Symbolic texts

The churches that emerged from the Reformation never intended to base their faith on individual opinions. They summarized their understanding of Scripture in confessions of faith and catechisms designed to teach, protect and faithfully transmit Christian doctrine.

These texts do not have the authority of the Bible, but they constitute precious historical and theological testimonies of the Reformed faith. They remain to this day privileged instruments of formation, teaching, doctrinal preservation and church unity.

The Confession of the Netherlands, a truly Christian confession, contains a summary of the doctrine of God and the eternal salvation of the soul.

The 1559 Confession of Faith of the Reformed Churches of France, also known as the Gallicana, is a Reformed symbolic text based primarily on John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Written in 1563 by Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus at the request of Count Frederick III, the Heidelberg Catechism is divided into 52 sections.

The Canons of Dordrecht, drafted in 1618–1619, address the Arminian controversy and affirm the Reformed doctrine of sovereign grace.