The Formula of Concord did not appear in a vacuum. The writings of Melanchthon and of the second-generation theologians Martin Chemnitz, David Chytraeus, and Nicolaus Selnecker show the Augsburg Confession being defended, clarified, and applied amid the controversies of the later sixteenth century.
Common Theological Topics: Loci Communes Theologici (1535)
Melanchthon’s mature presentation of evangelical doctrine provides essential context for reading the theology confessed at Augsburg.
View at Repristination PressOn the Controversies
Chemnitz reviews controversies raised concerning articles of the Augsburg Confession and witnesses to the doctrinal work that preceded concord.
View at Repristination PressA Repetition of the Sound Doctrine
A sustained confession of Christ’s body and blood in the Supper amid the controversies that would be addressed in the Formula of Concord.
View at Repristination PressAnatomy of the Propositions of Albert Hardenberg
Chemnitz defends the Tenth Article of the Augsburg Confession in the Eucharistic controversy surrounding Albert Hardenberg.
View at Repristination PressA Christian Sermon on God’s Foreknowledge or Election to Salvation
A pastoral treatment of election by one of the principal architects of the Formula of Concord.
View at Repristination PressA Summary of the Christian Faith (1568)
A concise doctrinal presentation by a leading second-generation Lutheran theologian and participant in the concordist effort.
View at Repristination PressPious and Most Useful Explanations
Chytraeus treats necessity, divine determination, contingency, human powers, and free will—terms central to later doctrinal controversy.
View at Repristination PressAgainst the Secret Calvinists
Selnecker’s 1571 defense of Lutheran Christology and the Lord’s Supper illuminates controversies immediately preceding the Formula of Concord.
View at Repristination Press