The
Smalcald Articles
Source: Concordia Triglotta, ed. Friedrich Bente (St. Louis: Concordia, 1921), online at http://www.bookofconcord.org/smalcald.html
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
PART
ONE
PART
TWO
PART
THREE
Sin*
The
Papists' False Repentance*
*These
sections are omitted.
Preface
1] Since Pope Paul III convoked a Council last year,
to assemble at Mantua about Whitsuntide, and afterwards transferred it from
Mantua, so that it is not yet known where he will or can fix it, and we on our
part either had to expect that we would be summoned also to the Council or be
condemned unsummoned, I was directed to compile and collect the articles of our
doctrine in case of deliberation as to what and how far we would be both
willing and able to yield to the Papists, and in what points we intended to
persevere and abide to the end.
2] I have accordingly compiled these articles and
presented them to our side. They have also been accepted and unanimously
confessed by our side, and it has been resolved that, in case the Pope with his
adherents should ever be so bold as seriously and in good faith, without lying
and cheating, to hold a truly free Christian Council (as, indeed, he would be in
duty bound to do), they be publicly delivered in order to set forth the
Confession of our Faith.
3] But though the Romish court is so dreadfully
afraid of a free Christian Council, and shuns the light so shamefully, that it
has removed, even from those who are on its side, the hope that it will ever
permit a free Council, much less that it will itself hold one, whereat, as is
just, they are greatly offended and have no little trouble on that account,
since they notice thereby that the Pope would rather see all Christendom perish
and all souls damned than suffer either himself or his adherents to be reformed
even a little, and his tyranny to be limited, nevertheless I have determined
meanwhile to publish these articles in plain print, so that, should I die
before there would be a Council (as I fully expect and hope, because the knaves
who flee the light and shun the day take such wretched pains to delay and
hinder the Council), those who live and remain after me may have my testimony
and confession to produce, in addition to the Confession which I have issued
previously, whereby up to this time I have abided, and, by God's grace, will
abide.
4] For what shall I say? How shall I complain? I am
still living, writing, preaching, and lecturing daily; yet there are found such
spiteful men, not only among the adversaries, but also false brethren that
profess to be on our side, as dare to cite my writings and doctrine directly
against myself, and let me look on and listen, although they know well that I
teach otherwise, and as wish to adorn their venom with my labor, and under my
name to mislead the poor people.
Alas! what first will happen when I am dead?
5] Indeed, I ought to reply to everything while I am
still living. But, again, how can I alone stop all the mouths of the devil?
especially of those (as they all are poisoned) who will not hear or notice what
we write, but solely exercise themselves with all diligence how they may most
shamefully pervert and corrupt our word in every letter. These I let the devil
answer, or at last Gods wrath, as they deserve. 6] I often think
of the good Gerson who doubts whether anything good should be published. If it
is not done, many souls are neglected who could be delivered: but if it is
done, the devil is there with malignant, villainous tongues without number
which envenom and pervert everything, so that nevertheless the fruit [the
usefulness of the writings] is prevented. 7] Yet what they gain thereby is manifest. For while
they have lied so shamefully against us and by means of lies wished to retain
the people, God has constantly advanced His work, and been making their
following ever smaller and ours greater, and by their lies has caused and still
causes them to be brought to shame.
8] I must tell a story. There was a doctor sent here
to Wittenberg from France, who said publicly before us that his king was sure
and more than sure, that among us there is no church, no magistrate, no married
life, but all live promiscuously as cattle, and each one does as he pleases. 9]
Imagine now, how will those who by their writings have instilled such gross
lies into the king and other countries as the pure truth, look at us on that
day before the judgment-seat of Christ? Christ, the Lord and Judge of us all,
knows well that they lie and have lied, His sentence they in turn, must hear;
that I know certainly. God convert to repentance those who can be converted!
Regarding the rest it will be said, Woe, and, alas! eternally.
10] But to return to the subject. I verily desire to
see a truly Christian Council, in order that many matters and persons might be
helped. Not that we need It, for our churches are now, through God's grace, so
enlightened and equipped with the pure Word and right use of the Sacraments,
with knowledge of the various callings and of right works, that we on our part
ask for no Council, and on such points have nothing better to hope or expect
from a Council. But we see in the bishoprics everywhere so many parishes vacant
and desolate that one's heart would break, and yet neither the bishops nor
canons care how the poor people live or die, for whom nevertheless Christ has
died, and who are not permitted to hear Him speak with them as the true
Shepherd with His sheep. 11] This causes me to shudder and fear that at some time
He may send a council of angels upon Germany utterly destroying us, like Sodom
and Gomorrah, because we so wantonly mock Him with the Council.
12] Besides such necessary ecclesiastical affairs,
there would be also in the political estate innumerable matters of great
importance to improve. There is the disagreement between the princes and the
states; usury and avarice have burst in like a flood, and have become lawful;
wantonness, lewdness, extravagance in dress, gluttony, gambling, idle display,
with all kinds of bad habits and wickedness, insubordination of subjects, of
domestics and laborers of every trade, also the exactions of the peasants (and
who can enumerate all?) have so increased that they cannot be rectified by ten
Councils and twenty Diets. 13] If such chief matters of the spiritual and worldly
estates as are contrary to God would be considered in the Council, they would
have all hands so full that the child's play and absurdity of long gowns
[official insignia], large tonsures, broad cinctures, bishops' or cardinals'
hats or maces, and like jugglery would in the mean time be forgotten. If we
first had performed God's command and order in the spiritual and secular estate
we would find time enough to reform food, clothing, tonsures, and surplices.
But if we want to swallow such camels, and, instead, strain at gnats, let the
beams stand and judge the motes, we also might indeed be satisfied with the
Council.
14] Therefore I have presented few articles; for we
have without this so many commands of God to observe in the Church, the state
and the family that we can never fulfil them. What, then, is the use, or what
does it profit that many decrees and statutes thereon are made in the Council,
especially when these chief matters commanded of God are neither regarded nor
observed? Just as though He were bound to honor our jugglery as a reward of our
treading His solemn commandments under foot. But our sins weigh upon us and
cause God not to be gracious to us; for we do not repent, and, besides, wish to
defend every abomination.
15] O Lord Jesus Christ, do Thou Thyself convoke a
Council, and deliver Thy servants by Thy glorious advent! The Pope and his
adherents are done for; they will have none of Thee. Do Thou, then, help us,
who are poor and needy, who sigh to Thee, and beseech Thee earnestly, according
to the grace which Thou hast given us, through Thy Holy Ghost who liveth and
reigneth with Thee and the Father, blessed forever. Amen.
THE
FIRST PART
Treats
of the Sublime Articles Concerning the Divine Majesty, as:
I.
That
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three
distinct persons in one divine essence and nature, are
one God, who has created heaven and earth.
II.
That
the Father is begotten of no one; the Son of the Father; the Holy Ghost
proceeds from Father and Son.
III.
That
not the Father nor the Holy Ghost but the Son became man.
IV.
That
the Son became man in this manner,
that He was conceived, without
the cooperation of man, by the Holy Ghost, and
was born of the pure, holy Virgin Mary.
Afterwards He suffered, died, was buried, descended to hell, rose
from the dead, ascended to heaven, sits
at the right hand of God, will come to judge the quick and the dead, etc., as
the Creed of the Apostles, as well as that of St. Athanasius, and the Catechism in common use for
children, teach.
Concerning
these articles there is no contention or dispute, since we on both sides
confess them. Therefore it is not necessary now to treat further of them.
THE
SECOND PART
Treats
of the Articles which Refer to the Office and Work of Jesus Christ, or Our
Redemption.
The
first and chief article is this,
1] That
Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died
for our sins, and
was raised again for our justification,
Rom. 4, 25.
2] And
He alone is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, John
1, 29; and God has laid upon Him the iniquities of us all, Is. 53, 6.
3] Likewise:
All have sinned and are justified without merit by
His grace, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
in His blood, Rom. 3, 23f
4] Now, since it is necessary to believe this, and it
cannot be otherwise acquired or apprehended by any work, law, or merit, it is
clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us as St. Paul says, Rom. 3,
28: For we conclude that a
man is justified by faith, without
the deeds of the Law. Likewise 3,
26: That He might be just, and
the Justifier of him which believeth in Christ.
5] Of this article nothing can be yielded or
surrendered, even though heaven and earth, and whatever will not abide, should
sink to ruin. For there is none other name under heaven, given
among men whereby we must be saved,
says Peter, Acts 4, 12. And
with His stripes we are healed, Is.
53, 5. And upon this article all things depend which we teach and practice in
opposition to the Pope, the devil, and the world. Therefore, we must be sure
concerning this doctrine, and not doubt; for otherwise all is lost, and the
Pope and devil and all things gain the victory and suit over us.
Article
II: Of the Mass.
1] That the Mass in the Papacy must be the greatest
and most horrible abomination, as it directly and powerfully conflicts with
this chief article, and yet above and before all other popish idolatries it has
been the chief and most specious. For it has been held that this sacrifice or
work of the Mass, even though it be rendered by a wicked scoundrel, frees men
from sins, both in this life and also in purgatory, while only the Lamb of God
shall and must do this, as has been said above. Of this article nothing is to
be surrendered or conceded, because the first article does not allow it.
.
. .
29] In short, the Mass itself and anything that
proceeds from it, and anything that is attached to it, we cannot tolerate, but
must condemn, in order that we may retain the holy Sacrament pure and certain,
according to the institution of Christ, employed and received through faith.
.
. .
Article
IV: Of the Papacy.
1] That the Pope is not, according to divine law or
according to the Word of God the head of all Christendom (for this belongs to
One only, whose name is Jesus Christ), but is only the bishop and pastor of the
Church at Rome, and of those who voluntarily or through a human creature (that
is, a political magistrate) have attached themselves to him, to be Christians,
not under him as a lord, but with him as brethren and comrades, as the ancient
councils and the age of St. Cyprian show.
2] But to-day none of the bishops dare to address the
Pope as brother as was done at that time; but they must call him most gracious
lord, even though they be kings or emperors. This we will not, cannot, must not
take upon our conscience. Let him, however, who will do it, do so without us.
3] Hence it follows that all things which the Pope,
from a power so false, mischievous, blasphemous, and arrogant, has done and
undertaken. have been and still are purely diabolical affairs and transactions
(with the exception of such things as pertain to the secular government, where
God often permits much good to be effected for a people, even through a tyrant
and scoundrel) for the ruin of the entire holy Christian Church (so far as it
is in his power) and for the destruction of the first and chief article
concerning the redemption made through Jesus Christ.
4] For all his bulls and books are extant, in which
he roars like a lion (as the angel in Rev. 12 depicts him, that no Christian
can be saved unless he obeys him and is subject to him in all things that he
wishes, that he says, and that he does. . . .
10] This teaching shows forcefully that the Pope is
the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against
Christ because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power,
which, nevertheless, is nothing, and is neither ordained nor commanded by God. 11] This is, properly speaking to exalt
himself above all that is called God
as Paul says, 2 Thess. 2, 4. Even the Turks or the Tartars, great enemies of
Christians as they are, do not do this, but they allow whoever wishes to believe
in Christ, and take bodily tribute and obedience from Christians.
12] The Pope, however, prohibits this faith, saying
that to be saved a person must obey him. This we are unwilling to do, even
though on this account we must die in God s name. 13] This all proceeds from the fact that the Pope has wished to be called
the supreme head of the Christian Church by divine right. Accordingly he had to
make himself equal and superior to Christ, and had to cause himself to be
proclaimed the head and then the lord of the Church, and finally of the whole
world, and simply God on earth, until he has dared to issue commands even to
the angels in heaven. 14] And when we distinguish the Pope's teaching from,
or measure and hold it against, Holy Scripture, it is found that the Pope's
teaching, where it is best, has been taken from the imperial and heathen law
and treats of political matters and decisions or rights, as the Decretals show;
furthermore, it teaches of ceremonies concerning churches, garments, food,
persons and puerile, theatrical and comical things without measure, but in all
these things nothing at all of Christ, faith, and the commandments of God.
Lastly, it is nothing else than the devil himself, because above and against
God he urges [and disseminates] his falsehoods concerning masses, purgatory,
the monastic life, one's own works and divine worship (for this is the very
Papacy), and condemns, murders and tortures all Christians who do not exalt and
honor these abominations above all things. Therefore, just as little as we can
worship the devil himself as Lord and God, we can endure his apostle, the Pope,
or Antichrist, in his rule as head or lord. For to lie and to kill, and to
destroy body and soul eternally, that is wherein his papal government really consists,
as I have very clearly shown in many books.
15] In these four articles they will have enough to
condemn in the Council. For they cannot and will not concede us even the least
point in one of these articles. Of this we should be certain, and animate
ourselves with the hope that Christ, our Lord, has attacked His adversary, and
he will press the attack home both by His Spirit and coming. Amen.
16] For in the Council we will stand not before the
Emperor or the political magistrate, as at Augsburg (where the Emperor
published a most gracious edict, and caused matters to be heard kindly), but
before the Pope and devil himself, who intends to listen to nothing, but merely
to condemn, to murder and to force us to idolatry. Therefore we ought not here
to kiss his feet, or to say: Thou art my gracious lord, but as the angel in
Zechariah 3, 2 said to Satan: The
Lord rebuke thee, O Satan.
THE
THIRD PART OF THE ARTICLES.
Concerning
the following articles we may treat with learned and reasonable men, or among
ourselves. The Pope and his government do not care much about these. For with
them conscience is nothing, but money, honors, power are everything.
.
. .
II.
Of the Law
1] Here we hold that the Law was given by God, first,
to restrain sin by threats and the dread of punishment, and by the promise and
offer of grace and benefit. But all this miscarried on account of the
wickedness which sin has wrought in man. 2] For thereby a part were rendered worse, those,
namely, who are hostile to the Law, because it forbids what they like to do,
and enjoins what they do not like to do. Therefore, wherever they can escape
punishment, they do more against the Law than before. These, then, are the rude
and wicked men, who do evil wherever they have the opportunity.
3] The rest become blind and arrogant, and conceive
the opinion that they observe and can observe the Law by their own powers, as
has been said above concerning the scholastic theologians; thence come the
hypocrites and false saints.
4] But the chief office or force of the Law is that
it reveal original sin with all its fruits, and show man how very low his
nature has fallen, and has become utterly corrupted; as the Law must tell man
that he has no God nor regards God, and worships other gods, a matter which
before and without the Law he would not have believed. In this way he becomes
terrified, is humbled, desponds, despairs, and anxiously desires aid, but sees
no escape; he begins to be an enemy of God, and to murmur, etc. 5]
This is what Paul says, Rom. 4, 15: The
Law worketh wrath. And Rom. 5, 20:
Sin is increased by the Law.
III.
Of Repentance.
1] This office the New Testament retains and urges,
as St. Paul, Rom. 1, 18 does, saying: The
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men. Again, 3,
19: All the world is guilty
before God. No man is righteous before Him. And Christ says, John 16, 8: The
Holy Ghost will reprove the world of sin.
2] This, then, is the thunderbolt of God by which He
strikes in a heap both manifest sinners and false saints, and suffers no one to
be in the right, but drives them all together to terror and despair. This is
the hammer, as Jeremiah 23, 29 says: Is
not My Word like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? This is not activa
contritio or manufactured
repentance, but passiva
contritio [torture of conscience],
true sorrow of heart, suffering and sensation of death.
3] This, then, is what it means to begin true repentance;
and here man must hear such a sentence as this: You are all of no account,
whether you be manifest sinners or saints, you all must become different and do
otherwise than you now are and are doing, whether you are as great, wise,
powerful, and holy as you may. Here no one is godly, etc.
4] But to this office the New Testament immediately
adds the consolatory promise of grace through the Gospel, which must be
believed, as Christ declares, Mark 1, 15:
Repent and believe the Gospel, i.e., become different and do otherwise, and believe
My promise. And John, preceding Him, is called a preacher of repentance,
however, for the remission of sins, i.e., John was to accuse all, and convict them of
being sinners, that they might know what they were before God, and might
acknowledge that they were lost men, and might thus be prepared for the Lord,
to receive grace, and to expect and accept from Him the remission of sins. Thus
also Christ Himself says, Luke 24, 47:
6] Repentance
and remission of sins must be preached in My name among all nations.
7] But whenever the Law alone, without the Gospel
being added exercises this its office there is death and hell, and man must
despair, like Saul and Judas; as St. Paul, Rom. 7, 10, says: Through sin the Law killeth. 8] On the other hand, the Gospel brings consolation
and remission not only in one way, but through the word and Sacraments, and the
like, as we shall hear afterward in order that there is with
the Lord plenteous redemption, as
Ps. 130, 7 says against the dreadful captivity of sin.
.
. .
IV.
Of the Gospel.
We
will now return to the Gospel, which not merely in one way gives us counsel and
aid against sin; for God is superabundantly rich in His grace. First, through
the spoken Word by which the forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole
world; which is the peculiar office of the Gospel. Secondly, through Baptism.
Thirdly, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar. Fourthly, through the power
of the keys, and also through the mutual conversation and consolation of
brethren, Matt. 18, 20: Where
two or three are gathered together,
etc.
.
. .
VI.
Of the Sacrament of the Altar.
1] Of the Sacrament of the Altar we hold that bread
and wine in the Supper are the true body and blood of Christ, and are given and
received not only by the godly, but also by wicked Christians.
2] And that not only one form is to be given. We do
not need that high art which is to teach us that under the one form there is as
much as under both, as the sophists and the Council of Constance teach. 3]
For even if it were true that there is as much under one as under both, yet the
one form only is not the entire ordinance and institution ordained and
commanded by Christ. 4] And we especially condemn and in God's name
execrate those who not only omit both forms but also quite autocratically prohibit,
condemn, and blaspheme them as heresy, and so exalt themselves against and
above Christ, our Lord and God, etc.
5] As regards transubstantiation, we care nothing
about the sophistical subtlety by which they teach that bread and wine leave or
lose their own natural substance, and that there remain only the appearance and
color of bread, and not true bread. For it is in perfect agreement with Holy
Scriptures that there is, and remains, bread, as Paul himself calls it, 1 Cor.
10, 16: The bread which we
break. And 1 Cor. 11, 28: Let him so eat of that bread.
.
. .
VIII.
Of Confession.
1] Since Absolution or the Power of the Keys is also
an aid and consolation against sin and a bad conscience, ordained by Christ in
the Gospel, Confession or Absolution ought by no means to be abolished in the
Church, especially on account of timid consciences and on account of the
untrained young people, in order that they may be examined, and instructed in
the Christian doctrine.
2] But the enumeration of sins ought to be free to
every one, as to what he wishes to enumerate or not to enumerate. For as long
as we are in the flesh, we shall not lie when we say: "I am a poor man,
full of sin." Rom. 7, 23: I
see another law in my members,
etc. For since private absolution originates in the Office of the Keys, it
should not be despised, but greatly and highly esteemed, as all other offices
of the Christian Church.
3] And in those things which concern the spoken,
outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no
one, except through or with the preceding outward Word, in order that we may be
protected against the enthusiasts, i.e., spirits who boast that they have the Spirit
without and before the Word, and accordingly judge Scripture or the spoken
Word, and explain and stretch it at their pleasure, as Muenzer did, and many
still do at the present day, who wish to be acute judges between the Spirit and
the letter, and yet know not what they say or declare. 4]
For the Papacy also is nothing but sheer enthusiasm, by which the Pope boasts
that all rights exist in the shrine of his heart, and whatever he decides and
commands with his church is spirit and right, even though it is above and
contrary to Scripture and the spoken Word.
5] All this is the old devil and old serpent, who
also converted Adam and Eve into enthusiasts, and led them from the outward
Word of God to spiritualizing and self-conceit, and nevertheless he
accomplished this through other outward words. 6] Just as also
our enthusiasts condemn the outward Word, and nevertheless they themselves are
not silent, but they fill the world with their pratings and writings, as
though, indeed, the Spirit could not come through the writings and spoken word
of the apostles, but through their writings and words he must come. Why do not
they also omit their own sermons and writings, until the Spirit Himself come to
men, without their writings and before them, as they boast that He has come
into them without the preaching of the Scriptures? But of these matters there
is not time now to dispute at greater length; we have elsewhere sufficiently
urged this subject.
.
. .
9] In a word, enthusiasm inheres in Adam and his
children from the beginning to the end of the world, having been implanted and
infused into them by the old dragon, and is the origin, power, and strength of
all heresy, especially of that of the Papacy and Mahomet. 10] Therefore we ought and must constantly maintain this point, that God
does not wish to deal with us otherwise than through the spoken Word and the
Sacraments. 11] It is the devil himself whatsoever is extolled as
Spirit without the Word and Sacraments. For God wished to appear even to Moses
through the burning bush and spoken Word; and no prophet neither Elijah nor
Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments [or spoken Word]. 12] Neither was John the Baptist conceived without the preceding word of
Gabriel, nor did he leap in his mother's womb without the voice of Mary. 13] And Peter says, 2 Pet. 1, 21:
The prophecy came not
by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost. Without the outward Word,
however, they were not holy, much less would the Holy Ghost have moved them to
speak when they still were unholy; for they were holy, says he, since the Holy
Ghost spake through them.
IX.
Of Excommunication.
The
greater excommunication, as the Pope calls it, we regard only as a civil
penalty, and it does not concern us ministers of the Church. But the lesser,
that is, the true Christian excommunication, consists in this, that manifest
and obstinate sinners are not admitted to the Sacrament and other communion of
the Church until they amend their lives and avoid sin. And ministers ought not
to mingle secular punishments with this ecclesiastical punishment, or excommunication.
.
. .
XI.
Of the Marriage of Priests.
1] To prohibit marriage, and to burden the divine
order of priests with perpetual celibacy, they have had neither authority nor
right, but have acted like antichristian, tyrannical, desperate scoundrels, and
have thereby caused all kinds of horrible, abominable, innumerable sins of
unchastity, in which they still wallow.
2] Now, as little as we or they have been given the
power to make a woman out of a man or a man out of a woman, or to nullify either
sex, so little have they had the power to separate such creatures of God, or to
forbid them from living honestly in marriage with one another. 3] Therefore we are unwilling to assent to their
abominable celibacy, nor will we tolerate it, but we wish to have marriage free
as God has instituted it, and we wish neither to rescind nor hinder His work;
for Paul says, 1 Tim. 4, 1ff , that this is a doctrine of devils.
XII.
Of the Church.
1] We do not concede to them that they are the Church,
and they are not; nor will we listen to those things which, under the name of
Church, they enjoin or forbid. 2] For, thank God, a child seven years old knows what
the Church is, namely, the holy believers and lambs who hear the voice of their
Shepherd. For the children pray thus: I believe in one holy Christian Church. 3]
This holiness does not consist in albs, tonsures, long gowns, and other of
their ceremonies devised by them beyond Holy Scripture, but in the Word of God
and true faith.
.
. .
XIV.
Of Monastic Vows.
1] As monastic vows directly conflict with the first
chief article, they must be absolutely abolished. For it is of them that Christ
says, Matt. 24, 5. 23ff : I
am Christ, etc. 2]
For he who makes a vow to live as a monk believes that he will enter upon a
mode of life holier than ordinary Christians lead, and wishes to earn heaven by
his own works not only for himself, but also for others; this is to deny
Christ. 3] And they boast from their St. Thomas that a
monastic vow is equal to Baptism. This is blasphemy.
.
. .
XV.
3] These are the articles on which
I must stand, and, God willing, shall stand even to my death; and I do not know
how to change or to yield anything in them. If any one wishes to yield
anything, let him do it at the peril of his conscience.
.
. .
1] Dr.
Martin Luther subscribed.
2] Dr.
Justus Jonas, Rector, subscribed
with his own hand.
3] Dr.
John Bugenhagen, Pomeranus, subscribed.
4] Dr.
Caspar Creutziger subscribed.
5] Niclas
Ambsdorf of Magdeburg subscribed.
6] George
Spalatin of Altenburg subscribed.
7] I, Philip
Melanchthon, also regard the above
articles as right and Christian. But regarding the Pope I hold that, if he
would allow the Gospel, his superiority over the bishops which he has
otherwise, is conceded to him by human right also by us, for the sake of peace
and general unity of those Christians who are also under him, and may be under
him hereafter.
8] John
Agricola of Eisleben subscribed.
9] Gabriel
Didymus subscribed.
10] I, Dr.
Urban Rhegius, Superintendent of
the churches in the Duchy of Lueneburg, subscribe in my own name and in the
name of my brethren, and of the Church of Hannover.
11] I, Stephen
Agricola, Minister at Hof,
subscribe.
12] Also I,
John Draconites, Professor and Minister at Marburg, subscribe.
13] I, Conrad
Figenbotz, for the glory of God
subscribe that I have thus believed, and am still preaching and firmly
believing as above.
14] I, Andrew
Osiander of Nuernberg, subscribe.
15] I, Magister
Veit Dieterich, Minister at Nuernberg, subscribe.
16] I, Erhard
Schnepf, Preacher at Stuttgart,
subscribe.
17] Conrad
Oetinger, Preacher of Duke Ulrich
at Pforzheim.
18] Simon
Schnevveis, Pastor of the Church
at Crailsheim.
19] I, John
Schlainhauffen, Pastor of the
Church at Koethen, subscribe.
20] The Reverend Magister George Helt of Forchheim.
21] The Reverend Magister Adam of Fulda, Preacher in Hesse.
22] The Reverend Magister Anthony Corvinus, Preacher in Hesse.
23] I, Doctor
John Bugenhagen, Pomeranus, again subscribe in the name of Magister John Brentz, as on departing from Smalcald he directed me
orally and by a letter, which I have shown to those brethren who have
subscribed.
24] I, Dionysius
Melander, subscribe to the
Confession, the Apology, and the Concordia on the subject of the Eucharist.
25] Paul
Rhodius, Superintendent of
Stettin.
26] Gerard
Oeniken, Superintendent of the
Church at Minden.
27] I, Brixius
Northanus, Minister of the Church
of Christ which is at Soest, subscribe to the Articles of the Reverend Father
Martin Luther, and confess that hitherto I have thus believed and taught, and
by the Spirit of Christ I shall continue thus to believe and teach.
28] Michael
Coelius, Preacher at Mansfeld,
subscribed.
29] The Reverend Magister Peter Geltner, Preacher at Frankfort, subscribed.
30] Wendal
Faber, Pastor of Seeburg in
Mansfeld.
31] I, John
Aepinus, subscribe.
32] Likewise, I, John
Amsterdam of Bremen.
33] I, Frederick
Myconius, Pastor of the Church at
Gotha in Thuringia, subscribe in my own name and in that of Justus Menius of
Eisenach
34] I, Doctor
John Lang, Preacher of the Church at Erfurt, subscribe with
my own hand in my own name, and in that of my other coworkers in the Gospel,
namely:
35] The Reverend Licentiate Ludwig Platz of Melsungen.
36] The Reverend Magister Sigismund Kirchner.
37] The Reverend
Wolfgang Kismetter.
38] The Reverend
Melchior Weitmann.
39] The Reverend
John Tall.
40] The Reverend
John Kilian.
41] The Reverend
Nicholas Faber.
42] The Reverend
Andrew Menser.
43] And I, Egidius Mechler, have subscribed with my own hand.