MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress Publishers announced this month the publication of a new edition of "The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church." Augsburg Fortress is the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Edited by the Rev. Robert A. Kolb and the Rev. Timothy J. Wengert, the new edition was commissioned in 1993. It succeeds an earlier version edited by Theodore Tappert and published in 1959 by Muhlenburg Press. Kolb and Wengert worked with an editorial team of Reformation historians and more than 100 other scholars and teachers who use The Book of Concord regularly. Two other teams of scholars also reviewed the new translations.
"The Tappert edition of The Book of Concord served the church and its pastors, teachers, and students well during the past 40 years," said the Rev. Harold W. Rast, acting vice president for Augsburg Fortress' academic and professional business group. "However, in light of new scholarship and changes in translation and usage of the English language, it is time for a new edition that will be more accurate and useful for today's users."
The new edition of The Book of Concord features expanded introductions and annotations offering richer historical context, and a new translation intended to be readable and accurate. It uses the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible where possible and contains references to the English translations of works by Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon and others. Based on the latest scholarly research, it provides one of the first English translations of the standard 16th century edition of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and the complete text the Small Catechism.
Luther, a German monk, authored the Small Catechism. Melanchthon, a German scholar, authored The Augsburg Confession. Both were key figures in the Protestant Reformation, and both documents are foundational documents of the Lutheran church.
Kolb is mission professor of systematic theology and director of the Institute for Mission Studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, a seminary of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In addition to numerous articles, his books on the Reformation include "Martin Luther as Prophet, Teacher and Hero: Images of the Reformer, 1520-1620;" "Luther's Heirs Define His Legacy: Studies on Lutheran Confessionalization;" and "The Christian Faith: a Lutheran Exposition."
Wengert is a professor of Reformation history at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, an ELCA seminary. Some of his most recent writings include "Human Freedom, Christian Righteousness;" "Law and Gospel;" and "Philip Melanchthon ... and the Commentary." Wengert has also published notes on two of Martin Luther's sermons.
[*Gayle Aldrich is publicist for Augsburg Fortress Publishers,
Minneapolis.]
EDITORS: The Book of Concord is available through both Augsburg Fortress
catalogs and through the company's Web site at www.augsburgfortress.org.
The book will also be available in Augsburg Fortress stores.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
