The Book of Confessions - The Presbyterian Leader

Endnotes
1 Preface
The 123rd General Assembly (1983) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and
the 195th General Assembly (1983) of The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of
America approved and enacted the Plan for Reunion forming the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The Articles of Agreement, which governed the reunion, provided that:
1. The confessional documents of the two preceding Churches would be the
confessional documents of the reunited Church.
2. A "Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith" would be prepared for possible
inclusion in the Book of Confessions.
3. The "Brief Statement of Belief," adopted by the 102nd General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1962 as a summary of the historic doctrine of
that Church, would serve as a summary of the Reformed understanding of historic Christian
doctrine set forth in Scripture and contained in the Confessions of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) until "A Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith" could be considered by the reunited
Church.
The "Brief Statement of Faith," which became a part of the Book of Confessions through
the constitutional process for amending the confessional document of the Church, was completed
by final enactment of the 203rd General Assembly (1991). With the publication of the "Brief
Statement of Faith," the "Brief Statement of Belief," which had been printed as an appendix to the
Book of Confessions since 1983, was dropped.
Form of Government, Chapter I, Section 5 (G-1.0500), defines the Constitution as
follows:
The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA.) consists of the Book of
Confessions and the Book of Order.
a. The Book of Confessions includes:
The Nicene Creed
The Apostles' Creed
The Scots Confession
The Heidelberg Catechism
The Second Helvetic Confession
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The Larger Catechism
The Shorter Catechism
The Theological Declaration of Barmen
The Confession of 1967
A Brief Statement of Faith--Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
b. The Book of Order includes:
Form of Government
Rules of Discipline
Directory for Worship
This volume, which is Part I of the Constitution, is the Book of Confessions and contains
Copyright © 1996 by the Office of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA)