Gallic Confession
Encyclopedia
The Gallic Confession of Faith or Confession de La Rochelle or French Confession of Faith (1559) is a Reformed confession of faith
.
Under the auspicies of Geneva a church was organised in Paris in 1555 with a formal organisation and regular services. Soon after other churches sprang up elsewhere in France. Its history begins with the statement of faith sent by the Reformed churches of France to John Calvin
in 1557 during a period of persecution. Working from this, and probably with the help of Theodore Beza
and Pierre Viret
, Calvin and his pupil De Chandieu wrote a confession for them in the form of thirty-five articles. When persecution subsided, twenty delegates representing seventy-two churches met secretly in Paris from 23 to 27 May 1559. With François de Morel as moderator, the brethren produced a Constitution of Ecclesiastical Discipline and a Confession of Faith: Calvin's thirty-five articles were all used in the confession, apart from the first two which were expanded into six. Thus the Gallic Confession had forty articles.
In 1560 the confession was presented to Francis II
with a preface requesting that persecution should cease. The confession was confirmed at the seventh national synod of the French churches at La Rochelle
in 1571, and recognized by German synods at Wesel
in 1568 and Emden
in 1571.
Scholars have suggested that the revisions of the delegates in the first part introduced natural theology
into Reformed creedal statements because Article II speaks of God
revealing himself firstly in creation and secondly through the Bible.
Reformed Christian confessions of faith
Reformed Christian confessions of faith are documents of the faith of various Reformed churches. They express their consensus of faith in various creeds. A few creeds are shared by many denominations, which have made their choices from among the various creeds for primarily historical reasons...
.
Under the auspicies of Geneva a church was organised in Paris in 1555 with a formal organisation and regular services. Soon after other churches sprang up elsewhere in France. Its history begins with the statement of faith sent by the Reformed churches of France to John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
in 1557 during a period of persecution. Working from this, and probably with the help of Theodore Beza
Theodore Beza
Theodore Beza was a French Protestant Christian theologian and scholar who played an important role in the Reformation...
and Pierre Viret
Pierre Viret
Pierre Viret was a Swiss Reformed theologian.- Early life :Pierre Viret was born to a devout middle class Roman Catholic family in Orbe, a small town now in Switzerland. He was a close friend of John Calvin....
, Calvin and his pupil De Chandieu wrote a confession for them in the form of thirty-five articles. When persecution subsided, twenty delegates representing seventy-two churches met secretly in Paris from 23 to 27 May 1559. With François de Morel as moderator, the brethren produced a Constitution of Ecclesiastical Discipline and a Confession of Faith: Calvin's thirty-five articles were all used in the confession, apart from the first two which were expanded into six. Thus the Gallic Confession had forty articles.
In 1560 the confession was presented to Francis II
Francis II of France
Francis II was aged 15 when he succeeded to the throne of France after the accidental death of his father, King Henry II, in 1559. He reigned for 18 months before he died in December 1560...
with a preface requesting that persecution should cease. The confession was confirmed at the seventh national synod of the French churches at La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
in 1571, and recognized by German synods at Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
in 1568 and Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
in 1571.
Scholars have suggested that the revisions of the delegates in the first part introduced natural theology
Natural theology
Natural theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience. Thus it is distinguished from revealed theology which is based on scripture and religious experiences of various kinds; and also from transcendental theology, theology from a priori reasoning.Marcus Terentius Varro ...
into Reformed creedal statements because Article II speaks of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
revealing himself firstly in creation and secondly through the Bible.
External links
- Text of the French Confession of Faith in the original French with English translation, from Philip SchaffPhilip SchaffPhilip Schaff , was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and a historian of the Christian church, who, after his education, lived and taught in the United States.-Biography:...
's Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches at the CCEL - The text of the Gallic Confession in the original and in English