately, to men who resist, who will neither hear and embrace the Word of God nor make use of the sacraments when they are able. For God works through these external means in the ministry of the Gospel, and for this reason he continually gives and sends to his church salutary teachers, whom he uses as instruments, as Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:8: "Ascending he gave gifts to men." Therefore we condemn those who imagine divine raptures [_enthusiasmos_] and declare that God communicates with men immediately, and not through the Word, and that the Word and the sacraments are merely external exercises for men. And in our churches the office of the ministers of the church is held in the highest honor, not out of respect for persons, but because of the command and ordinance of God, as Christ says in Luke 10[:16]: "He that hears you, hears me, and he that despises you, despises me." Nor do we permit any heretic to take up the public ministry, after the fashion of the enthusiasts and Anabaptists, or to assume a call Simonaically; but suitable persons are admitted to the government of the church after their faith, doctrine, and life have been proved. And there is added to the election the public rite of ordination in the presence of the church, whereby those who have been called and chosen for the ministry of the church may be proven, examined, and installed according to definite system and practice [_certo ordine et more_], and at the same time be commended to the church, and dedicated to the ministry of the church through the laying on of hands with the blessing of God and public prayers, that they may rightly teach the doctrine of the Gospel, administer the sacraments, and be faithful co- workers with God in building up the church of Christ. ARTICLE XIX _On Indifferent Rites and Ceremonies [_adiaphoris_]_ Adiaphora are, properly speaking, ceremonies or works which God has neither prescribed nor prohibited, but left free for the church to employ according to the circumstances of places, times, or persons, for the edification of the church and for the sake of discipline and good order. Examples include prescribed readings in the churches, prescribed chants and prayers for [different] times, holidays for the instruction of the unlearned, pious songs, ceremonies for burials, the joining of couples in marriage, fitting dress, etc. But we by no means include under the name of adiaphora those things which are of themselves impious and divinely prohibited, such as the magical consecrations of oils, water, plants, extreme unction, the papistic confirmation, masses without communicants, monastic vows, [and] the worship and invocation of the saints. These things, which are manifestly impious and repugnant to the gospel, no one can receive or approve in good conscience and without danger to faith [_salva pietate_], as we judge. Nor indeed do we reckon among true and useful adiaphora those ridiculous gestures and ceremonies which display heathen vanity and expose our religion to ridicule, obscure the doctrine, give strength to superstition, and are in no way conducive to discipline and good order, such as the ridiculous gesticulations in the mass, the processions around the cemetery, the carrying about of statues and relics of the saints, and similar traditions of men. To burden the churches with these trifles is neither pious nor tolerable. And indeed not even with true and useful adiaphora is any necessity or compulsion to be established, but they are to be preserved out of Christian freedom; nor is the peace of the churches to be torn apart because of them. But ceremonies in the church should be fitting, not contrary to the Word of God, nor should they be added in great profusion, for they easily pass over into superstition among the unaccustomed people. The ceremonies hitherto observed in the Saxon churches are to be left in the same condition; and if at some time anything in the rites of certain places has been changed--so that the use of candles and ornaments has been given up among some, while there is agreement in everything else, and these things were not removed with impious intention--we judge that they are not to be forcibly restored, lest this should give rise to scandals and contentions. Nevertheless, in the future let no one assume authority to change things out of his own head, without the judgment and consent of a synod. Meanwhile, let the churches which do not use candles and ornaments not condemn those who do otherwise, or bring opprobrium upon them, or vice versa, but let there be Christian forbearance in these external matters. For it is not in these indifferent matters that the true unity of the church of Christ consists, but in the foundation of doctrine and in true faith. But insofar as it is possible, care is to be taken that the churches of one kingdom and of the same people are conformed to each other [both] in true doctrine and in the use of ceremonies, for this is most profitable for the sake of example and good order. ARTICLE XX _On the Immortality of the Soul_ We believe this article with firm faith, according to the Word of God: that the souls of the pious, separated from their bodies by death, remain in existence and are immortal, live in peace in the hand of God, and do not perish along with the bodies, or lie in perpetual sleep; rather, they truly live, and in the resurrection of the dead they will truly be joined anew with their resurrected bodies. This doctrine stirs up faith with hope in the future and in the promises of good things in the Word of the Lord, provides a certain hope and consolation concerning the life to come and its blessings, and is consistent with the divine Word, in which the Holy Spirit has desired to fortify us against the doubts of the Epicureans, wicked men who dare to assert that souls perish along with the body. For Holy Scripture teaches that the souls of men are immortal, as Christ expressly says in Matthew 10[:28]: "Fear not them which are able to kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." In Luke 16[:19-31] it is said that Lazarus is in the bosom of Abraham and the rich man in hell; in Luke 23[:43] Christ says to the thief: "Today thou wilt be with me in paradise." Thus in Matthew 22[:32] Christ, refuting the wicked Saducees, says that God is a God of the living, and he is the God of Abraham. Therefore it is necessary that Abraham is living according to that part of him which is immortal. Wisdom 3[:1]: "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God"; Revelation 14:13: "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." And the apostle Peter says that Christ preached to the spirits in prison [1 Peter 3:18-20]. Thus Paul also says in Philippians 1[:23]: "I desire to depart and be with Christ;" and again 2 Corinthians 5[:4]: "We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed, that mortality might be swallowed up by life;" and likewise many manifest testimonies of the immortality of souls, to which all pious Christians in the church of God give assent with true faith. This doctrine has also been confirmed with sure signs, as when Enoch and Elijah were taken up into heaven in the sight of others. And the Son of God himself, whose soul did not see corruption, bore sure witness to the same by his resurrection, and confirmed with his own voice that souls made in the image of God are immortal and do not perish along with the body. And we too embrace this doctrine, and in firm agreement with the Word of God, we will endeavor to pass it on to our posterity. Therefore the Epicurean swine are to be abhorred and anathematized for denying this salutary doctrine--for our age has seen such new Epicureans arise in this country, who with Cynic impudence dare to spread whatever profane and impious opinions they have gathered from elsewhere, and do so with impunity, without opposition from pious magistrates. In this way they seek because of the novelty of their doctrine to seize glory and a name for themselves. They may easily draw astray the simple multitude into their foolish self-admiration, for the multitude always rejoices in unusual and foreign things and shuns what is useful. But pious magistrates should restrain such perverse heretics, wayward and froward Epicureans, and drive them far from the flock of Christ and the communion of the faithful, lest they should infect the minds of the weak with their perverse opinions, weaken their faith, and at the same time instill evil behavior in the youth, who are otherwise prone to do evil. ARTICLE XXI _On the Last Judgment and Eternal Life_ These last articles are as it were the haven of human life, to which everything is directed: that as faithful servants of God and watchful virgins, we might firmly believe until the end of the world in the final and glorious coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who will come as a strict and righteous judge with ineffable majesty, power, and glory on the clouds of heaven, visibly and accompanied by infinite hosts of holy angels. At his blessed coming the Lord will raise all the dead, who will come forth to life from their tombs and the dust of the earth, and all men will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. The Son of God will exercise righteous judgment upon them and will judge the living and the dead, the pious and the impious, and will render a most righteous and weighty verdict on each one. The impious will hear the horrible sound of the judgment: that they are damned and cast away eternally, with most severe punishments to body and soul, which will have no end, for they are eternal fellows of the damned and the devils, in unquenchable fire, subjected to eternal punishments. But the pious and elect will hear the cheerful and consoling voice of the Son of God declaring that they are given the inheritance of eternal life, and in that unspeakable joy and blessedness, they will see and hold welcome converse with God, the angels, and all the saints, where they will live without end in everlasting righteousness, wisdom, holiness, and joy; far from all evil, sorrow, and calamity; beholding, knowing, and rejoicing in God face to face, who will then be all in all, world without end. Amen. ARTICLE XXII _On the Life and Morals of the Ministers of the Church_ The divine dignity of this office demonstrates of itself what integrity of life is required in the ministers of the church. For although erudition and true doctrine are especially looked for and required in them, yet with these piety and holiness of life and morals should be joined. For it often happens to ministers who teach correctly but meanwhile live perverse and scandalous lives that what they build up with one hand they tear down with the other, and labor without fruit. Therefore, insofar as possible, both sound doctrine and a blameless life should shine forth in the pious ministers, as St. Paul abundantly teaches in 1 Timothy 3 concerning the life and morals of ministers of the gospel. For they must be blameless, not causers of scandal, not given to crimes and vices, not sullying the holy ministry with a shameful life; but let them be pious, chaste husbands, sober, modest, and serious; teachable, mild, and generous; and peaceable and humble, as true disciples of Christ, the light and salt of the world, Matthew 5[:13-16]. Also in their clothing and manner let them be restrained, so that by their modest dress they may be distinguished in their occupation [ordine] from other men; and let them not wear military uniforms in a vainglorious way, but even by their suitable external appearance let them demonstrate physical modesty, humility, and piety. Nor let them be children of this world, given over to temptations and pleasures, but let them be diligent and sedulous in teaching, vigilant over the churches, and let them consider that God will require the souls of all at their hand. Their special office is to keep diligent watch; to instruct the people in the doctrine and the Word of God; to lead back the erring to the path; to overcome the contradicters; to administer the sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, with reverence; to console the uninstructed privately in absolution, and instruct them in the catechism; to visit the sick; to do everything in the church decently and in order for edification; to conduct public prayers, sermons, and admonitions devoutly and at the appropriate time; to keep their houses and children well; to shine forth above others in virtue and piety, and to be an example for the faithful; and finally to bear adversity patiently, and to overcome the malice of Satan and the tyranny of the world by faith, prayer, and constancy, and in the end to look for rewards and a crown of glory from God in life everlasting. ARTICLE XXIII _On Excommunication_ We approve and observe in our churches that excommunication which is based upon the Word of God: the final and highest penalty, by which a man who has on the basis of sure evidence been convicted by the sentence of the church of impious teaching or manifest wickedness of life is given over to the divine wrath, excluded from public duties and the use of the sacraments, and entirely cast out of the church as a severed and useless member. And this excommunication is not a civil penalty, like that of the civil magistrate who has the right to use the sword, but it is a spiritual penalty, established by God, so that the church might regularly punish stubborn and manifest sinners, the unemendable, and blasphemers, according to the Word of God--not so that men might be lost, but so that by this discipline many might be drawn back to repentance and healed, and their spirits saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, as is said in 1 Corinthians 5[:5]. But excommunication must not be pronounced rashly by the ministers of the church, not out of private feelings, not out of rancor, hatred, or private vengeance; but in the case of those who are gravely in error the scandal is to be removed from the church in this way: The persons to be excommunicated should first be diligently admonished, to see whether they may be returned to the path and healed. Then they are to stand the church's judgment and be accused before the chapter of clergy [_sacerdotum_], and before those whose business it is to judge concerning doctrine and spiritual controversies. If they shall then stubbornly persist in errors and blasphemies, and will not accept the judgment and pious admonitions of the church, then let them at last be struck with anathema and condemned by the minister in public. Thus Paul in 1 Corinthians 5[:35] excommunicated the incestuous man: "I have judged in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that when you are gathered together with my spirit and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ you are to deliver the incestuous man unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." ARTICLE XXIV _On the Visitation of the Churches_ Annual visitations of each of the churches have been instituted among us by definite arrangement, not without great profit and utility. For not only are consensus and conformity of doctrine and the government of the church in this way preserved by definite laws, but these public inspections are very conducive to avoiding errors, confusions, and innovations; uprooting wicked practices and the evil behavior of men; preserving discipline and order; and helping to remove scandals. Certain appropriate persons are designated to conduct the visitations of the churches in each of the sees and chapters at fixed times of the year-- not only men from the ecclesiastical estate and the number of the pastors, but also men from the civil order who carry out their work faithfully, so that they may endeavor to put into effect among the subjects those things which the pastors propose to be observed or abolished according to the Word of God, bringing punishments to bear according to their authority. In this way what is good and necessary is preserved in its true use, but those things which are evil or flawed are emended according to common agreement, by the Word of God and by penalties. A fixed method is diligently observed in the visitations of the individual churches, whereby not only are the parishoners [_auditorum_] examined as to how they believe and live, but also the pastors, whether they may also be culpable; and both are admonished of their duty to live piously, to avoid scandals and vices, and to subject the disobedient to public punishments. We will prescribe the same form of visitation with the articles to be presented to the people in each chapter, and fruitfully observe this discipline at fixed times annually. ARTICLE XXV _On Burials_ The burial of the dead, as is fitting for Christians, is carried out among us in an honorable and devout way, and funerals are decently conducted before a large assembly of men, with pious songs and the public reading of certain consolations from Holy Scripture. In some places there are also funeral sermons concerning the resurrection of our bodies and the sure hope of the life to come. The burial grounds are religiously [_munde_] kept as the resting places of the pious. Nor are blasphemous men who have died in manifest error or horrible sins with final impenitence allowed to be buried in these places. For as such men severed themselves from the church in life, so they are separated from the graves of the bodies of the pious in death, as an example to terrify secure and godless [_atheos_] men. ARTICLE XXVI _On the Keeping of Feast-Days_ The observation of feast-days is retained in our churches, not because of vain superstition, or for the exercise of impious idolatry or the invocation of the saints; for these kinds of worship are manifestly impious and contrary to the command and glory of God. Nor are feast-days distinguished by shameful or useless leisure, perverse gluttony, or indulgence, or other vices--for we vehemently deplore this abuse and sharply denounce it among the people, and diligently exhort the civil magistrates also according to the Word of God to abolish these vices. But we observe the feast-days for the edification of the church of God, so that at these times we may invite the people in greater numbers to the assemblies of the faithful--to hear the Word of God, pray, and receive the sacraments, and also so that they may each become familiar with the history of the spread of the true church, how God spread the doctrine of his Gospel through his chosen instruments (holy men, prophets, apostles, evangelists, and martyrs) and marvelously preserved his church even through the cross and the shedding of blood. Finally, in the histories of the saints the church sets forth examples of the virtues which are commended to the pious, such as true doctrine, confession, faith, love, hope, constancy, patience, and the others. Thus the feast-days in our churches serve for teaching and order, lest unbounded barbarity should arise among us, without any distinction whatsoever of times and feasts, seeing that God himself, in order that the memory of his blessings to his people might be preserved, demanded that certain festivals should be observed, on which he wished that there should be assemblies of the faithful. ARTICLE XXVII _On the Regulation of the Schools_ Schools also have been established among us with singular diligence, flourishing in liberal studies, in all cities, towns, and parishes, as useful seedbeds of the church and the state, over which well-suited and modest teachers and directors are set and supported by public stipends to instruct the youth correctly. They instill the souls of the youth with the liberal arts along with the cultivation of virtues and an honorable character. They exercise them in the study of languages (Greek and Latin), so that they may be able to read and expound the writings of the most outstanding authors, and they instruct the adolescents in every kind of learning, but especially in piety, and imbue the youth from the most tender years with the catechism, the foundation of true religion, and the precepts of Christian faith. Thus a great treasure flows forth to all men from this scholarly discipline and pious instruction of the youth. For well- established schools are like public factories of learning, prudence, virtue, and discipline, in which suitable men are formed and educated, who may finally be useful both for service to the church and for the government of the state on account of their learning and literary culture, the works of these men being frequently as necessary to our common life as our daily bread. For what would everything else be without learning and literary culture but what Gorgias says in Plato: The great multitude of necessary things--wealth, buildings, weapons, machinery--would be, without learning and study of the liberal arts, nothing but a corpse and a useless weight, lacking all soul. [CONCLUSION] These are the outstanding points concerning which, by the gift of God, a great concord has been established in the Saxon churches of Transylvania among the teachers and ministers of God, who with unanimous consensus and one voice firmly proclaim and teach the same pure doctrine, agreeable to the writings of the prophets and apostles. With God's help they shall also henceforth endeavor to pass on this acknowledged truth, which has thus far been professed according to the Word of God, to future generations. As to the rest, we are ready to make a fuller declaration concerning these or other parts of the doctrine, whenever it may be necessary and our confession shall be required. For we are prepared to give an account of our faith and confession according to the Word of God before God and men. And we pray to the everlasting God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, along with his coeternal Son and the Holy Spirit, with ardent sighs and petitions, that in these regions bordering the Turks, he may gather for himself a true and holy church and an eternal heritage, strengthen her by the voice of his Gospel, and rule her by his Holy Spirit; that he may also defend his church, redeemed with the precious blood of his Son, against the malice and rage of the devil and the efforts, snares, and blasphemies of all impious adversaries; and that he not permit the light of his heavenly doctrine and this pious concord to be extinguished among us, but that in his ineffable goodness he may bestow on his church a tranquil dwelling place in these lands, so that there may always be among us an assembly of teachers and hearers--acknowledging, invoking, and worshipping the true God. And we pray to Almighty God through his only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that he might govern the mind of our most illustrious prince and most merciful lord by the Holy Spirit, and stir him to the love of truth and the true religion, [as well as] to the defense of the holy church and the expulsion of all errors by which the Name of God is blasphemed. May he be granted a happy life, a prosperous reign, and peace and tranquility in all the country, that we may praise and worship the true God to all eternity in pure faith, ardent prayer, and constant confession. Amen. __________________________________________________________________ This text was translated for Project Wittenberg by Christopher B. Brown and edited by Jon Alan Schmidt, and is in the public domain. You may freely distribute, copy, or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary. E-mail: bob_smith@ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (219) 452-2148 Fax: (219) 452-2126 __________________________________________________________________