The Tetrapolitan Confession, also called the Confessio Tetrapolitana, Strasbourg Confession, or Swabian Confession, was the official confession

Confession of Faith

A Confession of Faith is a statement of doctrine very similar to a creed, but usually longer and polemical, as well as didactic.Confessions of Faith are in the main, though not exclusively, associated with Protestantism...

 of the followers of Huldrych Zwingli

Huldrych Zwingli

Ulrich Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system, he attended the University of Vienna and the University of Basel, a scholarly centre of humanism...

 and the first confession of the reformed church

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

. "Tetrapolitan", formed by the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 "Tetra", meaning "four", and "Politan", meaning "city", or "Municipal", consisted of four cities: Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

, Konstanz

Konstanz

Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...

, Memmingen

Memmingen

Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border...

, and Lindau

Lindau

Lindau is a Bavarian town and an island on the eastern side of Lake Constance, the Bodensee. It is the capital of the Landkreis or rural district of Lindau. The historic city of Lindau is located on an island which is connected with the mainland by bridge and railway.- History :The name Lindau was...

. It was written mostly by Martin Bucer

Martin Bucer

Martin Bucer was a Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a member of the Dominican Order, but after meeting and being influenced by Martin Luther in 1518 he arranged for his monastic vows to be annulled...

 with the help of Wolfgang Capito in 1530 (during the Diet of Augsburg

Diet of Augsburg

The Diet of Augsburg were the meetings of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in the German city of Augsburg. There were many such sessions, but the three meetings during the Reformation and the ensuing religious wars between the Roman Catholic emperor Charles V and the Protestant...

) in order to bring Zwinglianist Christians into theological consistency. At the time Zwinglianists were excluded from Lutheranism

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

 because of differences in significant points of theology (i.e. Sacramental Union

Sacramental Union

Sacramental union is the Lutheran theological doctrine of the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Christian Eucharist....

 vs. Memorialism

Memorialism

Memorialism is the belief held by many Protestant denominations that the elements of bread and wine in the Eucharist are symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus, the feast being primarily a memorial meal. The theory comes largely from the work of Reformed theologian Huldrych Zwingli...

, etc.).

The Confession consists of 23 chapters, and is rather similar to the Augsburg Confession

Augsburg Confession

The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...

 in both format and theology, and retains the same essence of moderation. However the first chapter does state that nothing should be taught except that which is explicitly stated in Scripture

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

, a statement that is not found the Augsburg Confession, although this has always been an major principle of Lutheran theology.

The Confession never fully took hold, however, because the more clear and logical Calvinist

Calvinism

Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

 confessions were generally more appealing, and the remaining four Zwinglian cities all signed the Lutheran Confession in order to be a part of the defensive Schmalkaldic League

Schmalkaldic League

The Schmalkaldic League was a defensive alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although originally started for religious motives soon after the start of the Protestant Reformation, its members eventually intended for the League to replace the Holy...

. Bucer, however, stayed true to his confession and recited it even on his deathbed.