The Bohemic confession was compiled from various ancient confessions of the Waldenses who had settled in Bohemia, and approved of by Luther and Melancthon in 1532; but it was not published till 1535, when it was presented by the barons and other nobles to king Ferdinand. It extends to 20 articles, similar to those of the \Valdensian confession, with the addition of others on the divinity of Christ, justification by faith in him, " without any human help or merit," predestina tion, and the absolute necessity of sanctification and good works.
The confession of the Saxon churches was composed in 1551 by Melancthon, at the desire of the pastors of Saxony and Alisnia met in assembly at Wittemberg, in order to be presented to the Council of Trent. It is contained in twenty-two articles : and whilst, like that of Augsburg, it is silent on the subject of predestination, it lays equal stress on the doctrine of justification by faith, and has a separate article entitled " Rewards," in which the doctrine of human merit, particularly as con nected with future blessedness, is condemned and refuted.
The first draught of the English confession was pre pared by Archbishop Cranmcr in 1551, with the assist ance of Bishop Ridley ; and after being revised by Knox and Harley, and others of the Scotish reformers, correct ed by the English bishops, and approved by convocation, it was published both in Latin and English, in the year 1553. Its articles were at first 42 in number, but on be ing revised in 1562, they were reduced to thirty-nine, and then published in Latin only ; no authentic English copy of them having been edited till 1571, when they were again revised by the convocation, and authoritatively published in their present form. They are so generally known, being inserted in most of the Common Prayer Books, that any statement of the doctrines which they contain is quite unnecessary here. We shall only ob serve, with regard to their Calvinistic complexion, a subject which has, of late years, been agitated with un common keenness and ability, that the English delegates at the Synod of Dort certainly believed them to be Cal vinistic, otherwise it can scarcely be supposed that they would have gone along with the doctrinal sentiments of that assembly, particularly on the topic of unconditional election ; and that it is generally understood, that all who are unconnected with the Church of England have no he sitation in numbering the 39 articles among Calvinistic confessions.
The confession of the Reformed Gallician churches was prepared by order of a synod at Paris in 1559 ; and presented to Charles IX. in 1561, by the celebrated Bc za, in a conference with that monarch at Poissy. It was published for the first time in 1566, with a preface by the French clergy, to the pastors of all Protestant churches ; and afterwards in 1571, it was solemnly ratified and sub scribed in the national synod of Rochelle. It is extended to forty articles ; but they are in general concise, and em brace the usual topics of the other Protestant confessions, including the doctrines of election, and justification by faith only.
The Protestants in Scotland having presented a peti tion to parliament in 1560, requesting the public con demnation of popery, and the legal acknowledgment of the reformed doctrine and worship, they were required to draw up a summary of the doctrines which they could prove to be consonant with scripture, and which they were anxious to have established. The ministers on
whom this duty was devolved, being well acquainted with the subject, prepared the required summary in the course of four days, and laid it hefore parliament, when, after having been read first before the Lords of thc Ar ticles, and afterwards twice, (the second time article by article) before the whole parliament, it received their sanction as the established system of belief and worship. It consists of twenty-five articles, and coincides with all the other Protestant confessions which affirm the doc trine of election, and reject that of consubstantiation ; for though it is not so explicit as some of them respecting the unconditional nature of election, vet a distinct recog nition of this doctrine pervades the whole of it ; and though it has no separate article on justification, it no less distinctly recognises this fundamental principle of the Protestant faith.
The tenets of Arminius having obtained considerable prevalence in I lolland towards the beginning of the 17th century, the Calvinists, or Gomarists as they were then called, appealed to a national synod which was convened at Dolt in 1618, by order of the States-General ; and at tended by ecclesiastical deputies from England, Swit zerland, Bremen, Hesse, and the Palatinate, besides the clerical and lay representatives of the reformed churches in the United Provinces. The canons of this synod, contained in five chapters, relate to What are commonly called the five points, viz. particular and unconditional election ; particular redemption, or the limitation of the saving effects of Christ's death to the elect only ; the total corruption of human nature. and the total moral inability of man in his fallen state ; the irresistibility of divine grace ; and the final perseverance of the saints ; all of which are declared to be the true and the only doc trines of scripture.
The only other confession of which tire shall take no tice, is that of the Westminster assembly, which met in 1643, and at which five ministers and three elders as com missioners from the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland attended, agreeably to engagements between the convention of estates here, and both houses of par liament in England. This confession is contained in thirty-three chapters, and in every point of doctrine ex actly accords with the sentiments of the Synod of Dort. It was approved and adopted by the General Assembly in 1647 ; and two years after, ratified by act of parliament, as " the public and avowed confession of the Church of Scotland." By act of parliament 1690, it was again de clared to be the national standard of faith in Scotland ; and subscription to it as " the confession of his faith," specially required of every person who shall be admitted a minister or preacher within this church." Subscrip tion to it was also enjohred by the act of union t707, on all " professors, principals, regents, masters, and others bearing office, in any of the Scotish universities.
On the subject of the preceding article, see Euscbius ; Alosheim's Ch. History ; King's list. of the Apostle's Creed; Waterland's Critical Hist, of the Athanasian Creed ; Rycaut's Greek Church ; Morland's Hist. of the Churches of Piedmont ; the English Harmony of Con fessions ; Corpus et Syntagma Confessionum ; Kcecheri Biblioth. Theolog. Symbolics ; Buddxi Isagog.
Historico-theolog.; and Adam's Religious World Displayed. (d)