Formula of Concord / Book of Concord
Catalogue updated 2026-06-08
Full Sub Rosa translationRead the full translationOpen reader →Open the chapter reader with the full English translation, source text, notes, and scripture echoes.What is Formula of Concord / Book of Concord?
The Formula of Concord (1577), completed and published as the Book of Concord (1580), was subscribed by three electors and 86 other princes and municipalities, representing over 8,000 Lutheran theologians, making it the binding confessional covenant of Lutheran dynastic identity across German-speaking territories.
Wir glauben, lehren und bekennen, daß die einzige Regel und Richtschnur, nach welcher alle Lehren beurtheilt werden sollen, die prophetischen und apostolischen Schriften sind.
Our renderingWe believe, teach, and confess that the only rule and norm by which all doctrines should be judged are the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures.
What it is
The Formula of Concord (1577), completed and published as the Book of Concord (1580), was subscribed by three electors and 86 other princes and municipalities, representing over 8,000 Lutheran theologians, making it the binding confessional covenant of Lutheran dynastic identity across German-speaking territories. The Book of Concord gathers Luther's Small and Large Catechisms, the Augsburg Confession, its Apology, the Schmalkald Articles, Melanchthon's Treatise on the Power of the Pope, and the Formula itself, functioning simultaneously as doctrinal standard and territorial constitutional document for subscribing princes. Its inclusion of Luther's catechisms — already in daily household and catechetical use — gave the collection an immediate pastoral reach far beyond court theology. The Formula's Epitome distills twelve contested doctrinal points — including original sin, free will, justification, and the Lord's Supper — into a form still used for Lutheran confirmation and ordination preparation today.
Why it still matters
Modern readers will find the most direct devotional entry through Luther's Small Catechism, which is embedded in the Book of Concord and designed for daily household prayer, memorization, and the examination of conscience; the Epitome of the Formula then provides a concise doctrinal map for those wishing to understand confessional Lutheran identity.
Formula of Concord / Book of Concord companion
Doctrine settles in daily doses, not weekend cramming
Chosen Portion pairs a short historic reading with prayer every day, including confessional texts like this one, free on iOS.
The Book of Concord was written to be read and confessed regularly in churches and courts, and Chosen Portion turns that regular confessional reading into a personal daily portion.
- A 3-minute daily reading from historic confessions and devotional works
- Cover one Concord article roughly each week alongside daily prayer
- Free iOS app plus a weekly email digging into one doctrine
Kept alongside
Luther's Small Catechism (Der Kleine Katechismus)
Written in early 1529 following Luther's visitation of parishes in Electoral Saxony — ordered by Elector John the Steadfast of Wettin — the Small Catechism was first issued as illustrated broadsheets for homes and schools. It covers the Ten Commandments, Apostles' Creed, Lord's Prayer, Baptism, Confession, and the Lord's Supper in plain question-and-answer form designed for children and households in the Wettin territories. Published in bound form on 16 May 1529, it became the most widely distributed Lutheran doctrinal text of the sixteenth century. Elector John's commission of parish visitations in 1527–1528 directly revealed the catechetical ignorance that made it necessary.
Luther's Large Catechism (Der Große Katechismus)
Published in April 1529 as the companion to the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism was Luther's expanded guide for pastors and educated laypeople in Electoral Saxony. Elector John the Steadfast's visitation commissions of 1527–1528 directly prompted its composition; Luther began drafting in autumn 1528, fell ill in January 1529, and resumed writing in March before the text was printed by Georg Rhau in Wittenberg and dispatched by 23 April 1529. It treats the same five chief parts — Commandments, Creed, Lord's Prayer, Baptism, and Lord's Supper — but with full theological exposition for those responsible for teaching others. Bound with the Small Catechism in the Book of Concord (1580), it remains a confessional standard of Lutheran churches.
Augsburg Confession (Confessio Augustana)
The Augsburg Confession was presented by Lutheran princes and city delegates to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, drafted primarily by Melanchthon with Luther's close oversight from Coburg. It functioned simultaneously as a political document, a confessional identity statement, and a catechetical summary of evangelical doctrine in 28 articles. Subscription to it became the basis of membership in the Schmalkaldic League, embedding this text in the constitutive political and devotional identity of Protestant dynastic life for generations. It was incorporated as the first item in the Lutheran Book of Concord (1580), which every subscribing territorial prince formally affirmed as the doctrinal basis of his territory.