MORAVIAN CREEDS, CONFESSIONS AND STATEMENTS LIBRARY

Moravian Creeds Library is a collection of  statements of belief of the Moravian Church. These expressions of Moravians believe, reveal the scriptural heritage of our Moravian denomination.

The Unitas Fratrum recognizes in the creeds of the Church the thankful acclaim of the Body of Christ. These creeds aid the church in formulating a Scriptural confession, in marking the boundary of heresies, and in exhorting believers to an obedient and fearless testimony in every age. The Unitas Fratrum maintains that all creeds formulated by the Christian Church stand in need of constant testing in the light of the Holy Scriptures. It acknowledges as such true professions of faith the early Christian witness: "Jesus Christ is Lord!" and also especially the ancient Christian creeds and the fundamental creeds of the Reformation.
* *NOTE: In the various Provinces of the renewed Unitas Fratrum the following creeds in particular gained special importance, because in them the main doctrines of the Christian faith find clear and simple expression
The Moravian Church shares many Creeds and the Confessions with the Lutheran Church which  confesses the Gospel, recorded in the Holy Scriptures and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain the Church for God's mission in the world" (2.07). At the ordination of a person to the office in the  of the ministry of Word and Sacraments in the Lutheran Church, the bishop states "The Church into which you are to be ordained confesses that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God and are the norm of faith and life. We accept, teach, and confess the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds. We also acknowledge the Lutheran Confessions as true witnesses and faithful expositions of the Holy Scriptures. Will you therefore preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and these creeds and confessions?" The candidate's expected response is, "I will, and I ask God to help me."7 It is highly unlikely that Lutherans will add to the corpus of their Confessions. They do, however, develop and discuss theological statements and declarations, sometimes adopting them for guidance. Because of their historical conditioning and theological focus, Lutherans look askance at other faith communities which formulate or add confessions to their theological treasuries, especially when some of those confessions appear to contradict or replace or re-interpret the confessions Lutherans cherish.

Explicitly and implicitly, Lutheran methods appear to move from Scripture to Creeds and then to Confessions when Lutherans analyze, assess, express and formulate positions, practices, liturgies, and actions. Actually, within the triad is an inner canon. In the realm of Scripture, Pauline positions on justification (as understood by Lutherans) have priority.8 The Augsburg Confession occupies first place among the Confessions.

Moravians, while influenced deeply and positively by Lutheran individuals and Lutheran theology, have also observed debilitating arguments and confusions created by those who thought they possessed God's truth to the exclusion of other insights. Moravians regard theological polemics as contrary to the Savior's will and love. Having been persecuted and vilified, they often shy away from  defending theological challenges  from others and when coping with problems within their own communion. A 1979 statement on theology by the Joint Theological Commission of the Northern and Southern Provinces, USA puts the Moravian understanding of theology's purpose and role clearly:

Theological reflection in the Moravian tradition is not to be understood as an attempt to arrive at final answers but is a way of thinking about God and His relationship to us so that He can, through His Spirit, draw us to Himself, and to His Son, and we can know Him as the Source of our living. Such reflection should lead to sharing of ideas and experiences, articulation of our faith, new levels of trust toward each other as persons through whom God partially discloses Himself in various ways, stimulation of the Christian life and our attentive waiting upon God for His clarification of our understanding.

As honorable as the Moravian desire to avoid  theological polemics may be we should guard against this fear from our persecuted and vilified past from diminishing our zeal for formulating a Scriptural confession, in marking the boundary of heresies, and in exhorting believers to an obedient and fearless testimony in every age.


 

The Moravian library includes the following documents: