# Concordia Triglotta

CONCORDIA TRIGLOTTA
Concordia Triglotta
Die ſymboliſchen Bücher der evangeliſch-lutheriſchen Kirche,
deutſch-lateniſch-engliſch,
als Denkmal der vierhundertjähreigen Jubelfeier ber Reformation, anno Domini 1917, herausgegeben auf Belchluß der evangeliſch-lutheriſchen, Synode von Miſſouri, Ohio und andern Staaten.
CONCORDIA TRIGLOTTA
Libri symbolici Ecclesiae Lutheranae
Germanice-Latine-Anglice,
monumenti instar in memoriam Anni Iubilaei MCMXVII quadringentesimi post inchoatam Ecclesiae reformationem communi consilio et mandato Synodi Missouriensis Lutheranae typis vulgata.
TRIGLOT CONCORDIA
The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church,
German-Latin-English,
Published as a Memorial of the Quadricentenary Jubilee of the Reformation anno Domini 1917 by resolution of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States.
St. Louis, Mo. CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE. 1921.
PREFACE.
Memorialized by the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States, assembled as Fifteenth Delegate Synod from June 20 to 29, 1917, at Milwaukee, Wis., unanimously passed the very appropriate resolution to publish as a Memorial of the Quadricentennial of the Glorious Reformation a German-Latin-English edition of the Book of Concord containing the Symbols of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The work on Concordia Triglotta was begun immediately. Chiefly owing to the economic conditions created by the World War, however, the completion. of the large undertaking was delayed much longer than anticipated. And the fact that we are now in a position to write the Preface to the finished book, together with its detailed Indexes and extensive Historical Introductions, we regard and gratefully acknowledge as a special favor of God, whom alone also we credit with whatever merit any one may anywhere justly ascribe to this work, or any part of it.
As for the German and Latin texts embodied in Concordia Triglotta, the former was compared with the original German edition, published 1580 at Dresden. Obsolete forms as "Gezeugnis," "Oberkeit," "gebeutet," and, as a rule, also such forms as "nimmet," "gehet," "stehet," etc., were replaced with: "Zeugnis," "Obrigkeit," "gebietet," "nimmt," "geht," "steht," etc. The Latin text was revised according to the first authentic Latin edition, published 1584 in Leipzig, and quite a number of misprints still found in Mueller's eleventh edition of 1912 were corrected.
While I, the undersigned, alone am responsible for the Latin and German texts, the English translation of the Triglot is throughout the joint effort of Prof. W. H. T. Dau and myself. It is based on the original German and Latin texts, respectively, and on the existing English translations, chiefly those incorporated in Jacobs's Book of Concord.
The Preface to the Christian Books of Concord, the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, and the treatise Of the Power and Primacy of the Pope are translated from the Latin; the Smalcald Articles, the two Catechisms of Luther, the Formula of Concord, and the Visitation Articles, from the German. In the Catalog of Testimonies the translation of the introduction, the ten theses, and the conclusion are based on the German text, while the passages quoted from "Orthodox Antiquity" are translated from the original Greek and Latin, respectively.
In the running titles of the Triglot the small numbers indicate the pages in the editions of the Symbolical Books of J. T. Mueller and J. G. Walch. The pages of A. Rechenberg's edition are given in brackets in the Latin columns; e. g., on page 100 of the Triglot, "M. 74. 75" indicates the corresponding pages in Mueller; "W. 67—69," the pages in Walch; "R. 49," the page in Rechenberg.
Whatever in the three texts of the Triglot is included in brackets does not belong to the text proper. When reading the longer passages, it may perhaps, in some instances, be advisable simply to skip the brackets in order not to disturb the natural flow of a period.
​In the Latin and German texts brackets with a star contain different textual readings, while all other brackets contain explanations, quotations from authors referred to in the texts, etc. Unless otherwise indicated, citations from Church Fathers, etc., are taken from Mueller's edition of the Symbolical Books, p. 840 ff.
In keeping with the principle otherwise observed in the Triglot, the superscriptions of the first 21 articles of the Latin and German Augsburg Confession (with the exception only of Article XX in the German text), furthermore Articles I, II, and IX of the Apology, and a number of Bible references should have been put in brackets, because they are additions not found in the original German and Latin editions of 1580 and 1584.
Brackets in the English text contain words, phrases, sentences, or shorter or longer passages from the respective German or Latin text which is not the basis of the translation.
The "Index of Scripture Texts" and the German *Sach- und Namenregister" have been appropriated from Mueller's edition of the Lutheran symbols, while the English "Index of Subjects" is the one found in Jacobs's Book of Concord, which, however, is also based on Mueller. The tedious work of changing the page-numbers of these indexes to those of the Triglot was done by Prof. Dau. All three indexes have also been revised and substantially augmented.
The Lutheran Church differs from all other churches in being essentially the Church of the pure Word and unadulterated Sacraments. Not the great number of her adherents, not her organizations, not her charitable and other institutions, not her beautiful customs and liturgical forms, etc., but the precious truths confessed by her symbols in perfect agreement with the Holy Scriptures constitute the true beauty and rich treasures of our Church, as well as the never-failing source of her vitality and power.
Wherever the Lutheran Church ignored her symbols or rejected all or some of them, there she always fell an easy prey to her enemies. But wherever she held fast to her God-given crown, esteemed and studied her confessions, and actually made them a norm and standard of her entire life and practise, there the Lutheran Church flourished and confounded all her enemies.
Accordingly, if Lutherans truly love their Church, and desire and seek her welfare, they must be faithful to her confessions and constantly be on their guard lest any one rob her of her treasure. To strengthen this loyalty and to further and facilitate the study of our "Golden Concordia,"—such is the object also of this Jubilee Edition—the Triglot Concordia.
May God be pleased, as in the past, so also in the future, to bless our Church, and graciously keep her in the true and only saving Christian faith as set forth and confessed in the Lutheran symbols, whose paramount object is to maintain the gem of Luther's Reformation, the blessed doctrine of salvation by grace only, which most wonderfully magnifies the great glory of our God, and alone is able to impart solid comfort to poor sinners.
F. BENTE, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo.
July 4, 1921.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONCORDIA.
The Pious Confession of Faith and Doctrine,
Reiterated by Unanimous Consent of the Electors, Princes, and Estates of the Empire, and of Their Theologians, who Embrace the Augsburg Confession.
Whereunto there has been added from Holy Scripture, that Only Norm and Rule of Doctrine,
A Thorough Explanation of Certain Articles,
which after Dr. Martin Luther’s happy departure from this life were being controverted.
Published by the joint resolution and order of the said Electors, Princes, and Estates of the Empire for the Instruction and Admonition of their Subjects, Churches, and Schools,
as a
MEMORIAL TO POSTERITY.
Issued for the second time at Leipzig, 1584. With the gracious privilege of the Elector of Saxony.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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