The Augsburg Confession

The Augsburg Confession is a book written by Philip Melanchthon, a German reformer and theologian, and was published in 1530. The book is a statement of faith and doctrine that was presented to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, during the Diet of Augsburg, which was a meeting of the imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire.The Augsburg Confession is considered to be one of the most important documents of the Lutheran Reformation and is still used as a statement of faith by Lutheran churches today. The book contains 28 articles that outline the beliefs of the Lutheran Church, including the doctrine of justification by faith alone, the sacraments, and the authority of scripture.Melanchthon wrote the Augsburg Confession as a response to the Catholic Church's accusations that the Lutheran Church was promoting heresy. The book was intended to show that the Lutheran Church was not promoting false teachings but was instead returning to the true teachings of the Bible.The Augsburg Confession is written in a clear and concise style, making it accessible to both scholars and laypeople. It is considered to be a masterpiece of theological writing and has had a significant impact on the development of Protestant theology.However, as regards the rest of the Electors, Princes, and Estates, who constitute the other part, if no progress should be made, nor some result be attained by this treatment of the cause of religion after the manner in which Your Imperial Majesty has wisely held that it should be dealt with and treated namely, by such mutual presentation of writings and calm conferring together among ourselves, we at least leave with you a clear testimony, that we here in no wise are holding back from anything that could bring about Christian concord, -- such as could be effected with God and a good conscience, -- as also Your Imperial Majesty and, next, the other Electors and Estates of the Empire, and all who are moved by sincere love and zeal for religion, and who will give an impartial hearing to this matter, will graciously deign to take notice and to understand this from this Confession of ours and of our associates.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.