The New International Encyclopædia/Concord, Book of

CONCORD, Book of (translation of Ger. Concordienbuch, Lat. Liber Concordiæ). A collection of confessions of faith published in 1580, generally accepted by the Lutheran Church. Its contents are: (A) The three ecumenical creeds—the Apostles, the Nicene, and the Athanasian. (B) The six particular confessions of the Lutheran Church—(1) the Augsburg Confession; (2) the Apology of the Augsburg Confession; (3) the Schmalkald Articles; (4 and 5) the Larger and Smaller Catechisms of Luther; (6) the Formula of Concord. The last-named division, the Formula of Concord, appeared in 1580, after protracted conferences, and was acceded to by 86 of the States of the German Empire. Its topics are: The Rule of Faith and the Creed; Original Sin; Free Will; Justification; Good Works; The Law and the Gospel; The Third Use of the Law; The Lord's Supper; The Person of Christ; The Descent of Christ into Hell; The Customs of the Church; Predestination and Election; and an appendix concerning heresies and sectaries. The best editions are: In German, Jubilee edition (Saint Louis, 1880); in Latin, that of S. F. Francke (Leipzig, 1847); in English, that of H. E. Jacobs (Philadelphia, 1882).