Lesson 6
Reformed Confessions in the 16th and 17th Centuries
   (Print) (Debate platform)

1. Introduction
2. On the Nature of Reformed Confessions
3. Confessions from the area of the German-Swiss Reformation
4. Confessions from the Calvinist Reformation
5. Confessions from German Regions
6. Confessions from West and North Europe
7. Confessions from East and South Europe
8. Confessional Formation from the 18th to the 20th Century

8. Confessional Formation from the 18th to the 20th Century

Most Reformed confessions, as is clear above, arose in the 16th Century. With a few exceptions the formation of confessions came to an end in 1580.

In connection with the old-Protestant-Reformed orthodoxy, which was interested in a reinforcement of doctrine, two new rightly influential texts arose in the 17th Century: the Dordrecht Canons in the Netherlands and the Westminster Confession in England and Scotland.

In the 18th Century no new Reformed confessions were developed. In the 19th Century, however, several new confessions were adopted. Most of them arose in the train of divisions within the Reformed churches. In connection with revival movements Reformed free churches were founded through separation from the apparently too liberal church. This happened, for example, in Switzerland and France, and something similar went on in the USA.

In the 20th Century there was a growing number of confessions in the Reformed churches, above all for three reasons. First, many young Reformed churches outside Europe became independent and reformulated their faith to fit their context. Second, there arose through unions with churches from other confessions new common confessions. And third, new challenges led to new discoveries of Protestant statements – above all in Germany (The Theological Declaration of Barmen), in the USA and in South Africa (Belhar Confession). This will be treated in lessons 9 and 10.