Guanabara Confession of Faith
Encyclopedia
The Guanabara Confession of Faith of 1558 was the first Protestant writing in Brazil, and in all of the Americas
. It was written by the French Huguenot
s Jean du Bourdel, Matthieu Verneuil, Pierre Bourdon e André la Fon, who were taken under arrest by Villegaignon
. Twelve hours after writing it, the authors were hanged.
I. We believe in one God, immortal, invisible, creator of skies and earth, and all things, visibles and invisibles, who is distinguished in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, who constitute the same substance in eternal essence and a same will; the Father, source and beginning of all blessing; the Son, eternally beget by the Father, who, fulfilled the plenty of time, came in flesh to the world, being conceived by the Holy Ghost, was born by the virgin Mary, breed under the law to rescue those who were under the law, in order to we receive the adoption of His own sons; the Holy Ghost, proceeding by the Father and the Son, master of all Truth, speaking by the prophets, inspiring the things which were said by our Lord Jesus Christ to the apostles. He is the unique Consoler in affliction, giving constancy and perseverance in all good.
We believe that is mister only worship and perfectly love, beg and invoke the majesty of God in faith or individually.
II. Worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ, we don't separate one nature from other, confessing the two natures, namely, divine and human, which are inseparable.
III. We believe, concerning to the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, what the Word of God and the apostolic doctrine, and the symbol, teach us.
IV. We believe our Lord Jesus Christ will judge living and dead people, in a visible and human form like He ascended to the heaven, executing such judgement, in the form that predict us in twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
, having all the power to judge, given by the Father, being man.
And, concerning our prayers, the Father will appear in the Son, we understand this because the power of the Father given to the Son will manifest in that judgement, but we don't want to confound the people, because they are really distinguished one of other.
V. We believe in the holy sacrament of the supper, with the corporal figures of the bread and the wine, the faithful souls are really and actually feed with the very substance of our Lord Jesus, as our bodies are feed with food, even so we don't want to say that the bread and the wine be transformed or transubstantiated in His body, because the bread keeps in its nature and substance, like the wine, and there is no change or alteration.
However, we distinguish this bread and wine from other bread which is dedicated to habitual use, because this is a sacramental sign, which the truth is infallibly received. Nevertheless this receipt is made only by the faith and we cannot imagine as being fleshly, neither prepare the teeth to eat, as said St. Augustine
: "Why do you prepares the teeth and the stomach? Believe, and you have eaten."
Therefore, the sign does not give us the truth, neither the thing which is denoted; but our Lord Jesus Christ, by His power, virtue and kindness feeds and preserves our souls, and make they partners in His flesh and His blood, and all of His benefactions.
Let us see the explanation of Jesus' words: "This is my body." Tertullian
, in the fourth book against Marcion, explain in this way: "this is the sign and the figure of my body."
St. Augustine says: "The Lord doesn't avoid to say: 'This is my body', when he just give the sign of his body."
Hence (as it is ordered in the first canon of the Council of Nicea), in this holy sacrament we can't imagine nothing fleshly and distract in the bread and the wine, which are proposed by signs, but elevate our spirit to the skies and contemplate by the faith the Son of God, our Lord Jesus, seat at the right of God, His Father.
In this way, we could swear the article about the Ascension, along with many other sentences of Augustine, which we are omitting, because they are long.
VI. We believe that, if was necessary put water in the wine, the evangelists and St. Paul would not had omitted a thing of so great consequence.
And concerning to what the ancient doctors have observed (basing themselves about the blood mixed with water that left of the side of Jesus Christ, since this observance does not have any basis in the Scripture, seen very after the establishment of the Lord's Supper when this happened), we cannot admit, necessarily.
VII. We believe that there is no other dedication but that which is made by the minister, when the Lord's Supper, reciting the minister to the people, in a known languague, the institution of this sacrament literally, according to the way that our Lord Jesus Christ taught us, admonishing the people concerning to the death and passion of our Lord. And, as said St. Augustine, the dedication is the word of faith that is preached and received in faith. For this, it results that the words mysteriously pronounced cannot be the dedication as it appears of the instituition that our Lord Jesus Christ let to His apostles, directing His words to the current disciples, which he ordered drink and eat.
VIII. The holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper is not food for the body as it is to the souls (because we realize nothing fleshly, as we declare in the fifth article) receiving by faith, which is not fleshly.
IX. We believe that baptism is the sacrament of penitence, and as an ingress in the Church of God, to be incorporate in Jesus Christ. Represent to us the remission of our past and future sins, which completely acquired only by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Moreover, the mortification of our flesh is represented to us here, and the washing, represented by the water put on the child, it is the sign and seal of our Lord Jesus, which is the true purification of our souls. The institution of this sacrament is taught to us in the Word of God, which the holy apostles observed, utilizing water in name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Concerning the exorcism, abjurations of Satan, chrism, spittle and salt, we register them as men's traditions, we conten only with the way ad institution let to us by our Lord Jesus.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
Articles X to XVII have not yet been translated from Portuguese. See the original Confissão da Guanabara in Portuguese
.
Jean du Bourdel, Matthieu Verneuil, Pierre Bourdon, André la Fon.
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. It was written by the French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s Jean du Bourdel, Matthieu Verneuil, Pierre Bourdon e André la Fon, who were taken under arrest by Villegaignon
Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon
Nicolas Durand, sieur de Villegaignon, also Villegagnon was a Commander of the Knights of Malta, and later a French naval officer who attempted to help the Huguenots in France escape persecution.A notable public figure in his time, Villegaignon was a mixture of soldier,...
. Twelve hours after writing it, the authors were hanged.
Guanabara Confession (1558)
According to the doctrine of Saint Peter Apostle, in his first epistle, all Christians must be ready to give reason of the hope which is inside them, and this with all meekness and benignity, we sign beneath, Lord of Villegaignon, agreed (according the measure of grace that the Lord has conceded us) to give reason, to each point, how you had appointed and ordered us, and starting by the first article:I. We believe in one God, immortal, invisible, creator of skies and earth, and all things, visibles and invisibles, who is distinguished in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, who constitute the same substance in eternal essence and a same will; the Father, source and beginning of all blessing; the Son, eternally beget by the Father, who, fulfilled the plenty of time, came in flesh to the world, being conceived by the Holy Ghost, was born by the virgin Mary, breed under the law to rescue those who were under the law, in order to we receive the adoption of His own sons; the Holy Ghost, proceeding by the Father and the Son, master of all Truth, speaking by the prophets, inspiring the things which were said by our Lord Jesus Christ to the apostles. He is the unique Consoler in affliction, giving constancy and perseverance in all good.
We believe that is mister only worship and perfectly love, beg and invoke the majesty of God in faith or individually.
II. Worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ, we don't separate one nature from other, confessing the two natures, namely, divine and human, which are inseparable.
III. We believe, concerning to the Son of God and the Holy Spirit, what the Word of God and the apostolic doctrine, and the symbol, teach us.
IV. We believe our Lord Jesus Christ will judge living and dead people, in a visible and human form like He ascended to the heaven, executing such judgement, in the form that predict us in twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
, having all the power to judge, given by the Father, being man.
And, concerning our prayers, the Father will appear in the Son, we understand this because the power of the Father given to the Son will manifest in that judgement, but we don't want to confound the people, because they are really distinguished one of other.
V. We believe in the holy sacrament of the supper, with the corporal figures of the bread and the wine, the faithful souls are really and actually feed with the very substance of our Lord Jesus, as our bodies are feed with food, even so we don't want to say that the bread and the wine be transformed or transubstantiated in His body, because the bread keeps in its nature and substance, like the wine, and there is no change or alteration.
However, we distinguish this bread and wine from other bread which is dedicated to habitual use, because this is a sacramental sign, which the truth is infallibly received. Nevertheless this receipt is made only by the faith and we cannot imagine as being fleshly, neither prepare the teeth to eat, as said St. Augustine
St. Augustine
-People:* Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church* Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury* Augustine Webster, an English Catholic martyr.-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida, United States...
: "Why do you prepares the teeth and the stomach? Believe, and you have eaten."
Therefore, the sign does not give us the truth, neither the thing which is denoted; but our Lord Jesus Christ, by His power, virtue and kindness feeds and preserves our souls, and make they partners in His flesh and His blood, and all of His benefactions.
Let us see the explanation of Jesus' words: "This is my body." Tertullian
Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
, in the fourth book against Marcion, explain in this way: "this is the sign and the figure of my body."
St. Augustine says: "The Lord doesn't avoid to say: 'This is my body', when he just give the sign of his body."
Hence (as it is ordered in the first canon of the Council of Nicea), in this holy sacrament we can't imagine nothing fleshly and distract in the bread and the wine, which are proposed by signs, but elevate our spirit to the skies and contemplate by the faith the Son of God, our Lord Jesus, seat at the right of God, His Father.
In this way, we could swear the article about the Ascension, along with many other sentences of Augustine, which we are omitting, because they are long.
VI. We believe that, if was necessary put water in the wine, the evangelists and St. Paul would not had omitted a thing of so great consequence.
And concerning to what the ancient doctors have observed (basing themselves about the blood mixed with water that left of the side of Jesus Christ, since this observance does not have any basis in the Scripture, seen very after the establishment of the Lord's Supper when this happened), we cannot admit, necessarily.
VII. We believe that there is no other dedication but that which is made by the minister, when the Lord's Supper, reciting the minister to the people, in a known languague, the institution of this sacrament literally, according to the way that our Lord Jesus Christ taught us, admonishing the people concerning to the death and passion of our Lord. And, as said St. Augustine, the dedication is the word of faith that is preached and received in faith. For this, it results that the words mysteriously pronounced cannot be the dedication as it appears of the instituition that our Lord Jesus Christ let to His apostles, directing His words to the current disciples, which he ordered drink and eat.
VIII. The holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper is not food for the body as it is to the souls (because we realize nothing fleshly, as we declare in the fifth article) receiving by faith, which is not fleshly.
IX. We believe that baptism is the sacrament of penitence, and as an ingress in the Church of God, to be incorporate in Jesus Christ. Represent to us the remission of our past and future sins, which completely acquired only by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Moreover, the mortification of our flesh is represented to us here, and the washing, represented by the water put on the child, it is the sign and seal of our Lord Jesus, which is the true purification of our souls. The institution of this sacrament is taught to us in the Word of God, which the holy apostles observed, utilizing water in name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Concerning the exorcism, abjurations of Satan, chrism, spittle and salt, we register them as men's traditions, we conten only with the way ad institution let to us by our Lord Jesus.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
Articles X to XVII have not yet been translated from Portuguese. See the original Confissão da Guanabara in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
Jean du Bourdel, Matthieu Verneuil, Pierre Bourdon, André la Fon.