Which creeds and confessions
are included in our Book
of Confessions?

The following is a list of the creeds and confessions to which the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adheres:

1. The Nicene Creed (381): This creed sought to define the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is considered by many churches to be the most universal of all creeds, as it is accepted by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and many Protestant traditions.

2. The Apostle's Creed (2nd-7th century): Legend attributed this creed to the original apostles, but it is most likely an ancient baptismal creed which candidates for baptism recited or affirmed before they were baptized and entered the Church. This is also a rather universal creed, though it is not accepted by the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

3. The Scots Confession (1560): John Knox and several other Protestant leaders in Scotland wrote this confession to guide the new Protestant Church of Scotland along the lines of Reformed theology.

4. The Heidelberg Catechism (1563): This instructional catechism was written in an attempt to mediate the growing theological disputes between Lutheran and Reformed Christians. Today, it is one of the most widely accepted Reformed confessions among Reformed churches throughout the world.

5. The Second Helvetic Confession (1566): Heinrich Bullinger, a Reformed pastor in Zurich, Switzerland, wrote and circulated this confession in a further attempt to mediate the theological disputes between Lutherans and the Reformed. This is a widely-accepted confession among Reformed communities in Europe.

6. The Westminster Standards (1646): A gathering known as the Westminster Assembly in England met for almost six years in order to reform the Church of England according to the principles of Reformed theology. The end products, among other things, included a confession and two catechisms. Though the Westminster Assembly ultimately did not succeed in their goals, the confession and the catechisms that it produced would become the most influential theological standards among Reformed communities in the English-speaking world, including Presbyterians here in the United States.

7. The Barmen Declaration (1934): Karl Barth and other theologians both from Lutheran and Reformed communities wrote this confession as a protest against what they perceived to be the racism, nationalism, and heresies of the German Christians who had accommodated their theology to the ideals of Adolf Hitler's National Socialism.

8. The Confession of 1967 (1967): This confession represents the first confession of faith that was both Reformed and American. The focus of this confession is on the need for reconciliation, especially reconciliation in a society that was experiencing such turmoil as racism, sexism, and war.

9. A Brief Statement of Faith (1991): When the two, main Presbyterian denominations in the United States united with one another in 1983, forming the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a committee formulated this statement as an attempt to show the common and shared identity of all Presbyterians.

For more information about the Book of Confessions, please visit our Book of Confessions page