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Title: The Smalcald Articles
Articles of Christian Doctrine which were to have been
presented on our part to the Council, if any had been
assembled at Mantua or elsewhere, indicating what we could
accept or yield, and what we could not.--1537

Author: Martin Luther

Translator: F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau

Posting Date: July 11, 2008 [EBook #273]
Release Date: June 25, 1995

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SMALCALD ARTICLES ***

Produced by Allen Mulvey

THE SMALCALD ARTICLES

By Martin Luther

_The Smalcald Articles.
Articles of Christian Doctrine
which were to have been presented on our part
to the Council, if any had been assembled at Mantua
or elsewhere, indicating what we could accept
or yield, and what we could not._

by Dr. Martin Luther, 1537

Translated by F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau

Published in:
_Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books
of the Ev. Lutheran Church_.
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921),
pp. 453-529.

Preface of Dr. Martin Luther.

Since Pope Paul III convoked a Council last year, to assemble
at Mantua about Whitsuntide, and afterwards transferred it
from Mantua, so that it is not yet known where he will or can
fix it, and we on our part either had to expect that we would
be summoned also to the Council or [to fear that we would] be
condemned unsummoned, I was directed to compile and collect
the articles of our doctrine [in order that it might be plain]
in case of deliberation as to what and how far we would be
both willing and able to yield to the Papists, and in what
points we intended to persevere and abide to the end.

I have accordingly compiled these articles and presented them
to our side. They have also been accepted and unanimously
confessed by our side, and it has been resolved that, in case
the Pope with his adherents should ever be so bold as
seriously and in good faith, without lying and cheating, to
hold a truly free [legitimate] Christian Council (as