1530 — Diet of Augsburg
Lutheran Tradition
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Most Invincible Emperor, Caesar Augustus, Most Clement Lord: Inasmuch as Your Imperial Majesty has summoned a Diet of the Empire here at Augsburg to deliberate concerning measures against the Turk... we offer, in this matter, the Confession of our preachers and of ourselves, showing what manner of doctrine from the Holy Scriptures and the pure Word of God has been up to this time set forth in our lands, dukedoms, dominions, and cities, and taught in our churches.
Our Churches, with common consent, do teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true and to be believed without any doubting; that is to say, there is one Divine Essence which is called and which is God: eternal, without body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible; and yet there are three Persons, of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Also they teach that since the fall of Adam all men who are propagated according to nature are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with concupiscence; and that this disease, or vice of origin, is truly sin, even now condemning and bringing eternal death upon those not born again through Baptism and the Holy Ghost.
Also they teach that the Word, that is, the Son of God, did assume the human nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, so that there are two natures, the divine and the human, inseparably enjoined in one Person, one Christ, true God and true man, who was born of the Virgin Mary, truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, that He might reconcile the Father unto us, and be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men.
Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4.
That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith, where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel.
Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments.
Our teachers are falsely accused of forbidding Good Works. For their published writings on the Ten Commandments, and others of like import, bear witness that they have usefully taught concerning all estates and duties of life... Furthermore, it is taught on our part that it is necessary to do good works, not that we should trust to merit grace by them, but because it is the will of God.
Inasmuch as our churches dissent from the Church catholic in no article of the faith, but only omit some abuses which are new, and which have been erroneously accepted by the corruption of the times, contrary to the intent of the Canons, we pray that Your Imperial Majesty would graciously hear both what has been changed, and what were the reasons why the people were not compelled to observe those abuses against their conscience.
The English translation presented follows the traditional rendering used in Catholic and/or Protestant traditions.
This text is provided for study, research, and educational purposes in Christian theology and church history.
The Augsburg Confession emerged from one of the most dramatic moments of the Protestant Reformation. In 1530, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V summoned the princes and cities of the empire to the Diet of Augsburg, demanding that the Lutherans explain and defend their theological positions — with the implicit threat that force might be used to restore religious unity.
Martin Luther himself could not attend, as he was under the imperial ban following the Diet of Worms (1521). The task of writing the confession fell to his close associate Philip Melanchthon, a brilliant scholar who sought to demonstrate that Lutheran doctrine was not a novelty but a return to Scripture and the ancient church. Melanchthon worked from earlier documents, including the Schwabach and Marburg Articles, and drafted what became the most important Lutheran confession of faith.
On June 25, 1530, the Confession was read aloud in German before the Emperor and the assembled Diet — a public act of confessional courage. It was signed by seven princes and two imperial cities. The Roman Catholic theologians responded with a Confutation, and Melanchthon later wrote the Apology of the Augsburg Confession in response. Together these documents became foundational to the Lutheran tradition and were incorporated into the Book of Concord (1580).
Men are freely justified for Christ's sake through faith alone — the heart of Lutheran theology and the most contested article of the Reformation.
The Church is the congregation of saints where the Gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered — unity requires only agreement on these two marks.
Affirms the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity — one divine essence, three coeternal persons.
All people are born without fear of God and with concupiscence — a genuine sin requiring baptism and the Holy Spirit.
Affirms the full Chalcedonian Christology — two natures in one person, born of the Virgin Mary, suffering and dying for our sins.
The Augsburg Confession is the primary statement of Lutheran faith, written by Philip Melanchthon in 1530 and presented to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg. It consists of 28 articles — 21 on doctrine and 7 on abuses — and remains the foundational confessional document of Lutheran churches worldwide.
Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) wrote the Augsburg Confession, drawing on earlier documents and close collaboration with Martin Luther. Luther, who was under the imperial ban, could not attend the Diet of Augsburg himself and reviewed the document from Coburg Castle, expressing approval of Melanchthon's work.
Article IV — teaching that men are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith alone — was the central theological issue of the Reformation. It directly challenged the Catholic teaching that justification requires faith plus meritorious works. Luther called justification 'the article by which the church stands or falls.' It remains the defining distinctiveof Lutheran theology.
Yes. The Augsburg Confession is the foundational confession of all Lutheran churches worldwide, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), and Lutheran bodies across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Pastors and congregations regularly affirm their commitment to its teaching.
The Book of Concord (1580) is the collection of Lutheran confessional documents, including the Augsburg Confession, its Apology, Luther's two Catechisms, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, and the Formula of Concord. It is the authoritative confessional standard for confessional Lutheran churches.
Explore our articles, study guides, and historical commentary on the Augsburg Confession.