Book of Confessions
Encyclopedia
The Book of Confessions is the book of doctrinal statements of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
and is designated "Part 1" of the PCUSA Constitution, "Part 2" being the Book of Order
. The BOC consists of eleven ecumenical, Reformed, and modern statements of the Christian faith. These are the updated versions approved by the PCUSA. Other denominations may have differing translations or versions.
The 2011-2013 Book of Order, The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity, Chapter Two states the purpose, standing, and history of the church Confessions.
The BOC Preface gives a memorable description. "In these confessional statements the church declares to its members and to the world, "the church declares to its members and the world who and what it is, what it believes, and what it intends to do."
Beginning in 1997, The Book of Confessions contains two essays (without constitutional status) to provide background on the nature of the confessions in the context of the church. The first, "The Confessional Nature of the Church Report", notes that while each confession has equal authority, "when there are differences between the confessions, initial priority should be given to contemporary confessions." "This is only initial preference because further reflection may reveal that at some points the church in earlier times was more able and willing to be guided by the Spirit than the contemporary church." And "[w]hile confessional standards are subordinate to the Scriptures, they are, nevertheless, standards. They are not lightly drawn up or subscribed to, nor may they be ignored or dismissed. The church is prepared to counsel with or even discipline one ordained who seriously rejects the faith expressed in the confessions (Book of Order 2009-2011, G-2.0200)."
"The ordination question that asks for commitment to the “essential tenets” of the confessions brings freedom in the church at several levels. Ordained persons are free to be “instructed,” “led,” and “continually guided” by the confessions without
being forced to subscribe to any precisely worded articles of faith drawn up either by the General Assembly or by a presbytery. (Presbyteries, too, are bound to the constitutional language that excludes demand for adherence to any specifically worded interpretations of a few selected doctrines. In a presbytery the decision for ordination is always determined by the concrete encounter between the presbytery and the candidate.) Presbyteries (in the case of ministers) and church sessions (in the case of elders and deacons) are free to decide for themselves what acceptable loyalty to the confessions means in their particular situation without being bound to any “check list” prescribed by higher governing bodies of the church."
The second essay is "The Assessment of Proposed Amendments to the Book of Confessions ". Herein, the church teaches that "[w]hen the proposed confession is a historic document, the church should understand the original circumstances of formulation and reception. Additionally, the contemporary need for the confession and the possibilities for reception should be demonstrated. Then, the value of the historical confession should be tested by a period of reception in the church. A confessional statement should prove itself foundational to the church’s faith and life before it is proposed for inclusion in the church’s confessional standards."
The Book of Order is clear that "confessional statements are subordinate standards in the church, subject to the authority of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, as the Scriptures bear witness to him.” This order of authority—Christ, Scriptures,
Confessions—is nicely expressed in the fourth ordination question:
Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?
While all creeds and confessions, including those in The Book of Confessions, are subordinate standards, they are standards for the church and its ordered ministries. “[The confessions] are not lightly drawn up or subscribed to,” states the
Book of Order, “nor may they be ignored or dismissed.” Thus, the church requires that ministers of the Word and Sacrament, elders, and deacons give affirmative answer to an ordination question that specifies the source and the function of confessional authority:
Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture [teaches] us to believe and do, and will you be instructed . . . by those confessions as you lead the people of God?"
Yet the church, in obedience to Jesus Christ, is open to the reform of its standards of doctrine as well as of governance.
STANDARDS
The volume appendix includes nine banners, each symbolizing a different confession. The first eight were designed by pastor Richard Avery and choir director Donald Marsh of Port Jervis, New York
Presbyterian Church. The ninth, for the Brief Statement, was designed by Gay Sorenson of First Presbyterian Church of Port Charlotte, Florida
http://oga.pcusa.org/publications/boc.pdf.
Contents:
"A Brief Statement of Faith" is a reformed confession written by a committee of this church following the 1983 reunion of the Northern (UPCUSA
) and Southern (PCUS
) branches of the church. It was added to the Book of Confessions in 1991, and is written for use in worship, as well as educational, settings.
[Category:20th-century Christian texts]]
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
and is designated "Part 1" of the PCUSA Constitution, "Part 2" being the Book of Order
Book of Order
The Book of Order is composed of three parts, entitled Form of Government, Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline. It is for the Presbyterian Church , and it is designated "Part 2" of the PCUSA Constitution, with "Part 1" being the Book of Confessions.-Organization:The Book of Order does...
. The BOC consists of eleven ecumenical, Reformed, and modern statements of the Christian faith. These are the updated versions approved by the PCUSA. Other denominations may have differing translations or versions.
The 2011-2013 Book of Order, The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity, Chapter Two states the purpose, standing, and history of the church Confessions.
The BOC Preface gives a memorable description. "In these confessional statements the church declares to its members and to the world, "the church declares to its members and the world who and what it is, what it believes, and what it intends to do."
Beginning in 1997, The Book of Confessions contains two essays (without constitutional status) to provide background on the nature of the confessions in the context of the church. The first, "The Confessional Nature of the Church Report", notes that while each confession has equal authority, "when there are differences between the confessions, initial priority should be given to contemporary confessions." "This is only initial preference because further reflection may reveal that at some points the church in earlier times was more able and willing to be guided by the Spirit than the contemporary church." And "[w]hile confessional standards are subordinate to the Scriptures, they are, nevertheless, standards. They are not lightly drawn up or subscribed to, nor may they be ignored or dismissed. The church is prepared to counsel with or even discipline one ordained who seriously rejects the faith expressed in the confessions (Book of Order 2009-2011, G-2.0200)."
"The ordination question that asks for commitment to the “essential tenets” of the confessions brings freedom in the church at several levels. Ordained persons are free to be “instructed,” “led,” and “continually guided” by the confessions without
being forced to subscribe to any precisely worded articles of faith drawn up either by the General Assembly or by a presbytery. (Presbyteries, too, are bound to the constitutional language that excludes demand for adherence to any specifically worded interpretations of a few selected doctrines. In a presbytery the decision for ordination is always determined by the concrete encounter between the presbytery and the candidate.) Presbyteries (in the case of ministers) and church sessions (in the case of elders and deacons) are free to decide for themselves what acceptable loyalty to the confessions means in their particular situation without being bound to any “check list” prescribed by higher governing bodies of the church."
The second essay is "The Assessment of Proposed Amendments to the Book of Confessions ". Herein, the church teaches that "[w]hen the proposed confession is a historic document, the church should understand the original circumstances of formulation and reception. Additionally, the contemporary need for the confession and the possibilities for reception should be demonstrated. Then, the value of the historical confession should be tested by a period of reception in the church. A confessional statement should prove itself foundational to the church’s faith and life before it is proposed for inclusion in the church’s confessional standards."
The Book of Order is clear that "confessional statements are subordinate standards in the church, subject to the authority of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, as the Scriptures bear witness to him.” This order of authority—Christ, Scriptures,
Confessions—is nicely expressed in the fourth ordination question:
Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?
While all creeds and confessions, including those in The Book of Confessions, are subordinate standards, they are standards for the church and its ordered ministries. “[The confessions] are not lightly drawn up or subscribed to,” states the
Book of Order, “nor may they be ignored or dismissed.” Thus, the church requires that ministers of the Word and Sacrament, elders, and deacons give affirmative answer to an ordination question that specifies the source and the function of confessional authority:
Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture [teaches] us to believe and do, and will you be instructed . . . by those confessions as you lead the people of God?"
Yet the church, in obedience to Jesus Christ, is open to the reform of its standards of doctrine as well as of governance.
STANDARDS
The volume appendix includes nine banners, each symbolizing a different confession. The first eight were designed by pastor Richard Avery and choir director Donald Marsh of Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city on the Delaware River in western Orange County, New York, with a population of 8,860 at the 2000 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis, and the towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the...
Presbyterian Church. The ninth, for the Brief Statement, was designed by Gay Sorenson of First Presbyterian Church of Port Charlotte, Florida
Port Charlotte, Florida
Port Charlotte is a census-designated place in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 46,451 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
http://oga.pcusa.org/publications/boc.pdf.
Contents:
- Nicene CreedNicene CreedThe Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
(325/381 AD) - Apostles' CreedApostles' CreedThe Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol"...
(second to sixth century) - Scots ConfessionScots ConfessionThe Scots Confession is a Confession of Faith written in 1560 by six leaders of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland. The Confession was the first Subordinate Standard for the Protestant church in Scotland....
(1560) - Heidelberg CatechismHeidelberg CatechismThe Heidelberg Catechism is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine...
(1563) - Second Helvetic Confession (1566)
- Westminster Confession of FaithWestminster Confession of FaithThe Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith, in the Calvinist theological tradition. Although drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly, largely of the Church of England, it became and remains the 'subordinate standard' of doctrine in the Church of Scotland, and has been...
(1647) - Westminster Shorter CatechismWestminster Shorter CatechismThe Westminster Shorter Catechism was written in the 1640s by English and Scottish divines. The assembly also produced the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger Catechism...
(1647) - Westminster Larger CatechismWestminster Larger CatechismThe Westminster Larger Catechism, along with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is a central catechism of Calvinists in the English tradition throughout the world.- History :...
(1647) - Theological Declaration of Barmen (1935)
- Confession of 1967Confession of 1967The Confession of 1967 is a confessional standard of the Presbyterian Church . The Special Committee on a Brief Contemporary Statement of Faith began preparing the Confession of 1967 in 1958 as a response to the Presbytery of Amarillo's 1957 overture to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian...
(1967) - A Brief Statement of Faith (1991) http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/101/brief-statement-faith
"A Brief Statement of Faith" is a reformed confession written by a committee of this church following the 1983 reunion of the Northern (UPCUSA
United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958 to 1983...
) and Southern (PCUS
Presbyterian Church in the United States
The Presbyterian Church in the United States was a Protestant Christian denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983...
) branches of the church. It was added to the Book of Confessions in 1991, and is written for use in worship, as well as educational, settings.
External links
[Category:20th-century Christian texts]]