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Helvetic Confession
(738 words)

With the Confessio et expositio simplex orthodoxae fidei of 1566, the so-called Second Helvetic Confession, the Reformed churches in German-speaking Switzerland achieved a definitive, common, and lasting confession (Confessions and Creeds). The original principle of the sole authority of Scripture, which had been argued against the Roman Catholic Church, contained no spur to the formulation of a confession. The impulse came with the introduction of the Reformation to individual cities. Thus we have the Berne Theses in 1528, the Berne Synod in 1532, and the Basel Confession in 15…

Cite this page
Goeters, J. F. Gerhard, “Helvetic Confession”, in: Encyclopedia of Christianity Online. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2211-2685_eco_H102>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004169678, 20080512



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