THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
with the German, stepped into the middle of the assembly, and against the wish of the emperor the German text was read. The reading lasted two hours and was so distinct that every word could be heard outside. The reading being over, the copies were handed to the emperor. The German he gave to the imperial chancellor, the Elector of Mainz, the Latin he took away. Neither of the copies is now extant.
The history of its origin shows that the document presented at Augsburg was confession and apology at the same time, destined
2. Its Char- to serve the cause of peace and to acter and refute the charge of deviating from Contents, the ancient doctrine of the Church
and of having communion with sectaries; and the entire first part (Articuli prcccipui fidei, arts, i-xxi) was intended to prove that the Evangelicals agreed with the Catholic teaching, and wherever they differed from the transmitted form of doctrine they wished to restore the original, genuine teaching of the Church. The second part (Articuli in quibus recensentur abusus mutati, xxii-xxviii) treats of abuses and proves how certain general abuses must be abolished for the sake of conscience and that such action was not only supported by Scripture but also by the practise of the ancient Church and the acknowledged teachers of the Church.
[The first part of the Confession, which treats of the chief articles of faith, speaks of the following subjects: art. i, of God; ii, of original sin; iii, of the Son of God; iv, of justification; v, of the ministry of the Church; vi, of the new obedience; vii, of the Church; viii, what the Church is; ix, of baptism; x, of the Lord's Supper; xi, of confession; xii, of repentance; xiii, of the use of sacraments; xiv, of ecclesiastical orders; xv, of ecclesiastical rites; xvi, of civil affairs; xvii, of Christ's return to judgment; xviii, of free will; xix, of the cause of sin; xx, of good works; xxi, of the worship of saints. The second part recounts the abuses which have been corrected: art. i, of both kinds in the Lord's Supper; ii, of the marriage of priests; iii, of the mass; iv, of confession; v, of the distinction of meats and of traditions; vi, of monastic vows; vii, of ecclesiastical power.]
The hope that the opponents of the Confession
would make a profession of their faith was not
fulfilled. They refused to be con-
3. Origin sidered as a party. Nevertheless, of the Apol- it was decided to have the Confession
ogy. examined by intelligent and unpreju-
diced scholars, who were to acknowledge that which was correct and to refute that which was against the Christian faith and the Christian Church (Ficker, Die Confutation des Augsburger Bekenntnisses, Leipsic, 1.X91 , pp. 15 sqq.). Among the twenty scholars selected by Campeggi were some of the most malicious opponents of Luther, like Eck, Faber, Cochlaius, Dietenberger, and Wimpina, and their refutation (reprinted by Ficker) was of such a character that it was rejected by the emperor and the estates siding with Rome. A revision, however, was accepted, and as Responsio Augustance conjessionis it was read on
Aug. 3, 1530, in the same room in which the Confession had been read. Since this reply, the Conjutatio pontifica, as it afterward came to be known (the Latin text in Kolde, 141 sqq.), was adopted by the emperor as his own and conformity to it was demanded, the Protestants thought necessary to refute it. No copy of the confutation was given to the Evangelicals, and, as negotiations led to no result, Melanchthon and others were requested to prepare an " Apology of the Confession," that is to say, a refutation of the charges of the Conjutatio, and the same was approved by the Evangelical estates. In the circular for dismissing the diet which was presented to the estates, Sept. 22, the remark was found that the evangelical confession " had been refuted." This remark was contradicted by the chancellor Brilck in the name of the Evangelicals, who presented at the same time Melanchthon's apology. But the emperor, to whom Ferdinand had whispered something, refused to accept it. This is the so-called Prima delineatio apologia, first made known in Latin by Chytraus (Historia Augustance conjessionis, Frankfort, 1578, 328 sqq.; best edition of the Latin and German text in the Corpus reformatorum, xxvii, 275 sqq.). Subsequently Melanchthon received a copy of the Confutation, which led to many alterations in the first draft of the Apology. It was then published in 1531 under the title Apologia confessionis Augustance. It follows the articles of the Augustana (i.e., the Augsburg Confession), and on account of its theological exposition is rather a doctrinal work than a confession.
Although the emperor prohibited the printing of the evangelical confession without his special permission, during the diet six German 4. History editions and one in Latin were pubof the Con- lished (cf. Corpus reformatorum, xxvi, fession and 478 sqq.). Their inaccuracy and the Apology, incorrectness induced Melanchthon to prepare an edition to which he added the Apology. Thus originated the so-called editio princeps of the Augustana and Apology, which was published in the spring of 1531. This edition was regarded as the authentic reproduction of the faith professed before the emperor and empire. Whereas the first recension of the Apology was composed in behalf of the evangelical states, the edition now issued by Melanchthon was evidently a private work to which he attached his name as author, which is not the case with the Augustana. Nevertheless, the Apology was accepted everywhere and the German translation of Justus Jonas made it accessible to the laity In 1532 the Apology was officially accepted at Schweinfurt by the evangelical estates as an " apology and exposition of the confession along with the confession." Ever since the Augustana and Apology have been regarded as the official principal confessions of the nascent Evangelical church. Their recognition was a condition of membership in the Schmalkald League; both were adopted in the Concord of Wittenberg of 1536 and again at Schmalkald in 1537. Meanwhile Melanchthon worked continually to improve the text. The German edition of